I mostly ride on my own so I was following these advices already without knowing it. Did a four hour ride today and stopping time was maybe five minutes or less. Constant pressure is my way to get up my time but now I understand the pros of it much better. Great video and advice! 👍
I remember the first video I watched on your channel a few years ago. You talked about constant pressure. I was a notorious free wheeler. Changing my style of riding was the best thing I ever did for my fitness. Riding indoors helped to get myself more accustomed to it. It takes a bit of mental discipline.
Ride fixed gear or single speed. If you have a busy schedule and can’t go on long rides but still want to build endurance ride a Halfbike. All of these options require constant pedal pressure during the entire ride.
I also ride the mountain bike which often demands more power typically. Mix up the routine. I use to own a single speed which is super fun on rolling terrain, but also reinforces the concept of constant peddling.
A couple important things that weren't mentioned in the video. - Nutrition: Proper fueling before, during, and after a training ride. - Pacing: Riding easy enough to complete the goal duration. - Recovery: Giving you're body time to make adaptations to the stimulus. If you have a busy life and you deal with a lot of "life stress". You might be better off using one day of your weekend for a "long ride" and the other day for a short 1-2 hour ride.
"- Pacing: Riding easy enough to complete the goal duration. " -- that is not how you build your endurance, it's literally cheating your way out of progressive overload.
@@peeterl.2016 I really don't have a desire to argue about this. So I'll just show you my hand. Pacing or the self-regulation of power, speed, or energy expenditure is one of the most important skills for optimizing endurance performance. If you require references happy to post some links to good articles in a reply. Progressive Overload can be achieved in different ways. For example increased duration, intensity, or frequency. And of course, even if you did the same training for 3 weeks in a row you would accumulate more and more training fatigue over a block of training weeks making each week progressively harder than the last. I don't understand how you have come to the conclusion that pacing which is basically training sustainably is cheating yourself out of progressive overload. But if you can explain then I'm interested to hear.
@@jamiegiven I totally agree, I've done plenty of 100km rides and my last long ride was nearer 200km, so I decided to pace myself and not chase those hills etc, and I felt fine at the end of my ride, could have easily done another 100km. I'm now building for ultra events (500km+) and I'll use pacing to make sure I complete them, and still have enough in the tank if needed.
Great tips! I have a friend who is a very accomplished cyclist, but he lives in an area with a lot of climbs, so while he's a very good climber, he freewheels on the way down. So when he comes here to Florida during the winter, he has a very hard time staying on the pedals for even 2 hours because he's used to giving his legs a rest pretty often. We don't have any climbs in Florida that are so big you can freewheel for any real length of time, so we're good time trialists because we're used to pedaling constantly. That being said, what people are going to find is that it's not easy maintaining the same wattage going down a hill as going up. It's really easy to keep a 200-250 watt average up a climb, but trying to keep that wattage going downhill? Good luck. My endurance wattage is around 175, and even that wattage going down a hill takes some effort. But I've been using the polarized training method for a long time, so I'm used to staying in my endurance zone whether I'm going uphill, downhill, or on a flat road. Lastly, if you're going to build endurance, you have to stop caring what other people are going to think about your Strava stats. Those stats are there for you, and you only. There's nothing wrong with coming home with a 16 or 17mph avg because you did an endurance ride.
At 65 I find the stopping part occurs for me as one or two natural breaks per ride. They also take longer now, so I will excuse myself from that one. I do the other two, they were the philosophy 45 years ago. We called it long slow distance (LSD) training.
Constant pressure is a bit tricky if I go out in the mountains here in Japan. Often 2-300 meters of climbing, but double digit gradients with very technical descents. You're taking your life into your hands if you pedal down that :-) On the plus side, you usually get a good 5-10 km between significant hills and the descents don't take *that* much time. Plus, I just move my endurance training into my hands as I desperately brake!
I wouldn't worry about it too much. The best riders I coach (~400w FTPs) accelerate out of corners, coast on descents, and their power files look really stochastic. It's too bad I can't post a photo because none of their rides look like erg mode. Maybe this is why it's not recommended as best practice to use erg mode.
I live in Kumamoto-ken. The hills here are crazy too. Try to find a route with 2-5 % descents, or ride on the trainer at your Zone 2 power for longer and longer.
I sit on an indoor trainer. 20kg flywheel. I routinely ride two hours, sometimes more, without stopping. No spinning. Cadence 60 rpm at close to 4 watts/kg. In two hours I'll drink 3 litres of electrolyte. No food needed. HR in Zone 2. After around 50 minutes my power increases while my HR lowers, same cadence! Constant pressure. Outside ride is for fun but it's too uncontrolled for training purposes.
Riding for an hour on a trainer for me would be pretty boring. 45 minutes is about all I had handle. There are other things I need to do. And if I attempted 2 hours...I'd probably end up shooting myself.
If you are constantly training on an indoor training and look at rides outside as just for fun, then what exactly are you training for? Races on an indoor trainer?
This year it is 30 years I started this best hobby a man can have. From the beginning, I never ever freewheeled downhill, I always rode as fast as my legs let me go - a fast descent was (and still is) my reward for the hard yards uphill. Especially since I found a descent where I can go up to 60 mph downhill, but also when I ride slower, it is always a great satisfaction for me when I can hold cars behind me. I found out that i can go remarkable faster downhill when I rode uphill on the big chainring before.
It’s winter in northern Pennsylvania. The spin bike in my basement gives me great constant pressure and the ability to change resistance. Looking forward to spring
Thanks for the information. I'm starting constant pressure today. However, it's a little bit scarry pedaling on descends with constant pressure. Without pedaling I gain 50, 60 km/h... with pressure I can reach up to 80 km/h on the mountains. I'm not confident after 60 km/h. Thanks again for the information.
I remember after Frank Shorter won the '72 Olympics, he was asked about his training, he said, every one runs hard up the hills and coasts down the back, he runs hard up and down the hills. I guess that is an analogy to your constant pressure.
