You’ve definitely thought about it, haven’t you? As you watch and envy professional-looking cyclists fly past you on mighty, bending country roads, wishing you could get some of that action.
You are probably reading this, because you may not have a plan when it comes to cycling or preparing for a race? Well, there are plenty of benefits to be had from riding to a structured training plan. It can offer precision to your riding, help boost motivation, makes you stronger, fitter, and a better cyclist.
Building an effective training plan is one of the biggest challenges you may face as a cyclist, it takes up a lot of time and effort to create one suited to you. Now, you don’t have to, here’s a simple yet effective cycling plan for anyone.
Building an effective training plan
Week 1-2
For this week, it is all about building back confidence and comfort. Choose a flat steady route away from heavy traffic, use each ride to check your bike’s setup. Make sure that you’re comfortable with your body positioning when riding, and make any adjustments if necessary.
For example, try a weekly long ride incorporating flat sprints, a 3 hour 30 minutes long ride with 4×10 seconds flat sprints. For endurance, with a medium intensity cycle for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Image via : Runtastic
Week 3-4
For this week, fix any issues you may experience over Week 1 & 2 and check your tires for debris and any potential punctures.
Remember that hydration is key on your longer rides, so take a drink every 10-15 minutes. For an added boost, take sports drinks, gel, or supplements that contain electrolytes and carbohydrates.
For example, try a core endurance ride with flat sprints from a rolling start, use moderate gear and aim for a consistent pace. You could also increase the intensity and add more intervals from Week 1 workouts.
Week 5-6
For this week, continue training as usual but start to use one of your rest days to include a session of cross-training, such as swimming or running.
For example, try a 1 hour 30 minutes steady ride with 5-6 x 10 seconds flat sprints. Or a 5-6 x 4 minutes steady ride with aerobic power intervals, hit them hard, and maintain an even effort across each interval.
Image via : mapmyrun
Week 7-8
After a long week of preparation and hard work of following the training plan, you should be feeling fit, energized, and ready to go.
But at some point, you’ll need to increase the intensity, the volume, or both. It challenges your body, so you can keep working on increasing your fitness. The fitter you become, the harder it is to keep getting fitter.
Overall the plan contains a mix of high-intensity work from sprints and intervals through to endurance-type sessions such as long rides, steady rides, and endurance sessions.
In terms of structure, it should look like this. Longer rides take place at the weekend, while shorter harder sessions during the working week.
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