Hi yall...

I guess this may be an obvious/stupid question... but how do you jive your training wtih work? I work ~3 miles from my condo, and I ride most of the time. I skipped this week because ive been working 10-11hr days on a failure investigation.

anywho... i guess the obvious answer is ride after work... but i find that thought a bit "blaah"... sooo... ride before work? Ride to work on a different route? Drink more beer?

Im at ~250lbs right now, Id like to trim that down.... a bit... I generally eat "pretty" healthy, this has been a bad week cause of work. But as soon as this insanity is over, im back on a good eating schedule.

Thanks all!

nK

If anyone has any insight I would also love to know. As a nurse I work 7 days in a row, 12 hour shifts at night. I can ride a lot my 7 days off, but I'm lost on training on my work week.

I don't really like waking up super early, but I love working out before I do anything else (c0d3?). I like how I feel for the rest of the day, unless it's already a really long day in which case I feel tired. Do you have time in the morning to get out for a ride? time at lunch?

I don't really like waking up super early, but I love working out before I do anything else. I like how I feel for the rest of the day, unless it's already a really long day in which case I feel tired. Do you have time in the morning to get out for a ride? time at lunch?


I like working out early too... but Generally i get to work around 630... if i go riding in the morning, its goign to be dark...

It would be greatly looked down upon if i were to leave for 2 hrs during lunch.

nK

like working out early too... but Generally i get to work around 630... if i go riding in the morning, its goign to be dark...

It would be greatly looked down upon if i were to leave for 2 hrs during lunch.

nK
Wait, are you going to take your ride on the way to work, with all your stuff, and clean up there? or ride a loop, change, ride 3miles to work?

You don't need to always do a long ride, you can get plenty done in an hour.

If anyone has any insight I would also love to know. As a nurse I work 7 days in a row, 12 hour shifts at night. I can ride a lot my 7 days off, but I'm lost on training on my work week.
If it was me I'd get in huge miles on my 7 days off, then try to get in one day of intensity during my 80 hr week (day 4 or 5) and treat the rest like recovery. Set yourself up on a super block schedule and don't feel guilty when you miss riding due to work.

Since I don't work 80 hrs a week, I just try to get in my riding b4 work.

Since I've started the school semester and started working again I went from riding 15-20h a week to 7-9 max. I'm stronger now than I've ever been because I now follow a training plan. Most of the core of the workouts can be done in an hour and if I have time I will finish off the rest of the mileage. Intervals are your friend.

I'm lucky enough to be able to adjust my schedule...

My boss wants me to work later two days a week, but the rest is open for me so I taper my week.

Monday/Tuesday I work from 9:45am to 6:30pm and I get on my trainer at 6:30 am for 1.5 hours (intervals on Monday and recovery on Tuesday).

Wednesday/Thursday I work from 7:15am to 3:15/3:30pm which gives me plenty of time to get in rides in the afternoon.

Friday I work from 7:15 to 2:00/2:30pm and usually have that as an off day unless I'm racing on Sunday in which I'll do an hour spin and take off Saturday.

If I'm not racing I take Fridays off the bike and do group/team rides in Saturday and recovery rides on Sunday.

Overall....it works out well for me and it's nice to work for a company that gives me flexible hours.

i'm jealous of Wookies flex-schedule! i can only fit in hour-long rides during my lunch
break, and luckily i can eat at my desk afterwards. weekends are my long days when
i can get them. the wife and kids are at the renaissance faire for the next 6 weekends
so i may actually be able to get in a reallly long ride on one of the weekend days.

this week, i've only been able to ride two days - monday work through lunch,
tuesday, work through lunch, weds. hill repeats(yay.) today was tempo.
tomorrow we have a going away lunch for one of the guys, so that's a wash.

'normal' schedule:

mon - hill repeats
tues - tempo
wed - run(4 miles right now)
thur - brick(ride 30minutes, run 20)
fri - easy ride
sat - honeydos, kids karate, work in the garden, ride if possible, anything over 2hrs
sun - like sunday. if sat was no go, ride if possible, anything over 2hrs

what do you mean by super block schedule?

Many people will set up training 'blocks' of three or four days of training followed by two to four days of rest. I suggest training 6-7 days in a row followed by a week of rest. I'm not sure how well it would work, but in a situation where you don't have much flexibility, its worth a shot.

This thread sounds like so much kvetching to me. You either get off your ass and do it, or you don't.

Job takes too much time? Get another job. Or show some spine to your boss and arrange to work less.

If anyone has any insight I would also love to know. As a nurse I work 7 days in a row, 12 hour shifts at night. I can ride a lot my 7 days off, but I'm lost on training on my work week.

My suggestion is to ride hard on your 7 days off then during your work week...Then talk with your supervisors and see if you can bring your bike and a trainer to work and set it up in a place that won't bother others. Then during your lunch break get in 30-60 minutes of spinning, with 2 intervals sessions thrown in during the work week. That will maintain the fitness you gain from your week off.

Then brown bag lunch every day and eat while you are working...and maybe a bit while you are on the trainer. Overall when it comes to food, track everything and eat well to keep the weight down...or if you are trying to lose weight...to keep it at a negative caloric balance.

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to stay in shape.

