Success can be defined in a countless number of ways. In terms of cycling, for some enthusiasts, just buying a road bike and getting out there for a ride is seen to be a success. For other people, perhaps winning a particular number of races is what motivates them. Either way, success isn’t defined by one thing or one win. This means many different things to a lot of different individuals. So read on to find out the secret formula for your successful cycling training
Overcome The Bonk
The ‘bonk‘ refers to that moment when your body utilises up all its glycogen store and needs to burn fat to keep on fuelling you. This hit to your energy stores means that you hit that dreaded wall and will feel tired, weak and also in need of a decent rest.
In order to avoid the bonk, prepare some cycling snacks which will assist with keeping you properly fuelled on your ride. Great snacks for cycling include the following:
- Peanut butter on apple or celery sticks,
- Cooked but cold jacket potato halves, and
- Some chunky cheese blocks.
A convenient snack option is a banana – the riper the banana the quicker the energy release will be.
Climb Stronger
A fantastic way to get stronger on hills is by performing strength and endurance training. This is where you will ride – sitting down – up a climb in a bigger gear than you would normally, with around 50–60rpm. This can be done for between five and 20 minutes. Ensure that you give yourself a lot of recovery riding with an easier gear after this. Mix up your hill training and focus not just on long climbs but also on short, steep ones. An effective session done on a punchy climb is max, max, max one-minute efforts.
Proper Nutrition & Rest
The ACSM recommends aerobic exercise on most days of the week. You can’t afford to skip days because you don’t have enough energy to ride. This means that you need a consistent flow of energy. But you also need to give your body a break too.
Eating right and getting in enough downtime to enjoy live casino online games or TV series is crucial as it will boost your performance in the long run.
Up Your Average Speed By 1MPH
You can very easily go a mile an hour quicker on your next ride without being even slightly fitter. It is all down to technique. Being an efficient rider and then understanding how to carry speed will make you quicker and preserve your energy. Thus it is an important skill to practise on each and every ride.
Cornering is an apparent situation when you could lose a lot of speed. Keep in mind that it is not how fast you enter the corner that counts however how much speed you carry through it. If you go in too hot and need to slam on the brakes on that will slow you down considerably.
Understanding descents, and especially descents before a hill, is another area that you need to work on. If there is an uphill following a descent and you can see it is safe, don’t break or you will lose your momentum. Pedalling into a descent and then holding your speed will give you the opportunity to roll up the other side with hardly any effort whatsoever.