One thing is using Zwift and doing rides. The 2/3 rule definitely applies as you are freewheeling unless you are heading down the Alpe or Vontoux. Most of the downhills require pedaling or you will slow down quickly.
Good video, and constant pressure is good for training but objectively not the fastest. Since aero drag scales exponentially with your speed, pushing an additional 10W gives you more benefit at slow speed than at high speed. In a TT you should always push slightly harder going uphill or into a headwind, and recover slightly when going downhill or in a tailwind.
Great one Cam, yes hard to do constant pressure for a few hours. It’s super hard to do it down hill. The steep hills that is.my last peaks I did 25min stopping time.
Thanks RCA there are no easy ways to get fit just keep at it getting in the miles using a fixed gear for a part of winter training helps loved the common sense video RCA.
In some of the comments below, people identify how hard it can feel to do long zone II rides. I’ve found the magic for me is doing it on my trainer in erg mode with a great movie or two on. It takes my mind off of the slow grind…and helps me get better.
Re: actual pedaling time on flat vs hilly terrain, this is my experience: I started doing (recreational) road riding about a year ago, and I noticed that long, flat rides tended to be more 'uncomfortable' than rolling terrain of the same time duration, which was against my expectation. Even though I tend to keep pedaling down the hills, I think now, in retrospective, this change in pace and posture is what's the main thing missing on flat rides, because I tend to spend more time in the same position, and that's what is causing problems on longer rides, rather than sole effort accumulated. What's bad for training (no "constant pressure" + freewheeling a lot), I think is good for the "big day", when you want to maximize resilience.
I've been pushing as such since the 80's when I lived in the U.S. San Jose Ca. I'd just keep on pushing until I'm ready to brake, all the while I'll still be pedalling, I'll find some reserves and go at it again until I get my 2nd wind, then I'm good again.
I never freewheel even if I have to spin 110rpm downhill. Been doing weekly 4 hour rides for years, doing few blocks of back to back long days on weekend still gave a great boost on my endurance and teaches you fueling. Now working on doing some tempo on the last hour of a long ride. Lots of ways to progress.
Agree 100%, all my outdoor rides I only stop for red lights and slow down for stop signs, I have everything on me or the bike. But here, in north suburds of Montreal there's not that many places where you can refill the bottles, it's a pain.
giong up hard and easy down is the fastest way you get over a hill. On the hard/slow side nearly every watt is going into speed. on the downhill you have to fight the wind. The faster you go the harder you have to push to get even faster. But you also win a hell lot of time when you push extra hard over the top until you reach your desceding speed. But for training: stick to your zones
Good video and tips overall. I do take issue with anyone who says constant pressure is as fast over rolling terrain as pushing on hills. This is patently not true, and shows a misunderstanding of the basic math of average pace.
2-3 hours of constant pressure/pedaling in training translates into at least 4-5 hours on an event ride or long day ride with stops and/or a bit of energy saving coasting. Basically it enables you to simulate the longer rides in a shorter time slot. You want your training to be efficient and effective, and then be able to preserve your energy throughout the longer event/day ride. You have to train the one way, then do it pretty much the opposite way on the big ride, assuming you're 'riding, not racing'. 👍
Great content thanks RCA team for the late Chrissie present! 🎁 I enjoy outside time more for the scenery and the vitamin D but this is a solid reminder that nothing packs in more value than constant pressure on an indoor trainer session. Resisting those sausage rolls at those bakeries in the hills can be hard too 😅
constant pressure = zwift/indoor, its interesting looking at cadence outdoor vs indoor, due to stops etc, outdoor is a jagged graph up and down, where indoor cadence is constant TT mode. big benefit, you guys probably need to re-contextualize your z2 endurance approach into how indoor can build supreme z2 power and hr ... no interruptions. It translates to real world cycling extremely well.
My approach re consistent pressure is do it indoors as less chances of stoppage and can go as long as you like and also adding in a fixed gear bike IRL every now and then. I also find riding alone great for endurance as your not sucking along in the wheels getting over stated speed averages for way less effort.
My ideal solution for greater endurance would be a new set of lungs. At 56yo I was put on Ventolin by a GP who was surprised I wasn't diagnosed with Asthma. I mentioned it to my Mum who said you were after an infection as a baby. We just threw you into a swimming pool at the age of five on the advice of another GP. This did wonders for me personally, but it explains why I was so far behind my brothers and school mates in endurance. So you know lungs. Having said that, the constant pressure thing is better on rides that don't have serious climbs or descents. For example I once got up to 82kph on a 300 metre descent. I was never going to take a 45 degree corner on a descent at that speed with only half a road to use. But rides like in the parks or along tracks like Fernleigh in Newcastle, the ascents and descents are more gradual but long and take some effort to complete. All that said, my biggest problem now is confidence. I am getting back from a long break due to illness and don't have the confidence in my capacity to achieve any kind of distance without a aerobic blow out.
To do this, you also need the right material. No compact crank, better larger chainrings to be able to pedal at higher speeds. But then bigger cassettes. At the same time, the efficiency of the drive also increases.
@@motostarmx1777 The best climbers have about 6 W/kg FTP, the less W/kg you have, the smaller the gear you have to ride on the mountain. Because it takes me almost twice as long on the mountain as the Strava Kom, I have to ride 34/34 at the age of 57 to be able to ride up my local mountain with over 8% average gradient while sitting. Professionals can ride Alpe du Huez with 40 T with current Dura Ace.
Been doing constant pressure for some time now, only problem is long double digit descents when my legs can't keep up the pressure - a good bit to go then tuck, not far to go then light spin often adjusting gears for the next part of the route. After a fair bit of riding I may come across about a 1% descent - stretch out the legs and stand and contort the body - nutrition and hydration then back at it refreshed with no stops.
