Cycling Training, Fitness, Performance Cycling, Talent

There are 3 basic things you should try to accomplish in the off season: 1) rest your mind and body make sure you are mentally and physically fresh for the next season (this includes taking care of any nagging injuries you may have) 2) work on your weaknesses and 3) build up a base for next year.

If you have a lot of time to ride, the best thing you can do in the off-season is work on your "engine" by building up a base of aerobic miles. This is what most elite riders do. This doesn't mean you should completely slow down though. Doing a lot of climbing, even at an easy pace is sort of a natural way of getting some medium intensity in and adding some sprints at least once a week will help your body remember what it is like to go hard without having to put yourself through painful interval sessions. If you have limited time, then you can substitute a bit more intensity for volume.

I also recommend some form of Gym or Plyometrics during the winter to work on core strength and also connectivity to help with that explosive power you need. This training also serves to strengthen joints and ligaments that aren't used during the cycling motion and can aid injury prevention in crashes during the season. Pilates, circuit training or swimming could all come under this category.

A weekly off-season program for say Oct. - Jan might include the following:

2 long rides (one at least as long as your longest race and one at least an hour longer than your longest race) that would include 1-2 hours of "moderate" intensity or at a heart rate of 75-85% of max. You will achieve this pace without really trying if you just go uphill. To do it on the flats takes a bit of concentration. It is somewhat above your "comfort zone" or conversational pace, but a pace that you can handle for long periods of time without really stressing yourself and where you could carry on a limited conversation if you really wanted to. It is a good idea to include time both climbing and on the flats in this zone. Sustained efforts at 10-15 beats below your threshold are the most effective way to increase your aerobic capacity.

1 sprint workout or an easy ride where you just include some sprints along the way. These can be really short: 8-10 sec. or about 100m. Try to get in 6-8 but make sure you are completely recovered in between. You can also just do short jumps in a small gear. For example, you might do 2-3 sets of 5 jumps with 1-2 min. between jumps and 5-10 min. between sets. These s

Planning an effective weekly, monthly or yearly training schedule is something that requires a fair amount of trial and error, but can really pay off. If two people follow exactly the same schedule, they will not necessarily achieve the same results. It is a good idea to talk to better riders and find out what they are doing as far as training, but everyone has to figure out for themselves what works the best for them. Also, remember one workout does not equal a training program. Training is a package deal and everything is cumulative. If you do a certain top rider's favorite workout every time you ride without any knowledge of what else is in their schedule, you will not receive the same benefits.

Unless you are independently wealthy or riding your bike for a living, your training will be the result of tradeoffs with your "real" life. Each person has to determine for themselves how many hours a week they have to devote to cycling and make the most of them. To achieve the greatest benefits from your training, you have to stress your body as much as possible and then give it enough time to recover and adapt to the stress. Your rest periods are actually when you grow stronger. As you grow stronger, you have to stress your body more and more to continue the adaptation. If you do the same thing every week all year, you will eventually just reach a performance plateau. Stress is cumulative as well. Professional cyclists do a tremendous amount of training and racing, but when they are not on their bikes, they are most likely sitting or lying down somewhere relaxing or taking a nap (except when they are traveling all over the world!). They also probably get 8-10 hours of sleep a night, a luxury most people trying to fit cycling in around a full-time job and/or family life cannot afford.

Most elite riders tend to train in "blocks": 2 days hard, one day easy, 3 days hard, 2 days easy etc. Days of the week have no meaning. In "real life", however, I think it is easier to dedicate certain days of the week to certain workouts. Most cyclists the world over sort of fall into a general plan during the racing season of: race Sat and Sun, Mon. easy, train Tues.-Thurs., easy Fri. If you use this plan, Tues. and Wed. should be your hardest workouts since that is when you are freshest.

When you are first starting out, you may find that you can only go hard every other day. As you get fitter though, you will have to start going hard 2-3 days in a row to continue the adaptation. You should always keep at least 1 or 2 days a week completely easy. A weight workout in the gym is not a rest day. In general, traveling is not really a rest day either.

You can then put the weeks together to form monthly blocks. I find that a schedule of 3 weeks hard, one week easy works well for me. That means that approximately once a month, I will take at least 4-5 days in a row very easy. Where you fit these "rest weeks" in can depend on your race schedule or other obligations. For example, if you know that because of your job, you will not be able to train much a certain week, schedule that as your easy week and go as hard as you can the few weeks before it. There have been times when I felt like I didn't need the "rest week" and skipped it, but I almost invariably regretted it later! I also find that in general, I ride the best the 2nd week of the block. After more than 1-2 days of easy riding, you may become "blocked". In general this means after a period of rest, your body will sort of shut down and start up its repair processes. You may feel pretty sluggish the first time you go hard again. This is completely normal. Most top riders like to do a "race opener" type workout the day before a race. This is usually a few short, high intensity intervals and/or some jumps. You can use smaller gears than normal to save your legs while still getting high heart rates. In a 2-3 week long stage race, if there is a rest day in the middle, most of the riders will be out doing a few short intervals that day. You need to keep your race systems active - otherwise you will really regret it the next day.

