Cycling Training Program Tips

Tips on Choosing a Cycling Training Program. If you’re going to enter into any form of cycle training, then the first thing to do is to be clear about your objectives.

Think about what you really want from a cycle training program. Are you interested in racing? Or do you just want to beat your mates on your Saturday ride?, or maybe ride your first century. If it’s just to beat your mates, then you can benefit from some basic generic training tips, without spending any money.

If you really want to improve your cycling, be it for a fun 100km race, or to do club racing, then you’ll be best be served by a proper training program. There’s a plethora of programs out there, some good some not so.

The first thing I would look for in a program, is who’s behind it. Look for ones that are backed by ex-professionals, or ex-professional coaches. Guys who have been there and who know what’s required to be successful.

Good programs start with getting the foundations right, before getting into the technical aspects of specific training. They should also be simple to understand and follow, you shouldn’t require a science degree just to understand the program. And as most of us have to work for a living, they shouldn’t require massive amounts time, which most people don’t have. It’s about maximising the gains from each training session.

If you’re going to spend your hard earned money, then look for training programs that you can progress from beginner to intermediate and even to expert racer, if that’s what you want. Otherwise if you buy, say, a program for beginners and you master that, you don’t want to have to then buy another program to progress further.

Without a training program, chances are you’re just riding with your mates in a totally unstructured way. A lot of cyclists seem to ride the same route every week, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, you certainly wont be improving your fitness, at least not very quickly.

Training programs are very beneficial, in as much as you have a week by week plan, which means you’re more likely to stick to it, as you’ll know exactly what you’ll be doing on any given day. And as the weeks go by, you can gauge your improvements, this in turn will keep you motivated. As they say, success breeds success.

You will improve, probably dramatically. It’s amazing, once you start training properly, how quickly you get fitter and stronger, especially if it’s your first time with a program.