What will help is doing efforts up a long 7 k climb. My best is ×4 times. I freewheel down this climb as it very twisty & bumpy & then there is the wild life . Usually head out 4 another 45/60 minutes depending on the Wind . Very Windy in the town & surrounding towns down here in Victoria However on other long rides with hills l continue with the pedal pressure
Constant pressure? Ride on rollers. You have to keep pedaling (unless you hold on to something). Simple and inexpensive way to train. Great way to gauge fitness gains (or loss) too because outdoor variables - road condition, wind, weather, etc - are eliminated.
Another great RCA discussion! Ta. Helps remind me how to best use my Cervelo RCA investment, too. Did ACDC ask who made who? RCA or RCA; Cervelo started that before 2012, btw. ;-) It sounds a little like you're suggesting that a lot of rider's biggest struggle is with the act of thinking wisely, for themselves, especially when taxing their bodies. Perhaps not so much 'riding wisely'! Does improved riding only come from good habit-forming, only after focused adaptation? I may overthink too many things but under-thinking? No, thanks, that's not something I want to adapt to doing. I've learned the hard way that it pays to always be very switched on when riding, no ABS brakes (yet), no seatbelts, and no crumple zones on any bike. You snooze, you loose. Drivers try to guarantee that for us. 50 years of cycling hasn't hurt either, I guess, but, I am still always readapting. Life is full of ups and downs, not only on the roads. Returning now to riding after a fractured skull thanks to an assault. Step by step, readapt. My 17yo decision to go with 60/46T & 13-28t gearing taught me to always pedal downhill, even if my buddies always tried to use my slipstream. What a blast, 60, 70, 86kph. Sounds like our world of specialisation has so many riders not using their own brains when they ride while they have their 'time off' from their daily grind. Being switched on throughout a ride is also an adaption that successful cycling requires. Perhaps they sit at the back of their group and never see any wind either! Want more time on your bike during the week, commute! I've done 5 x 20kms x 2 & 3 x 30kms x 3 and what a benefit that brought, though an 8:15pm bedtime was tough for a 4:15am wake-up for those 30kay rides until I relearned just what a joy traffic free roads could bring to riding.
If you spend half of the ride climbing a big hill and the other half descending that big hill, the time spent doing each is not 50/50 as these guys gloss over.
All the points about endurance are very relevant. However the guy on the left made a huge mistake about cyclists being faster by pushing harder on descent to be faster overall. Actually the exact opposite is true. It is much more efficient to push harder on the climb because aerodynamics forces opposing your progression are much lower at lower speed (ascent) than during the descent. In other words the extra watts that you put out on the way down get you drastically diminishing returns compared to the watts on the climb.
I've got into doing 20 minutes of pushing in 1 or 2 gears higher than normal, now only 5 weeks later I'm up to 30 minutes with 10 minutes rest, I say rest it's more lighter gear to spin the legs out. Regards stopping time it's more a case of stop get water and go, I tend to eat and drink on the go ( ever 15 to 20 minutes ) " get comfortable with being uncomfortable "
Just recently started cycling. I'm still in early training and my quads burn out sooner than I'd like. My breathing and heart rate are just fine though. I never get exhausted just sore too soon.
Coming from fixed gear I always pedal and actually have to force myself to coast a bit when I see my heart going over 180 just so I can catch a little break 😂 different people same problems just opposite 😅
for optimal aerobic adaptation i would recommend people ride to heart rate (zone 2) rather than power, as heart-rate will probably drift into zone 3 or 4 over the course of 4 hours.
none definitive. but whichever system you use it is important you know your max heart rate. mine is 8 beats higher than 220-minus-age (it will change with fitness). the point of the 5 zone model is to give amateur athletes an approximate idea of what energy system is being trained and what the likely substrate use is. a formula which is 3 or 4 beats high/low won't make much difference. only the lab test is accurate.@@paulwright1150
Stephen Seiler covers this in his Zone 2 presentation, heart rate drift in Zone 2 should not occur under an hour. Finding that one hour HR, start upping the power a little at a time until the drift starts. That is your next Zone 2 1 hour goal.
The indoor trainer I use in my gym go into stand by if you stop peddling and I've been in the just an average of 9 hours a week for the whole of winter ill be interested to find out how much it changes my road riding
The best way for your buddy to maximize his 100k fitness is to ride a 100k 3 or 4 weekends consecutively. Each week the body will adapt on the molecular level enhancing the progression. By the fourth week he'll be riding 60 miles like a champ.
Minimum stopping time How long should you stop ( in minutes) I ride 2.5 hours 6 days a week with an average stopping time of 5 minutes per stop. Mostly to rehydrate,nature break or minor mechanical As for continuous pedaling. I'm working on that. Like you said it is hard but getting easier. It's more out of habit to freewheel.. At least for me
Generally, how long does it take to ""absorb"" fitness from a long ride?? Last week I did my longest ride, 70kms. That's long for me, for now. My goal for my next session is 100km. I'll slow down on the session if I have to, to get 100km. Roughly, how long between big rides should you wait to have the fitness from the previous long ride absorbed, so that you can go further on the next one?? Thanks
I heard about constant pressure before I even started training with the RCA LOL. Really is beaten into you. As such, though, I’ve been able to ride 4+ hours on weekends while only riding 1-2 hours per ride in the week. Also, what fancy software are you using to get the riding info overlaid on screen?
Well, at least one thing in my training is top! My vicinity is completely flat, so the pressure is constantly on as long as I take roads with a minimum of traffic lights which I obviously do.
What do you do if you're riding 24 hours on the first day, get an hour and a half of sleep, ride another 28 hours, sleep for an hour and a half, then you wear out about 12 hours in. How do you build the endurance for the third day? I can do a 100K, 200K, 300K, 400K, 600K. But I had problems with 1200K. I can't see doing this kind of distance every weekend.
my best friend for constant pressure is Z2 training on trainer.. At first didnt realise how difficult it is going on a trainer for Z2 for 1 hour, compared to a tempo on the road but it has really brought my endurance up over time
Does Constant Pressure mean that the force exerted on the pedals should be consistent regarldess of gradient etc, or is it enough to have some pressure exerted on the pedals at all times without too much concern for how much pressure? Thanks
OK i;m a bit confused. If you can break up a 4-6 hour ride over two days and get the same benefetis then by that logic doing 4 1 hour rides on consecutive days is the equivalent of doing a 4 hour ride?
