I just wanted to quickly share with you some of the sessions i have been doing over the last few weeks. I have stopped on the swimming ergo and doing upper body circuit training. My ribs and chest are still recovering from all that trauma so the timing of me being able to start back on the bike was just in time. Otherwise potentially I would have been dealing with sore legs and a stress fracture to my rib.
I have been doing all my sessions on stationary bikes in the gym. These bikes have power meters on them which is great because it means it is possible to track very accurately how things are progressing. It is much safer for me to be on a stat bike as i can easily control the intensity compared to if i was on the road, the stop start associated on the road and also accelerations would potentially hurt my repairing soft tissue. I also do not see it smart heading out on the road as the first cyclist that decided to pass me would immediately enter into an unknown race with me and once that white line fever kicks in my self control in regards to being careful on the bike may very quickly be thrown out the window.
Anyways, I will keep this as basic as possible, I understand not of all you will understand. But hopefully the graph shows it simply enough.
Initially i started on the bike for 10mins @125 watts on the 25th July (18 days ago). progressed to 20mins @163watts and from there was able to progress to 30mins starting at 186 watts on the 1st Aug (11 days ago). Below shows all the 30mins from then on. Basically now i am at a point where i probably need to do about 50-60 of these 30min efforts at around 330-360Watts in the next few months. Following surgery last year i followed the same progression and after around 4-5 months i was able to 4x30min in one session averaging 360 Watts. So that is where i hope to get to again. I will update this graph as i get further down the track. It will be interesting to track power output versus HR data over time.
Obviously very pleased with how things are tracking so far. And i must admit to now be able to commute in to the gym on my MTB and complete 2x30min at an intensity that is somewhat respectable is a great feeling, and is certainly reducing the mental stress associated with being inactive out of the equation significantly.
Below shows me pictured on the bike last Saturday morning happy with how things are tracking.
A pretty big turn around from crawling around the house only 6 weeks ago..
If you have any questions about what i am up to please comment or let me know so i can include it in future posts. In regards to the training you could consider this a mini case study and I am happy to share all the data, just so long as some of you younger kids don't learn too quickly and start beating me. haha
Lastly some housekeeping, if you are on twitter please follow me '@johnlinke' as i regularly post pictures and data from my training sessions.
Regards, John
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying reading all your posts. I'm interested to hear what some of the current Aussie rowers would be getting for the sessions you are currently doing on the watt bike? Also, when do you think you'll be able to get back on the ergo and in the boat?
Good luck for your recovery.
I can't comment on the aussie rowers at the moment as they are doing all their training on the water preparing for the world champs. However, as i mentioned in the post, my best stuff last year saw me doing 4x30mins averaging 360 watts.
DeleteKeep reading my posts as i plan that within the next few months i will be back pushing some big numbers and i will be sure to share. I plan to be back on the ergo in 3 weeks time if all goes to plan, and following 3 weeks of ergo work i will start rowing again, just in time for the long distance time trials held in australia late each year. Thanks for following and for your questions. Cheers, John
That is great news John, I look forward to hearing about how it all goes in the coming weeks. The others better watch out once you hit the water!
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