Cycling Training Programs

Web Based Cycling Training Programs

There are a plethora of training programs available to cyclists on the internet these days, from free to, quite frankly, silly money.

Most programs used to consist of DVD’s hard copy books and manuals.

Now the best of them are totally web based, where you pay a one off fee and get web access to video’s, training plans, tips on nutrition and expert advice on all manner of cycling related topics.

Of course this means instant access, no waiting for DVDs to arrive in the post.

Before you choose one and pay your money, ensure that it includes programs for your level of cycling. It’s no point signing up for a pro level training plan if you’re a rank beginner.

If you purchase from a reputable vendor though, they should include a 60 day money back guarantee, so you can get your money back if you’re not satisfied.

My advice is to shop around first, there should be a reasonable amount of information on the website, for you to gauge the value of what they are selling you.

Check out the FAQ page, and if you can’t find the answers you’re after, email them.

No doubt there will testimonials from very happy customers, which while worth reading, if they can’t be verified as real people, well I’m sure you get the picture.

One thing to keep in mind of course is that these programs are all very generic in their plans. By that I mean the training plans wont be specific to you, but rather to a level. i.e. beginners, intermediate and advanced.

They should also include programs to improve specific areas of cycling such as hill climbing or sprinting.

So knowing that fact, do they work?

In my experience, hell yes. If your current cycling tends to be aimlessly riding with your friends 3 or 4 times a week without any structure, then a proper, focused training plan, which builds up your training and effort, with recovery breaks included, over a period of 10 -12 weeks, will produce a huge increase in your performance.

All you have to do is stick to the plan. Print out your weekly or monthly training schedule, stick it on the fridge, then every morning, look at what’s on today and just do it. When you get home from training, tick it off, another day done.

Make sure you have fun with it though, that way you’ll look forward to the next session. Obviously some days are going to hard, but that’s how you improve, building upon each training module.

One final thing to consider is, unless you can convince some of your riding buddies to join in on your training, you’ll end up training a lot by yourself, so you need to be disciplined. But when they see how much you’ve improved, they’ll be falling over themselves to sign up too.