Is it ok to coast (freewheel) now and then, for a few seconds, to recover and let the lactic acid dissipate? Or, is it more that if you need to recover, you're doing it wrong and are not really in Zone 2?
I find zone 2 very difficult. 2 hours of mid to high sweet spot is way easier for me than 2-3 hours endurance. It's uncomfortable and boring. Low or mid zone 2 for long periods is just impossible until my effective FTP is much lower after 3-4 hours of hard efforts. I can't hold it.
For me - it's not hard to do 150-180 km keeping that 30--31 kmh (solo), but hard to squeeze the sprints. As for endurance - just don't forget to fuel yourself.
Did you remember that it's winter here in Germany? Driving outside is hardly possible, at least here in the south, due to snow and ice. Just for your info. 😉😊
5:28 I get it that they compare constant pressure to pedaling hard uphill and not pedaling at all downhill - but the fastest way is to somewhat increase the power up and recover on a downhill, while still doing some work, but less (well, unless you are going some 60+ km/h - depending on your aerodynamics - at which point it's faster to tuck in without pedaling at all)
When we stop on a group ride, I feel shit when I start again. My legs just can’t get going again. Mind you we don’t stop that often on our rides unless we have weaker riders with us.
Unless you live somewhere fairly flat with no stoplights or stop signs, constant pressure doesn't seem to be very practical IRL. However, indoors on the trainer? Very doable. Applying the power nonstop for an hour or two, even if doing Z2, is deceptively hard work.
Constant pressure is easy to achieve on a heavy, inefficient commuter bike with heavy tires, racks etc. Riding with a vertical torso on a beater will keep you constantly pedaling, as freewheeling causes instant loss of speed. Plus you don't put mileage and wear on your bling bling bike.
I find constant pressure difficult to do also. I don't know how you guys can do it going down a hill. Are you all blasting down at 80kph? I don't know what cadence is acceptable when I'm trying to train for it. I look at all the hitters in my area and I can see they can do it at 90rpm going downhill and with power. Are they riding the brakes to get that resistance? Whenever I try it I end up spinning out to 150rpm.
Ok, got a question on constant pressure vs cadence in something like a Z2 ride. I find that currently, I need to be in a harder gear and pedal slower to keep in Z2 (at least on flatish) as spinning faster in an easier gear seems to raise my HR.. I guess my question is how much pressure is constant pressure? is it anything other than just pure freewheeling? Thanks!!
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
Constant pressure was a game changer for me! Doing a Z2 ride at constant pressure is real work!
Seems so slow lol .🍺
Zwift pacer rides taught me that. It really increases your fitness level
how do you measure you're at constant pressure? does this equal doing a constant power in z2 on zwift for example?
I mostly ride on my own so I was following these advices already without knowing it. Did a four hour ride today and stopping time was maybe five minutes or less. Constant pressure is my way to get up my time but now I understand the pros of it much better. Great video and advice! 👍
I remember the first video I watched on your channel a few years ago. You talked about constant pressure. I was a notorious free wheeler. Changing my style of riding was the best thing I ever did for my fitness. Riding indoors helped to get myself more accustomed to it. It takes a bit of mental discipline.
“notorious freewheelers” should be a team name
I learned constant pressure from you, zone 2 is something I’ve been working on now for the last year and my riding has improved significantly.
If you want constant pressure training where you don’t stop peddling, get on a track bike for an hour
I call my fixed gear my 'anti-lazy' bike
That’s what I just posted hahaha but I ride fixed gear 70% of the time so I’m biased
Ride fixed gear or single speed. If you have a busy schedule and can’t go on long rides but still want to build endurance ride a Halfbike. All of these options require constant pedal pressure during the entire ride.
I also ride the mountain bike which often demands more power typically. Mix up the routine. I use to own a single speed which is super fun on rolling terrain, but also reinforces the concept of constant peddling.
Riding on the turbo in zwift is also a lot of constant load
A couple important things that weren't mentioned in the video.
- Nutrition: Proper fueling before, during, and after a training ride.
- Pacing: Riding easy enough to complete the goal duration.
- Recovery: Giving you're body time to make adaptations to the stimulus. If you have a busy life and you deal with a lot of "life stress". You might be better off using one day of your weekend for a "long ride" and the other day for a short 1-2 hour ride.
"- Pacing: Riding easy enough to complete the goal duration. " -- that is not how you build your endurance, it's literally cheating your way out of progressive overload.
@@peeterl.2016 I really don't have a desire to argue about this. So I'll just show you my hand.
Pacing or the self-regulation of power, speed, or energy expenditure is one of the most important skills for optimizing endurance performance. If you require references happy to post some links to good articles in a reply.
Progressive Overload can be achieved in different ways. For example increased duration, intensity, or frequency. And of course, even if you did the same training for 3 weeks in a row you would accumulate more and more training fatigue over a block of training weeks making each week progressively harder than the last.
I don't understand how you have come to the conclusion that pacing which is basically training sustainably is cheating yourself out of progressive overload. But if you can explain then I'm interested to hear.
@@jamiegiven I totally agree, I've done plenty of 100km rides and my last long ride was nearer 200km, so I decided to pace myself and not chase those hills etc, and I felt fine at the end of my ride, could have easily done another 100km. I'm now building for ultra events (500km+) and I'll use pacing to make sure I complete them, and still have enough in the tank if needed.
@@peeterl.2016 you get progressive overload by building the duration of the rides.
