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Advice for Cycling Training
By mike | September 14, 2007
From Richard Pettinger, special to ClydesdaleFitness.com
Cycling Training Tips
1. Have a clear Goal in Mind. If you have clear goals of what you would like to achieve in the season it helps to structure your training. For example if your goal is to complete the Etape du Tour you will need to make sure you build up a good base fitness to be able to comfortably ride 110 miles. If your target is the national 10 mile Time trial championship the hours you spend on a bike will be not as important as the intensity of training.
2. Be focused in training. When we train we should not just mechanically churn out the miles. It is important to have a good attitude to training, we should feel a sense of enthusiasm and positive energy. Often the important thing in training is not the time we spend or the miles we complete, the important thing is the intensity and attitude which we do our training.
3. Give equal priority to rest and training. When we rest or have a recovery ride we should feel this is just as important as the most intense intervals. It is rest and recovery rides that make our interval training more successful. If we feel we only make progress by hammering ourselves we will be likely to over train.
4. Train with other people. At times we need to train on our own, especially for a targeted interval session. However at other times it is good to train with other people. If they are of a similar standard we will be inspired and encouraged to go out even when we are not too motivated.
5. Have a plan, but be flexible. It is good to have a training schedule. This will help us to have a certain discipline, however if we are too rigid we may force ourselves to go on a longer training ride when it is better to rest.
6. Listen to the signals of your own body. A coach can give good advice but sometimes the best judge of how you are feeling will be yourself. Through experience you will learn when you can go hard and when it is time to pull back.
7. Make training interesting. Some people are able to follow scientific schedules for interval training on a turbo, I admire their dedication. However personally I would rather do intervals by climbing real hills. There is a greater sense of achievement and training feels more rewarding. It may be more difficult to stick to exact prescriptions of heart rate zones e.t.c. however I don’t think this matters too much. It is important to enjoy training, if training is too scientific and prescriptive it can be quite intimidating. This piece of advice may depend upon individual preferences.
Richard Pettinger is a member of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team and competes in UK time trials. In 2005 he finished 4th in the National 100 mile TT Championship, his favourite discipline is hill climb races.
Sri Chinmoy CT website: http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/cycling
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