Leg day

jc1961AA

question: I have been doing a PHUL program for the past few weeks. It's going ok and I am enjoying it. Regarding leg day, i have signed up to do a bike ride in June, and I need to prepare for it (~54 miles with a serious climb apparently), i will need to go out on the bike at least twice a week. Today i was supposed to have my leg day, but because the weather was great, decided to go out on the bike and managed to do ~20 miles. Can I skip the leg day tomorrow and go to my day 3 of my program (upper body)? Can i relax on my leg session while i am preparing for the ride? Thanks
J

cwolfman13

Have you ever done a half century before?

You'll probably need more like 3-4x per week on the bike to train for a 1/2 century...at least if you want to be comfortable doing it...I've done them when I've been lax on my training and finished, but I felt like *kitten* afterwards too.

I'd also recommend following a guided plan rather than just going out and doing whatever miles. You'll also want to make sure your routes have some hills to work.

I love cycling and this is basically the template I follow when I'm training for a half century, but I start on week 3 because I ride about 50 miles per week for my normal exercise and fitness. If you don't ride much, you may even want to take a couple extra weeks and ramp up more slowly.

Week Monday Wednesday Weekend Weekly total

Week 1 6 miles 9 miles 12 miles 27 miles
Week 2 9 miles 12 miles 20 miles 41 miles
Week 3 12 miles 12 miles 25 miles 49 miles
Week 4 12 miles 20 miles 28 miles 60 miles
Week 5 13 miles 25 miles 30 miles 68 miles
Week 6 13 miles 25 miles 35 miles 73 miles
Week 7 15 miles 30 miles 40 miles 85 miles
Week 8 20 miles 30 miles 50 miles 100 miles

50 miles is definitely doable, but it is a challenge and something you need to train properly for. This plan starts out fairly easy, but ramps up quickly and you'll need plenty or rest and recovery once you're in the 60-100 miles per week territory. Ride at a comfortable pace and don't worry about speed. By the end of the training, you should be able to knock out 80-100 miles per week.

This is 3x per week, but sometimes I've had to split the mid week longer rides into two rides just due to time and other obligations.

I'm not sure I could train for a 1/2 century and do a program like PHUL. Typically, lifting takes a back seat when I'm training for a cycling event.

jc1961AA

I have done some cycling rides before, 100milers, and the South Down over 2 days (which was brutal because of the amount of climbs). I don't want really lose what I have managed to acquire with PHUL as it is working really well for me. The ride i am doing in June is not going to be a race (well i think though it's a few of us doing it and I know that when the people egos start kicking in, we may end up with some competitiveness), I am really planning on just finishing comfortably and not trying to get a PB, hopefully it will be more like a social ride. Doing 4 days a week with PHUL and 3 days on the bike is just not possible for me because of work and family life unfortunately. I may be able to put some weeks 3 rides in, but obviously i will need to kick back the gym. Hence my question, when cycling i will be working out obviously my cardio and my letg (obviously not the same type as heavy lifting) but still the old pegs will be doing something. So quite happy to just work out the upper body for now until the ride is done. I guess i am answering my own question.
PS: first time on the bike today since last year, with the weight loss and work i have done on my legs, i felt more than comfortable, the only sore point was my butt, but i know from experience that it will get better by spending more time on the saddle

jflongo

jc1961AA wrote: »

question: I have been doing a PHUL program for the past few weeks. It's going ok and I am enjoying it. Regarding leg day, i have signed up to do a bike ride in June, and I need to prepare for it (~54 miles with a serious climb apparently), i will need to go out on the bike at least twice a week. Today i was supposed to have my leg day, but because the weather was great, decided to go out on the bike and managed to do ~20 miles. Can I skip the leg day tomorrow and go to my day 3 of my program (upper body)? Can i relax on my leg session while i am preparing for the ride? Thanks
J

IMO, you should be flexible and adjust your schedule. If today was your leg day and you went for a bike ride instead, just adjust your schedule by 1 day. Do legs the following day and move everything by one day. Or if you want, just skip leg day, up to you. Don't sweat it.

jc1961AA

Thanks Jflongo. I probably will do that. Maybe do 1 leg session per week when possible