Nutrition recovery and intensity control. Thanks captain obvious. How insightful of you. We are all better for you regurgitating the same old bs.
Headwind rides will whip you into shape. And work great for constant pressure
Agreed its like one giant hill..
@@motostarmx1777 exactly! and like a downhill when it's time to turn around
We have no hills here, but the wind........
God yes I hate headwinds but it really has made a difference
I hate headwinds, I rode about 90 mins of 3h30 hour ride into the wind at the weekend, I was ruined at the end but Im sure its done me some good 😂
Great tips! I have a friend who is a very accomplished cyclist, but he lives in an area with a lot of climbs, so while he's a very good climber, he freewheels on the way down. So when he comes here to Florida during the winter, he has a very hard time staying on the pedals for even 2 hours because he's used to giving his legs a rest pretty often. We don't have any climbs in Florida that are so big you can freewheel for any real length of time, so we're good time trialists because we're used to pedaling constantly.
That being said, what people are going to find is that it's not easy maintaining the same wattage going down a hill as going up. It's really easy to keep a 200-250 watt average up a climb, but trying to keep that wattage going downhill? Good luck. My endurance wattage is around 175, and even that wattage going down a hill takes some effort. But I've been using the polarized training method for a long time, so I'm used to staying in my endurance zone whether I'm going uphill, downhill, or on a flat road.
Lastly, if you're going to build endurance, you have to stop caring what other people are going to think about your Strava stats. Those stats are there for you, and you only. There's nothing wrong with coming home with a 16 or 17mph avg because you did an endurance ride.
Get a fixed gear and train on it!
At 65 I find the stopping part occurs for me as one or two natural breaks per ride. They also take longer now, so I will excuse myself from that one. I do the other two, they were the philosophy 45 years ago. We called it long slow distance (LSD) training.
And we rode fixed gear too, typically with a 68”. Nothing new really.
Constant pressure is a bit tricky if I go out in the mountains here in Japan. Often 2-300 meters of climbing, but double digit gradients with very technical descents. You're taking your life into your hands if you pedal down that :-) On the plus side, you usually get a good 5-10 km between significant hills and the descents don't take *that* much time. Plus, I just move my endurance training into my hands as I desperately brake!
Where are you in Japan?
@@h20s8804 Shizuoka
I wouldn't worry about it too much. The best riders I coach (~400w FTPs) accelerate out of corners, coast on descents, and their power files look really stochastic. It's too bad I can't post a photo because none of their rides look like erg mode. Maybe this is why it's not recommended as best practice to use erg mode.
I live in Kumamoto-ken. The hills here are crazy too. Try to find a route with 2-5 % descents, or ride on the trainer at your Zone 2 power for longer and longer.
Japan is incredible for riding. I lived in Niigata-Ken in the early 90's.@@stuartmisfeldt3068
I have always used a fixed gear/Track bike or indoor Spin Bike to get continuous pedal pressure at specific watts per my training requirements.
I sit on an indoor trainer. 20kg flywheel. I routinely ride two hours, sometimes more, without stopping. No spinning. Cadence 60 rpm at close to 4 watts/kg. In two hours I'll drink 3 litres of electrolyte. No food needed. HR in Zone 2. After around 50 minutes my power increases while my HR lowers, same cadence! Constant pressure.
Outside ride is for fun but it's too uncontrolled for training purposes.
Ur knees obviously Hate u 4 killing them
Riding for an hour on a trainer for me would be pretty boring. 45 minutes is about all I had handle. There are other things I need to do. And if I attempted 2 hours...I'd probably end up shooting myself.
If you are constantly training on an indoor training and look at rides outside as just for fun, then what exactly are you training for? Races on an indoor trainer?
This year it is 30 years I started this best hobby a man can have. From the beginning, I never ever freewheeled downhill, I always rode as fast as my legs let me go - a fast descent was (and still is) my reward for the hard yards uphill. Especially since I found a descent where I can go up to 60 mph downhill, but also when I ride slower, it is always a great satisfaction for me when I can hold cars behind me. I found out that i can go remarkable faster downhill when I rode uphill on the big chainring before.
This is the best easiest understand by podcast have listened to. I am a beginner. I’ve done one many try and I am training for 30 mile race.
It’s winter in northern Pennsylvania. The spin bike in my basement gives me great constant pressure and the ability to change resistance. Looking forward to spring
Yep. I live in the mountains, so constant pressure Z2 rides are better done on the smart trainer.
Coming from fixed gear to a road bike, I am very used to constant pressure. In fact I can't really get used to not needing to pedal all the time!
Thanks for the information. I'm starting constant pressure today. However, it's a little bit scarry pedaling on descends with constant pressure. Without pedaling I gain 50, 60 km/h... with pressure I can reach up to 80 km/h on the mountains. I'm not confident after 60 km/h. Thanks again for the information.
Great video! Since I applied constant pressure, I noticed I am riding in zone 2 and I am able to put pressure going down hills.
I remember after Frank Shorter won the '72 Olympics, he was asked about his training, he said, every one runs hard up the hills and coasts down the back, he runs hard up and down the hills. I guess that is an analogy to your constant pressure.
a more appropriate analogy would be coasting up and down the hill, not running hard up and down.
@@scotth3354 absolutely! Z2 up and Z2 down.
How does one coast while running? Plus running hard downhill is murder on the knees.
One thing is using Zwift and doing rides. The 2/3 rule definitely applies as you are freewheeling unless you are heading down the Alpe or Vontoux. Most of the downhills require pedaling or you will slow down quickly.
Good video, and constant pressure is good for training but objectively not the fastest. Since aero drag scales exponentially with your speed, pushing an additional 10W gives you more benefit at slow speed than at high speed. In a TT you should always push slightly harder going uphill or into a headwind, and recover slightly when going downhill or in a tailwind.
Great one Cam, yes hard to do constant pressure for a few hours. It’s super hard to do it down hill. The steep hills that is.my last peaks I did 25min stopping time.
