Bicycle Training Basics

I have added a glossary of terms, ( see other post Glossary of Training terms) technical terms will be in bold and further described there so that this will be a little more readable. There has never been more access to traing advice thanks to the Internet and magazines. the challenge is to distill this information into a workable plan for a givenindividual. The best resource is an internal awareness of our goals and dedication to achieving them. The gaget for gauging disipline has yet to be invented; you must look within yourself to decide what you are capable of and your ability to stick to a plan. We need to be realistic when setting out; if our goals are unrealistic we fail to achievethem; if we don't dedicate ourslves to taking the individual steps we will also fail.

Cycling is basically, but not exclusively an aerobic sport; the greatest input is from our cardio-vascular system. Rather the relying on huge muscles we generate power by converting oxygen and fat into energy. The bulk of our training should be targeted to strengthening and improving the oxygen delivery system. More detail on this will apper later. There is also an ongoing contribution from the anaerobic system, which needsspecific training attention.

All sports are seasonal, we need to recognize this by adopting a periodized approach to arranging our training, breaking the season into reasonable training periods. We need to alter our training focus and training modality according to the season; each training period has a particular focus suggesting a change in training methods.

Training efforts can be expressed in terms of Volume or Intensity. These generally operate in sn inverse relationship; we cannot maintain both a hight training volume at a high intensity for very long without incurring injury or burnout. At any given time we can increase either training variable by a maximum of about 10%. An overly dramatic increase in volume or intensity will usually cause a breakdown. I believe in maintaining a training log and a written schedule of proposed training. Our proposed training schedule should be recorded in a single calendar along with all of our other time commitments including school, work, family , and social obligations. We need to record the data from our workouts in a manner we can easily refer to later. We don't want a long essay regarding the day's efforts; a form of short hand usually serves best referring to training modality, volume, intensity and marker of how the training felt; usally 1-5  A one indicates feeling dead and a five feels like I don't want to stop! We want to see a lot of 3's and 4's the odd 5 and very few 1's and 2's. Too many low scores indicate too high a workload and too many high scores indicate the use of prohibited substances or an insufficient workload.

I hope this has laid a foundation we can build on. Now I will provide a few specifics relating to our current training period. training periods can be further broken down into Macro Cycles usually 4-6 weeks an Micro Cycles typically a calendar week.

The Off Season is a training period with specific opportunities. We often lose our focus during this period and slack off resulting in a difficult start in the Spring. I believe that our focus at this time should be on planning and prepartion. Planning involves selecting events and outcomes for the comming season; preparation invloves strenghtening the body for the workload to come. We also need to cast our minds back to the high and low points of previous seasons to avoid repeating mistakes in goal setting or in our training plan.

I firmly believe in using the off-season to engage in other sports and incorporating other traning modalities. I take part in Speed Skating, cross-country Skiing, Downhill Skiing with a bit of Snowshoeing if the conditions allow. These all recruit the same energy systems we employ on the bike, but in a more seasonal context. I do ride a fair amount in the rain but with short days and the risk of icy roads it is often better to yield to Mother Nature and train indoors or take part in a winter sport. I also advocate getting into the gym for some strenght training; this will help build a stonger foundation.

Here is a sample training week based on a mythical Phoenix member in the B group aspiring to A status in the coming season.

Monday: AM Gym PM Trainer 1.5hr  Tuesday: Trainer 1hr   Wednesday: Gym Trainer 1hr  Thursday: off  Friday: Gym   Saturday: 2-3 hr tempo  Sunday: off  Total= 11hr

We can often repace trainer workouts with riding to work or school; try to vary route and tempo where possible. There should be one longer ride on the weekend, Phoenix hosts a Sunday ride that is currently 2+ hours with the opportunity to extend to 3 or more. There is a group indoor session at the Shop on Thursday Night at 6:00 pm. We can increase duration or intensity by a factor of 10% per week. I have placed Gym sessions in the morning as a personal preference, I hate riding my trainer in the early morning, feel free to switch around as space and time allow.

Remember that any effective training program follows the following principles;

1. Overload and Recovert. We must stress the energy and muscular systems to trigger a physiologic response. Fitness and Strength actually improve during Recovery periods.
2. Individuality. Your training must be targeted to your goals and training background.
3. Specificity. Each workout must have a purpose and targeted outcome.
4. Progression. Workload as measured by frequency, repeition or intensity must steadily increase to achieve overload.
5. Systematic Approach. All of the above elements combined to create your personal program.

The other component I like to see is some form of measurement be it a time trial or trainer test on a regular basis to measure progress.