The key to a good training program is variety. To be a successful road racer takes many different skills and energy delivery systems. If you only train one system all the time, your race tactics will be very limited.

1) Check your bike! Tyre pressure, make sure saddle, bars and peddles are tight.

2) Protect that head. Wear a helmet.

3) Cycle like a vehicle. Ride in the direction of traffic and obey all traffic rules. Follow a nice straight line, don't weave around. Look back before you change lanes.

4) Communicate! Use simple hand signals to let motorists know you're turning left (point left), turning right, (uh, point right), stopping (hold hand at waist level, palm facing back).

5) Be Seen! Wear light coloured clothing, reflective materials and fit your bike with good lights.

6) Don't use headphones when riding. You need to be able to hear the traffic around you.

7) Group rides; ride in company if possible, for safety and enjoyment.

8) Fuel up. You're the engine. Eat well and drink plenty of fluids. Ensure your topping up fuel levels frequently on the ride.

9) Don't win the Door Prize! Keep 3 feet away from parked cars.

10) Expect the unexpected. Good riders scan the road ahead for dangers, always checking to keep their ride smooth.

Endurance session

60 minutes at low - medium level (tempo) in a medium sized gear at a varying cadence. Gear size could be 39 x 15 - 53 x 16, with cadence varying between 85 - 110 revs/min.

At end of ride 4 X 10 secs seated efforts in 53/15 from deadstop

Peak Power

10mins progressive warm up
Peddle at 90RPM in a medium gear (big ring, half way up the block) then sprint as hard as possible for 20 secs. Change gear up one sprocket and peddle for 5 mins at 90RPM
Sprint again for 20 secs in that gear, then change up another sprocket and another 5 mins at 90RPM.
Repeat x 2 then do 2 more working back down the block to finish on the same sprocket as you started.
Total 6 efforts. Cool down.

Sprints

These sprint efforts are done in a very large gear, depending on your level of development. You start from a standstill, with your dominant leg in about the two or ten o'clock position. Jump hard out of the saddle to get on top of the gear, trying to get to your maximum cadence, then sit and maintain the cadence for the length of the effort.

Start with 5 or 6 efforts, lasting 10 seconds each. Rest for 3 to 5 minutes between sprints.
Cool down.

Leg speed - Recovery session

5 mins warm up, 20 mins alternating between 30s high cadence 30s easy

Threshold

10mins warm up
6 mins in Aerobic Threshold
6 mins easy
X 4
10 mins cool down

These efforts are very hard and are as much about pain tolerance and mental strength as physical ability. On the turbo simulate a 4-6% climb or whatever resistance gives you the HR at 90-110rpm in a big gear. You might find it takes a minute or so to get HR up for the first interval but then each interval will get you up into zone more and more quickly. Anaerobic Threshold is about 91-2% of max

Lactate tolerance

(10 Second Accellerations / Decellerations)

1 - Warm up for 8 mins up to tempo pace @ 90RPM - Now stay in gear that allowed you to do tempo @ 90RPM for rest of session
2- Accellerate for 10 secs to Max RPM THEN Decellerate for 10 secs to 90RPM THEN HOLD 90RPM for 10 secs
3 - Repeat for a total of 20 times
4 - Hold 90 RPM for 4 mins
5 - Repeat (2) for a total of 10 times (10X10X10X10)
6 - Warm down for 5 mins 90RPM steady

The session works on lactate tolerance because the rider never eases back enough to fully recover, so they start the next acceleration with more lactate in the blood each time. Depending on ability, there is a break between the 2 sets but even then it is not l

FALAFEL (Serves 4)

A Middle Eastern specialty made up of small, deep-fried croquettes or balls made of highly spiced, ground chickpeas (garbanzos). They are generally served inside pitta bread, sandwich style, but can also be served as appetizers. Delicious, healthy, high in protein and carbs...

INGREDIENTS

dried chickpeas (250g)
garlic (1 clove)
shallots diced
ground cumin
fresh coriander
olive oil
low fat plain yogurt/light tahini
wholemeal pitta bread
shredded lettuce

METHOD

- soak chickpeas overnight in water
- cook in unsalted water until soft (30-40 minutes), drain and allow to cool
- put all ingredients into a food processor to form the mixture
- shape into small balls using ice cream scoop, and add small amount of oil to non-stick frying pan
- cook until golden brown on each side.
- Serve with natural low fat yogurt or light tahini, and chopped salad in pitta bread

Preparation time 20 minutes