The road cycling race season is about to begin, and in some countries, they have already started. So today, I will show you some highly effective techniques to help you perform better in the first race. In this article you will find my best advice for your Pre-Season Cycling Training. In the bottom of this
How to Optimize Your Pre-Season Cycling Training Read More »
Fartlek was developed by the Swedish coach Gösta Holmer back in the 1930’s. Runners initially used it, but many other endurance sports have adopted it as a part of their training. For example, if you read in Wikipedia, you will find a description that sounds like this: “Fartlek, which means ‘speed play’ in Swedish, is
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1. Know how hard to trainUnderstand the terms’ overreaching’ and ‘overtraining’ and use them to improve your performance. Distinguishing overtraining from overreaching is essential because overreaching is a very natural process when we train. That is an advanced use of the super-compensation principle. 2. Make a training planPlan your training and set a goal for
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One of the most critical factors for your success is motivation. There is no limit to what you can achieve when you are motivated. I know that many of you like to do training races or criteriums midweek. Today we will use such races to help you achieve a higher VO2 max. If for some
VO2 Max Booster Program – Fartlek or Races As VO2 Max Training Read More »
Motivation is important when you are a serious cyclist, because you spend so many hours on your bike. The best cyclists have an ability to motivate themselves workout after workout, season after season. But even though you think of yourself as a dedicated and motivated rider, you might sometimes feel that you have ended up in a training vacuum: You train every single day, but you don’t get any better.
Change training strategy
Doing the same interval procedure every Tuesdays and Thursdays are not necessarily the best way to train and certainly not the most motivating to ride. Mixing up your regular intervals with other intervals is not only motivating, but might improve some of the skills that you haven’t touched for a while. If you haven’t done focused anaerobic training that is one of the fastests skills to improve.
Unorganized intervals (fartlek)
Systematic interval training is the cornerstone in many training programs, but even the best training program needs to be mixed up with unorganized intervals. What I talk about is Fartlek, which is a combination of many different intervals with both aerobic and anaerobic events. These intervals are not organized as the intervals you know from regular interval training. Instead you use the terrain, the winds or you friends to get inspired to make attacks of various lengths. It is very challenging to train Fartlek if you train it with a couple of competitive friends.
Long Slow Distance Training
This might not sound like an opportunity if you are fed up with training hours, but if you have done a lots of systematic intervals with your power meter and got bored, there is a chance that doing couple of LSD sessions could be challenging.
Participate in Races
One of the easiest ways to increase your performance is to participate in races. In several countries there are opportunities to ride extra races every week, so that is a great alternative to your regular training. By doing races as training sessions you get targeted training that is very specific for what you aim for.
Even the best training program has limitations
Evaluating your performance is a process that shall continue throughout your career. Your training program must be optimized as you get knowledge about what works best for you. But even the best cycling program must be changed once in while.
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