Ramp up your cycling training

The growing popularity of cycling shows no signs of slowing down. This really comes as no surprise, as cycling is an excellent form of exercise for people of all ages and sizes. In this article, we provide useful tips for effective and fun cycling training. 

Endurance and intensity

Short bursts have been shown to be effective in improving cardiovascular fitness. High-intensity interval training has become a popular trend in recent years. If quick bursts of a few minutes can achieve the same result as hours of effort, why bother to spend more time exercising?

Some cyclists have even decided to give up on the traditional foundation of endurance training – long workouts at a moderate pace. Perhaps they should reconsider. Stretching one’s limits with high-intensity bursts occasionally is certainly a good idea. However, in the long run, the best way to practice and exercise is to build strong basic endurance with longer and conservatively paced workouts and supplementing this with infrequent high-intensity training to improve performance.

Long rides of several hours in duration improve cardiovascular fitness and teach the body to use fat and carbohydrates as energy sources at the optimal ratio. What’s more, long workouts help develop mental strength. They also give cyclists the opportunity to enjoy the best aspects of endurance training: nature, fresh outdoor air and pleasant company.

High-intensity workouts, in turn, can introduce variation to endurance training, which can sometimes become tiresome. In addition, they help boost peak performance and make basic training easier. However, the proportion of high-intensity training in a balanced exercise program should not exceed 10–30% of the total exercise volume, depending on the person’s goals and the training season he or she is in.

• Vary your training by mixing a high volume of long low-intensity workouts with occasional short sessions of high-intensity effort.
• On long rides, maintain a high pedaling rate and take in energy and fluids regularly. When you do high-intensity workouts, vary between extremely high pedaling rates and improving your thigh muscle strength by using a very high gear.

The more, the merrier

Cycling is a versatile hobby. You can do it alone, with a friend or in a larger group. When it comes to competitive cycling, even the toughest athlete can’t do it all alone. The support of the team is an absolute requirement for success.

Riding in a group allows cyclists of varying fitness levels to train together – or enables the use of different levels of intensity in one’s own training. Riding third or fourth wheel in a pack, air resistance can be up to 30–40% lower than when leading the pack, depending on the speed. As air resistance is by far the most significant force slowing down the cyclist at high speeds, the intensity of the workout can easily be regulated by switching positions in the pack. In larger groups, it is not a good idea to ride all the way at the back, as the amplified back and forth movement tends to wear you out.

• Choose your riding group so that the other riders are roughly at the same level as you are, or at least accepting of you skipping a few turns at the front of the pack. Ensure that everyone in the group is familiar with the hand signals used to communicate obstacles and problems.
• Make sure that your equipment is in good condition before going on a group ride. If you repeatedly get a flat tire or your chain falls off constantly, you will not only have a disappointing ride personally, but also ruin the workout for others.

Written by Ilkka Järvimäki
Cyclist, Editor-in-Chief of Pyöräily+Triathlon (Cycling+Triathlon) magazine and the author of Pyöräilijän Kunto-opas (Exercise Guide for Cyclists), published by Otava in 2011

Source Amer Sports