What about joining a gym? Could you workout during your lunch hour then grab a sandwhich or salad and eat while you work? Obviously, time on the road isn't the same as time spent in the gym, but you can do some cardio and core strengthening exercises to help you maintain your fitness. I go to the gym 2/3 days a week. I ride 2/3 days a week in the morning (I work 12 hour days so I ride for an hour at 4:30am) and get in a long ride on the weekend. Its not ideal, but when you have kids getting a job that requires less hours or negotiating a shorter work day to accommodate a hobby probably wouldn't fly.

Here's how I do it (not that I'm a cycling God or anything):

1. If work interferes with riding... get your priorities straight. I'm completely serious and have made career choices based on what I most enjoy in life... and that ain't work. Your opinion may vary. (smile)

2. Focus on quality more than quantity. There are plenty of cat 2's with demanding job and family responsibilities, who simply know how to train effectively on 10 hours a week. Indoor trainers, HR meters are quite helpful in this regard.

Re; "block training" - I've done it; it's very effective and also very demanding; the general idea is to do "quality" workouts for several days back to back. Keys to success are proper nutrition, recovery, sleep during the block, and having _at minimum_ an equal number of days to recover.

Also I discovered that it works best for me if I start the first day with short/intens stuff like Tabata's, then the next day 4-5min stuff, then the 3rd day 20 min stuff, and the last day all I could manage was tempo.

(not that I'm a cycling God or anything):
Don't go selling yourself short. :)

i get up at 4:30am M-F, drive 45 miles to the gym, ride a spin bike for 60-85mins. I work from 7:30-6:30pm, home by 8-8:30pm, in bed at 9:30. repeat. I race Cat 4. works for me.

I don't really "train" per se, but I ride a lot. So, for what it's worth, I stay pretty fit commuting. It kills two birds with one stone. I'm sure there are shortcomings if I intended to really race or have some kind of program, but depending on how specific and scientific you want to get, commuting lets you get a lot of miles in without taxing other parts of your life, and that ain't bad.

how do you jive your training wtih work? I work ~3 miles from my condo, and I ride most of the time. I skipped this week because ive been working 10-11hr days on a failure investigation.

From Basic Training for Roadies by Fred Matheny: here's a 7 hours a week, weekly schedule that works for many riders:

Monday: Rest day with 15 minutes of resistance training.
Tuesday: Ride 1 hour with 3-8 sprints or other short, hard efforts.
Wednesday: Ride 1 hour at a steady, moderate pace.
Thursday: Ride 1 hour including about 20 minutes of any type of hard effort.
Friday: Rest day with 15 minutes of resistance training.
Saturday: Ride 1 hour at an easy pace.
Sunday: Ride 3 hours at a varied pace. Group rides or hilly courses are good choices.

Remember, intensity is one key to this program. If you could ride 200 to 400 miles per week, sheer volume would guarantee a high level of fitness. But you can't.

I'm with Pablo in that I commute at least 3-4 days per week putting in 20miles each way which gives me 6-8+ hrs right there. I pick a route that helps with my training goals and ride accordingly. Some days/routes are endurance other days/routes are intervals.

On the weekend I throw in either a long ride 55+miles with the club at a pretty brisk pace or I'm racing.

Main point:
1) If you love to bike/want to get more in, adjust your schedule and habits to accommodate.

I skipped this week because ive been working 10-11hr days on a failure investigation.

Are you getting to/off work when it's dark (therefore the reason for the driving)? Can you provide some more insight here?

My vote would be to commute even on the long days, just for the exercise and stress reduction.

i get up at 4:30am M-F, drive 45 miles to the gym, ride a spin bike for 60-85mins. I work from 7:30-6:30pm, home by 8-8:30pm, in bed at 9:30. repeat. I race Cat 4. works for me.

when do you live your life though???

If anyone has any insight I would also love to know. As a nurse I work 7 days in a row, 12 hour shifts at night. I can ride a lot my 7 days off, but I'm lost on training on my work week.

I know how it is Im an RT and used to 12hr work nights 4x a week when I first started. The only way I could get any type of workout in on those days would be to wake up an hour or two earlier and get to it. Some times I would get a workout in right after work but that would keep me up till about 12pm.

Bent! Just saw this!

Here is my thread on a similar question...

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=118515

Answers are probably along the same lines.

I'm getting a taste of reality myself this week. My wife is out of town, and I'm running the house and keeping an 8 year old in line. That, my friends, is a full time job. After leaving my job at 5, I head over to pick her up, and we get some exercise in the swimming pool for an hour. Then it's head home, make some dinner, and then get organized for the next day. That means bath, hair drying, clothes, book bag. Then, it's after 9pm before you know it!!!

It certainly takes two people to run our house. The bike just completely got ignored yesterday. Plus, Mondays and Tuesdays just suck for me anyway!

this same post comes up alot, quite often young kids are involved as well. I work 7:30am to 6:30pm M-F. I commute 45 mins in the AM, 1.5hrs at night. I get up at 4:30am, get home at 8pm and go to bed at 9:30. I train my ass off on a spin bike at the gym near my office from 5:30am-7am. I am a competitive Cat 4. how bad do you want it? BTW, 2 years ago I was 210 and am now 182 at 8% BF. I hired a nutrionist. i also have a 5 and 2 year old. if I dont exercise, stress gets to me. if i don't race, i dont like to exercise. i"m caught in a loop, but at least its constructive....

at least it[']s constructive....Is it?