Thanks RCA there are no easy ways to get fit just keep at it getting in the miles using a fixed gear for a part of winter training helps loved the common sense video RCA.
@roadcyclingacademy i went on my normal ride today and followed your advice and used constant pressure. Felt amazing! Big thanks 👍
In some of the comments below, people identify how hard it can feel to do long zone II rides. I’ve found the magic for me is doing it on my trainer in erg mode with a great movie or two on. It takes my mind off of the slow grind…and helps me get better.
Re: actual pedaling time on flat vs hilly terrain, this is my experience:
I started doing (recreational) road riding about a year ago, and I noticed that long, flat rides tended to be more 'uncomfortable' than rolling terrain of the same time duration, which was against my expectation.
Even though I tend to keep pedaling down the hills, I think now, in retrospective, this change in pace and posture is what's the main thing missing on flat rides, because I tend to spend more time in the same position, and that's what is causing problems on longer rides, rather than sole effort accumulated. What's bad for training (no "constant pressure" + freewheeling a lot), I think is good for the "big day", when you want to maximize resilience.
Never thought about stopping time. Thank you
I've been pushing as such since the 80's when I lived in the U.S. San Jose Ca. I'd just keep on pushing until I'm ready to brake, all the while I'll still be pedalling, I'll find some reserves and go at it again until I get my 2nd wind, then I'm good again.
I never freewheel even if I have to spin 110rpm downhill. Been doing weekly 4 hour rides for years, doing few blocks of back to back long days on weekend still gave a great boost on my endurance and teaches you fueling. Now working on doing some tempo on the last hour of a long ride. Lots of ways to progress.
You never freewheel ever ?
Not intentionally, a 5 hour ride might have a minute of freewheeling.@@grahamelliott6041
Agree 100%, all my outdoor rides I only stop for red lights and slow down for stop signs, I have everything on me or the bike. But here, in north suburds of Montreal there's not that many places where you can refill the bottles, it's a pain.
giong up hard and easy down is the fastest way you get over a hill. On the hard/slow side nearly every watt is going into speed. on the downhill you have to fight the wind. The faster you go the harder you have to push to get even faster. But you also win a hell lot of time when you push extra hard over the top until you reach your desceding speed. But for training: stick to your zones
I ride mostly alone so I don't have to deal with others asking to stop....or faffing around
Same here. I try to limit my group rides to one or two a week.
I bet you both have intestinal gas issues as well. No one would want to ride behind you 💩
Good video and tips overall. I do take issue with anyone who says constant pressure is as fast over rolling terrain as pushing on hills. This is patently not true, and shows a misunderstanding of the basic math of average pace.
2-3 hours of constant pressure/pedaling in training translates into at least 4-5 hours on an event ride or long day ride with stops and/or a bit of energy saving coasting. Basically it enables you to simulate the longer rides in a shorter time slot.
You want your training to be efficient and effective, and then be able to preserve your energy throughout the longer event/day ride. You have to train the one way, then do it pretty much the opposite way on the big ride, assuming you're 'riding, not racing'. 👍
Great content thanks RCA team for the late Chrissie present! 🎁 I enjoy outside time more for the scenery and the vitamin D but this is a solid reminder that nothing packs in more value than constant pressure on an indoor trainer session. Resisting those sausage rolls at those bakeries in the hills can be hard too 😅
When I train on flat terrain I use a fixed gear bike, and once I ride hills I use a road bike so I’m constantly pedaling on the fixed
constant pressure = zwift/indoor, its interesting looking at cadence outdoor vs indoor, due to stops etc, outdoor is a jagged graph up and down, where indoor cadence is constant TT mode. big benefit, you guys probably need to re-contextualize your z2 endurance approach into how indoor can build supreme z2 power and hr ... no interruptions. It translates to real world cycling extremely well.
My approach re consistent pressure is do it indoors as less chances of stoppage and can go as long as you like and also adding in a fixed gear bike IRL every now and then. I also find riding alone great for endurance as your not sucking along in the wheels getting over stated speed averages for way less effort.
My ideal solution for greater endurance would be a new set of lungs. At 56yo I was put on Ventolin by a GP who was surprised I wasn't diagnosed with Asthma. I mentioned it to my Mum who said you were after an infection as a baby. We just threw you into a swimming pool at the age of five on the advice of another GP. This did wonders for me personally, but it explains why I was so far behind my brothers and school mates in endurance. So you know lungs. Having said that, the constant pressure thing is better on rides that don't have serious climbs or descents. For example I once got up to 82kph on a 300 metre descent. I was never going to take a 45 degree corner on a descent at that speed with only half a road to use. But rides like in the parks or along tracks like Fernleigh in Newcastle, the ascents and descents are more gradual but long and take some effort to complete. All that said, my biggest problem now is confidence. I am getting back from a long break due to illness and don't have the confidence in my capacity to achieve any kind of distance without a aerobic blow out.
I love her you still call her "Mum" at 56. ❤
To do this, you also need the right material. No compact crank, better larger chainrings to be able to pedal at higher speeds. But then bigger cassettes. At the same time, the efficiency of the drive also increases.
? Compact cranks are needed for many on big hills.
@@motostarmx1777
The best climbers have about 6 W/kg FTP, the less W/kg you have, the smaller the gear you have to ride on the mountain. Because it takes me almost twice as long on the mountain as the Strava Kom, I have to ride 34/34 at the age of 57 to be able to ride up my local mountain with over 8% average gradient while sitting. Professionals can ride Alpe du Huez with 40 T with current Dura Ace.
Been doing constant pressure for some time now, only problem is long double digit descents when my legs can't keep up the pressure - a good bit to go then tuck, not far to go then light spin often adjusting gears for the next part of the route. After a fair bit of riding I may come across about a 1% descent - stretch out the legs and stand and contort the body - nutrition and hydration then back at it refreshed with no stops.
