Everyone is looking for that secret piece of the puzzle that will allow them to get the speed and fitness need to go from middle of the pack to winning races. While nothing replaces hard work and consistency, you can get more from your training if you apply these ideas. The techniques outlined here are either unknown to most cyclists or not used the way they should be. Apply the things you learn to your training and you will see a big improvement in your riding performance.
Some of these techniques can be followed year round while others need to be used sparingly to give your fitness a kick start when you've hit a plateau. I will start with the easiest concepts to integrate into your program and work to the harder one.
Many of these techniques are pretty advanced so you want to have at least a couple of years of steady training under your belt before you attempt them.
Progressive Overload
This concept is so simple yet not applied by nearly enough people. Each week you need to do a little more than you did last week. Most self-coached riders keep riding the same distances and paces, week after week. It doesn't mean that your over all ride time each week has to keep going up (that can help at times though), but you need to get more work done in that time. If you did 5 hill repeats this week, do 6 next week. If you burned 1000 kilojoules on a ride (measured if you have a power meter) then aim for 1100 next week. Limit over all increases to 5-10% per week.
Yoga and Crossfit
I have to mention this, although it isn't really a secret. I see so many cyclists that are fit in the narrow parameters of cycling but their bodies are a mess. Muscles are overly tight and they have aches all over. In time they will end up with overuse injuries that could have been prevented if they looked after their bodies the way the worked on their cycling specific fitness. A big motor in a weak chassis isn't the recipe for a long cycling career. Doing 20 minutes of yoga, 3 times per week does wonders for flexibility and recovery. 3 Crossfit workouts of 10 minutes or less will help with core strength and fitness of both the prime movers and support muscles, making the body perform better over all.
Stack Workouts
Who says you do only an aerobic ride or one type of intervals during a workout? Stack workouts are ones that have more than one type of training in a single workout. For example, as part of a long ride, do 60 minutes of aerobic paced riding, 2 threshold repeats of 20 minutes and then finish the training portion of the ride with 20 X 30 seconds hard with 30 seconds recovery. Stacks can be mixed many ways but don't get carried away and try to cram in too much. While this type of workout would be hard for science to test due to having too many variables to control, real world experience with athletes has shown this type of workout builds a lot of speed, work capacity and endurance. For anyone who is time limited this approach can knock off a bunch of objectives in a single session. As well it is much more fun than 3-4 hours of steady aerobic riding.
Block Training
This is link together multiple days of heavy workload be they large volume or high intensity. I find they work best with the longest day first and then progressively work to shorter high intensity intervals over a 3-4 day block. After the block take an easy day, then a rest day and finally another easy day before doing another heavy block. Vary the recovery as needed to be fresh for the next block.
An example of how to set up a block would be:
Day 1 - 3-5 hour Steady ride with some hills (Aerobic and Tempo pace)
Day 2 - 2-3 X 20 minute Threshold repeats
Day 3 - 30 Velmax intervals - 30 seconds Hard (135 % Threshold Power) / 30 seconds easy
Day 4 - 45 minutes recovery pace
Day 5 - Day Off
Day 6 - 60 min Aerobic pace
Depletion Rides
For many cyclists, they reach a point where it isn't the engine that limits performance but the gas tank. Their body can't supply energy fast enough to keep up with the pace they are fit enough to ride at. At a certain point the legs just stop working. Many people assume this is lack of endurance but it is usually that you have just run out of fuel at a muscular level. To improve this you need the body to store more carbohydrate and burn more fat during exercise, sparing muscle glycogen.
This is where the Depletion Ride comes in. With nothing other than water and electrolytes go on long rides with at least the first 60 minutes aerobic. After that you can pick up the pace. You want these rides to be at least 2 hours but we often go 3-4 hours. Carry some gels in case your legs completely run out so you have the fuel to make it home. Don't use them unless you have to. Long rides without carbs force the body to tap into stored fat as a fuel source and you will increase your glycogen stores in the meals after them ride. Only do 1-2 Depletion Rides per week for 4-6 weeks.
Overview
Integrate these techniques into your training wisely and you will see results. Experiment to find the right workload and keep at it. The best gains come over time. Build on past success to reach new heights of performance and put the hurt on your competitors and riding buddies.
It's in you to become a better cyclist. Helping you get there is my goal. Equipment, riding skills, fitness and nutrition all have to be dialed in to reach your potential. To take your next step on that journey visit cyclecambridge.com cyclecambridge.com.
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