The Essential Concepts of Training for Cycling

The Essential Concepts of Exercise

· Modern day training techniques are based on a set of physiological truths about how our bodies respond to training.

· Every person adheres to the same principles of training.

· Our individual uniqueness has more to do how we adapt to these principles

· It isn’t necessary for you to understand the intricacies of the science to benefit from the goals of specific workouts and the concepts involved.

Basic Training Principles

Principle of Individuality

· No two people have the same genetic characteristics, except for twins, so each one of us will unlikely show the same adaptations to a training program.

Principle of Specificity

· The training program you are in must stress the physiological systems that are critical for optimal gains in the activity you participate in to achieve specific training adaptations.

Principle of Disuse

· If you stop training, your state of fitness will decrease to a level that meets only the demands of daily use. “USE IT OR LOSE IT”

Principle of Progressive Overload

· Some aspect of the workload must be progressively increased to improve fitness.

Principle of Hard/Easy

· Reintroducing stress to soon after a stressful workout will interrupt the process of adaptation and soon result in reduced fitness

· The most overlooked aspect of training is recovery

Principle of Periodization

· The training year is divided into periods, each with its own specific physiological purpose.

· Cycling of specificity, intensity and volume

· When one period (cycle) is completed the fitness gains are maintained in the next period

· Usually five periods are used in a season for cyclists: Base, Build, Peak, Race, and Transition. Two to twelve weeks are generally assigned to each period. Can vary with the individual.

· Base ( mainly for fitness, fast recreational, bike racers )

· Improves general fitness with endurance, strength and speed workouts

· Lasts 8-12 weeks from experienced to less experienced cyclist respectively

· Novice riders may need to extend beyond 12 weeks.

· This period is used exclusively by fitness riders.

· Focus is on quantity not intensity but a shift towards intensity to prep for build.

· Build ( mainly for bike racers )

· Main focus is on power. Maintaining endurance.

· Ability to turn pedals fast in larger gears over increasingly longer periods

· Interval training begins just below anaerobic threshold levels and works up to higher levels as the legs adapt

· Peak ( mainly for bike racers )

· Emphasizes intensity and reduced total weekly volume

· Focus on speed and speed endurance (race pace).

· Race

· Race, or simulation races, and recover

· Refine strengths

· Lasts 8 weeks. Very difficult to maintain fitness longer.

· Transition

· Season ends

· Emphasis on unstructured activity in a variety of pursuits

· Lasts 2-4 weeks.

Training Techniques

Before you get into an advanced program of training you need to build a good base. This is the secret to preventing injuries. You want to put in some unstressed (no intervals, charging up hills) into your body. Not that intervals are forbidden, but not too hard to often. At the end of a long ride you want to feel like you could have done a few extra miles. A sound base of 500 miles is recommended. As you achieve this goal try to only increase mileage by 10% a week.

Frequency

· Research indicates 3-5 days per week for optimal gains in health

· Maybe 6-7 days to burn extra calorie for weight loss or to adjust to time in the saddle

· Better to recover and work up to more days a week to allow for rebuilding process

Duration

· Research shows improvements in cardio health in as little as 5-10 minutes per day up to 20-30 minutes

· Depends on the time and intensity: Example short duration-high intensity or long duration-low intensity.

· Gain benefits with short bouts (ex. Three 10 min bouts ) or one long bout ( ex. 30 minutes )

Intensity

· For health benefits only need to train at low intensity (60%-70% of max heart rate )

· For maximal aerobic events such as bike racing training improvement occurs at 90% of max heart rate. ( CAUTION must be taken as to much can lead to injuries )

Training Methods

Aerobic and anaerobic exercise sessions need to be included in a training program, but it is the balance of the amount of each type of exercise (aerobic vs. anaerobic; interval training, continuous training, and fartlek training) in the overall program which determines its suitability for fitness gains or the competitive event for which you are training.

Continuous Training (long, slow distance)

· Two types

· LSD greater than 30 minutes of 60%-80% max heart rate which improves stamina, health related fitness, fat loss, maintain off season fitness, used during base

· High intensity continuous is short efforts of 90% or greater of max heart rate ( race pace ) to improve leg speed, strength, anaerobic capacity used during peak and build

Intervals

· This is training that requires hard efforts alternating with easy efforts.

· For bike racing

· Two days a weak: One day short intervals & one day longer intervals

· Used during the build and peak period

Fartlek

· Swedish word for speed play

· Combines continuous with intervals

· For bike racing or fast recreational cyclist

· Psychologically breaks up monotony of long rides

KEY POINTS FOR AN AEROBIC TRAINING PROGRAM

· Training needs to be structured for the intensity and duration of the planned sporting event.

· Long slow distance training is important at the beginning of the training season and for very long endurance events.

· Maximum aerobic improvement occurs at 85% VO2max (90% max. heart rate).

· Maximum aerobic conditioning (increasing VO2max) occurs with 3 workout days per week at or above 90% MHR. Additional training days should be at a slower pace to allow recovery and build musculoskeletal strength.

· Intervals can be ridden for one or two of these days.

· Exercising at less than 60%-80% MHR will improve general cardiovascular conditioning and overall musculoskeletal tolerance. It is suggested that one day a week be allotted to a long slow training ride equal to a distance of 2 to 5 times the actual competitive event.

· In training for endurance events (less than 90% maximum heart rate), train at the level of anticipated performance (%MHR) and with a long training ride equal to that of the event + 10 to 20%

For most recreational roadies, 7-10 hours of riding per week is plenty for steady improvement if you have an intelligent training program. Wouldn't more be better? If you do try to add in extra hours, you risk both overtraining as well as the extra stress produced by more time on the bike. Both physical stress on your body and the pressure it puts on responsibilities to family, friends, and profession.

Marc Walter, coach and owner of Rightway Performance

trainingtherightway.com