What will help is doing efforts up a long 7 k climb. My best is ×4 times. I freewheel down this climb as it very twisty & bumpy & then there is the wild life . Usually head out 4 another 45/60 minutes depending on the Wind . Very Windy in the town & surrounding towns down here in Victoria However on other long rides with hills l continue with the pedal pressure
I tried constant pressure today on my ride and it was hard! I think I did ok, but need to work on it going forward.
This is where people that live in the flatlands have an advantage as there is rarely any free wheeling unless you have a massive tailwind
I noticed huge improvements when, on group rides, I stayed at the front for the majority of the time. No coasting, constant pressure for sure.
I like to ride constant pressure zone 2 big ring riding. Have you got any socks with the logo Constant on one sock and Pressure on the other 😄
Constant pressure? Ride on rollers. You have to keep pedaling (unless you hold on to something). Simple and inexpensive way to train. Great way to gauge fitness gains (or loss) too because outdoor variables - road condition, wind, weather, etc - are eliminated.
This is me for at least the next 3 months...
My weak spot!!! Great topic.
I've got a steep hill near me and ride a compact. Constant pressure is 120rpms at 72kph lol. Not long but Is quite hard and gets me puffing !
Another great RCA discussion! Ta.
Helps remind me how to best use my Cervelo RCA investment, too. Did ACDC ask who made who? RCA or RCA; Cervelo started that before 2012, btw. ;-)
It sounds a little like you're suggesting that a lot of rider's biggest struggle is with the act of thinking wisely, for themselves, especially when taxing their bodies. Perhaps not so much 'riding wisely'! Does improved riding only come from good habit-forming, only after focused adaptation?
I may overthink too many things but under-thinking? No, thanks, that's not something I want to adapt to doing. I've learned the hard way that it pays to always be very switched on when riding, no ABS brakes (yet), no seatbelts, and no crumple zones on any bike. You snooze, you loose. Drivers try to guarantee that for us.
50 years of cycling hasn't hurt either, I guess, but, I am still always readapting. Life is full of ups and downs, not only on the roads. Returning now to riding after a fractured skull thanks to an assault. Step by step, readapt.
My 17yo decision to go with 60/46T & 13-28t gearing taught me to always pedal downhill, even if my buddies always tried to use my slipstream. What a blast, 60, 70, 86kph. Sounds like our world of specialisation has so many riders not using their own brains when they ride while they have their 'time off' from their daily grind. Being switched on throughout a ride is also an adaption that successful cycling requires. Perhaps they sit at the back of their group and never see any wind either!
Want more time on your bike during the week, commute!
I've done 5 x 20kms x 2 & 3 x 30kms x 3 and what a benefit that brought, though an 8:15pm bedtime was tough for a 4:15am wake-up for those 30kay rides until I relearned just what a joy traffic free roads could bring to riding.
If you spend half of the ride climbing a big hill and the other half descending that big hill, the time spent doing each is not 50/50 as these guys gloss over.
All the points about endurance are very relevant. However the guy on the left made a huge mistake about cyclists being faster by pushing harder on descent to be faster overall. Actually the exact opposite is true. It is much more efficient to push harder on the climb because aerodynamics forces opposing your progression are much lower at lower speed (ascent) than during the descent. In other words the extra watts that you put out on the way down get you drastically diminishing returns compared to the watts on the climb.
I've got into doing 20 minutes of pushing in 1 or 2 gears higher than normal, now only 5 weeks later I'm up to 30 minutes with 10 minutes rest, I say rest it's more lighter gear to spin the legs out. Regards stopping time it's more a case of stop get water and go, I tend to eat and drink on the go ( ever 15 to 20 minutes ) " get comfortable with being uncomfortable "
if you're worried about going to fast to pedal going down hill you can also take speed off with the brakes a little
Just recently started cycling. I'm still in early training and my quads burn out sooner than I'd like. My breathing and heart rate are just fine though. I never get exhausted just sore too soon.
Live in Florida and all we have is flat with a lot of wind. constant pressure is second nature for us.
Track or fixed gear training always helps training endurance and smoothness
Coming from fixed gear I always pedal and actually have to force myself to coast a bit when I see my heart going over 180 just so I can catch a little break 😂 different people same problems just opposite 😅
for optimal aerobic adaptation i would recommend people ride to heart rate (zone 2) rather than power, as heart-rate will probably drift into zone 3 or 4 over the course of 4 hours.
Doing this was a game changer for me for sure.
I can find a few hr zone calculators and they are all different. Is there one that is definitive?
none definitive. but whichever system you use it is important you know your max heart rate. mine is 8 beats higher than 220-minus-age (it will change with fitness). the point of the 5 zone model is to give amateur athletes an approximate idea of what energy system is being trained and what the likely substrate use is. a formula which is 3 or 4 beats high/low won't make much difference. only the lab test is accurate.@@paulwright1150
Stephen Seiler covers this in his Zone 2 presentation, heart rate drift in Zone 2 should not occur under an hour. Finding that one hour HR, start upping the power a little at a time until the drift starts. That is your next Zone 2 1 hour goal.
The indoor trainer I use in my gym go into stand by if you stop peddling and I've been in the just an average of 9 hours a week for the whole of winter ill be interested to find out how much it changes my road riding
Thx for the video. What is about SFR Training in Zone 3? Zwift f.e. often claims that Z3 low frequency intervals will boost the endurance🤔
The best way for your buddy to maximize his 100k fitness is to ride a 100k 3 or 4 weekends consecutively. Each week the body will adapt on the molecular level enhancing the progression. By the fourth week he'll be riding 60 miles like a champ.
I maintain constant wattage up or down hills.... that's why we have gears....
Minimum stopping time How long should you stop ( in minutes)
I ride 2.5 hours 6 days a week with an average stopping time of 5 minutes per stop. Mostly to rehydrate,nature break or minor mechanical
As for continuous pedaling. I'm working on that. Like you said it is hard but getting easier. It's more out of habit to freewheel.. At least for me
Generally, how long does it take to ""absorb"" fitness from a long ride??
Last week I did my longest ride, 70kms. That's long for me, for now. My goal for my next session is 100km. I'll slow down on the session if I have to, to get 100km.
Roughly, how long between big rides should you wait to have the fitness from the previous long ride absorbed, so that you can go further on the next one?? Thanks
I heard about constant pressure before I even started training with the RCA LOL. Really is beaten into you. As such, though, I’ve been able to ride 4+ hours on weekends while only riding 1-2 hours per ride in the week.
Also, what fancy software are you using to get the riding info overlaid on screen?
GARMIN VIRB is the software
Well, at least one thing in my training is top! My vicinity is completely flat, so the pressure is constantly on as long as I take roads with a minimum of traffic lights which I obviously do.
I would love to have seen Cameron do this 30 years ago when I peaked .
What do you do if you're riding 24 hours on the first day, get an hour and a half of sleep, ride another 28 hours, sleep for an hour and a half, then you wear out about 12 hours in. How do you build the endurance for the third day? I can do a 100K, 200K, 300K, 400K, 600K. But I had problems with 1200K. I can't see doing this kind of distance every weekend.
my best friend for constant pressure is Z2 training on trainer..
At first didnt realise how difficult it is going on a trainer for Z2 for 1 hour, compared to a tempo on the road but it has really brought my endurance up over time
Rolling hill momentum is its very own thrill.
Does Constant Pressure mean that the force exerted on the pedals should be consistent regarldess of gradient etc, or is it enough to have some pressure exerted on the pedals at all times without too much concern for how much pressure? Thanks
It's actually easier to keep going instead of stopping and starting, plus you get home earlier!
OK i;m a bit confused. If you can break up a 4-6 hour ride over two days and get the same benefetis then by that logic doing 4 1 hour rides on consecutive days is the equivalent of doing a 4 hour ride?
Is it ok to coast (freewheel) now and then, for a few seconds, to recover and let the lactic acid dissipate? Or, is it more that if you need to recover, you're doing it wrong and are not really in Zone 2?
What's the point in riding for 6 hours without a cafe stop? I could do it easily but it would be a pretty joyless ride.
I'm from the USA. I've never seen a 100K Gran Fondo offered here. 65 miles is typically a Medio Fondo.
I use brake and pedal at the same time at a small descent, never do it on a big descent though and it feel weird
I find zone 2 very difficult. 2 hours of mid to high sweet spot is way easier for me than 2-3 hours endurance. It's uncomfortable and boring. Low or mid zone 2 for long periods is just impossible until my effective FTP is much lower after 3-4 hours of hard efforts. I can't hold it.
What's usually lactate numbers in a Zone 2? Up to 2mmol?
For me - it's not hard to do 150-180 km keeping that 30--31 kmh (solo), but hard to squeeze the sprints. As for endurance - just don't forget to fuel yourself.
On my rides I generally aim to get my average power, as close to my normalised power as possible, hence constant pressure.
Did you remember that it's winter here in Germany? Driving outside is hardly possible, at least here in the south, due to snow and ice. Just for your info. 😉😊
This is why you can only gauge volume by KJ with a powermeter.
If you can hold constant pressure on a trainer for 4 hours does that mean 4 hours with freewheeling outdoors should feel easier?
5:28 I get it that they compare constant pressure to pedaling hard uphill and not pedaling at all downhill - but the fastest way is to somewhat increase the power up and recover on a downhill, while still doing some work, but less (well, unless you are going some 60+ km/h - depending on your aerodynamics - at which point it's faster to tuck in without pedaling at all)
I don’t freewheel down hills at 6 mph and I have yet to find a climb I can get half way up by freewheeling. I gave up at this point.
think like Fausto Coppi which means never wanting to get off your bike then distances become really easy
It seems best to do Z2 training rides indoors...
Agree! Do 2h on ERG in Z2, ain’t easy.
If im overloading on the weekend and all my weekday rides are 1hr, what should those 1hr rides be? Z2? Something else?
When we stop on a group ride, I feel shit when I start again. My legs just can’t get going again. Mind you we don’t stop that often on our rides unless we have weaker riders with us.
consistent 4 hour fat max zone 2 on erg is the best. Cant do this on a bike outdoors. constant fat max pressure is the best. Thats my every sunday
A friend of mine does the "go hard then freewheel" to the extreme. He sometimes even freewheels intermittently on climbs.
Unless you live somewhere fairly flat with no stoplights or stop signs, constant pressure doesn't seem to be very practical IRL. However, indoors on the trainer? Very doable. Applying the power nonstop for an hour or two, even if doing Z2, is deceptively hard work.
Constant pressure is easy to achieve on a heavy, inefficient commuter bike with heavy tires, racks etc. Riding with a vertical torso on a beater will keep you constantly pedaling, as freewheeling causes instant loss of speed. Plus you don't put mileage and wear on your bling bling bike.
I find constant pressure difficult to do also. I don't know how you guys can do it going down a hill. Are you all blasting down at 80kph? I don't know what cadence is acceptable when I'm trying to train for it.
I look at all the hitters in my area and I can see they can do it at 90rpm going downhill and with power. Are they riding the brakes to get that resistance? Whenever I try it I end up spinning out to 150rpm.
Ride FIXED GEAR regularly for Z2 Rides: non-stop pedaling, et voilà
Nothing beats a 5 hour ride.
Ride a fixie on the road. Then you will know how much you don't pedal. But pick your route carefully.
Ok, got a question on constant pressure vs cadence in something like a Z2 ride. I find that currently, I need to be in a harder gear and pedal slower to keep in Z2 (at least on flatish) as spinning faster in an easier gear seems to raise my HR.. I guess my question is how much pressure is constant pressure? is it anything other than just pure freewheeling? Thanks!!
Faster pedaling will increase your heart rate, buts it’s less fatigue on your muscles.