FROM BEGINNER TO COMPETTIVE CYCLIST....

​Nick Wachter

Personal Trainer & Conditioning Coach

PhysiKcal Fitness; March 9th 2012



 

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So you have just started riding and you want to race. but how do you get good enough to race? You don't want to spend £20 enter a race and be dropped in the first 5 minutes right? 

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Here a few tips that will make sure you can stay in the pack and it will take 3 months (of sweat blood and tears)



 

 

 

FOCUS ON FITNESS NOT DISTANCE

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​There is an old saying about putting in the miles...  unfortunately this is only true when your good. if your in your first 3-6 months of cycling and you want to be competitive forget the long rides. Forget putting in the miles, instead put in the effort. 



Instead of the long very slow rides. Do shorter higher intensity rides. 30-60 minute flat out rides are the type that are going to get you fit and improve your performance quickly.

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Intervals in the gym.

Real weight lifting in the gym.

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The professionals cycle for hours because their races take that long. most amateur races are no longer than 2 hours, with most being shorter (Crits and TT's especially). 







FITNESS



If you want to beat other riders your going to need two things. 1 is to be fit 2 is the will power to push your body to its limit. That's not done once a month on race day. That's done every session.

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Whether your on the track, on a group or solo ride or in the gym. Pushing your body hard will stimulate your body/muscles, forcing it to change and develop to cope with the stresses you are inflicting upon it. 

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USE GPS / TRACKING / STRAVA

 



If you don't know about Strava its time you learnt. Strava is a gps tracker with a difference, it allows you to follow friends and fellow riders as well as compare your rides to theirs as well s segments of rides. Basically you can see what others are doing and go out and compete. 



Its that competitive side which is going to make you a good cyclists. It isnt always about winning. You can simply see how far you are behind the best riders in the club over a certain hill or just try to beat your best each time.



Last year in America the family of a cyclist killed tried to sue strava as the cyclist was racing to try and regain his top slot on a segment. Needless to say the law suit failed. Be sensible and obey the highway code at all times and you will be fine.





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WEAR A HEART MONITOR

 

Wear a heart monitor (£20 tesco/argos etc). it will allow you to see how hard you worked at certain parts of your ride. Each week as you get fitter and fitter you will be able to keep your heart rate higher for longer (meaning your able to work harder and harder). 







WEIGHTS IN THE GYM

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If you don't belong to a gym join one or click onto www.bodyrock.tv and do their home workouts. They're FREE and very good.

 

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there is a variety of workouts you can do to get fitter and stronger, but make sure your workouts include squats, dead lifts and pull ups.  Most men should be able to squat and dead lift 50kg-70kg for 10 reps, whilst women should be lifting 25-40kg. These are the absolute minimum levels we would expect of our clients who were training to compete.  



Before you start or change any exercise program seek professional advice and assistance. if you have not performed squats or dead lifts, seek the help of a trainer who can show you correct technique. Also use a light weight and slowly build up over the 12 weeks. 



Your focus should be on full body strength & fitness and not just your cycling muscle. As you develop as your cyclist you can concentrate your training more specifically.  But becoming generically strong using big movements will give you a great foundation build upon

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INTERVALS

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one day a week should be dedicated to interval training. Start with a 10 run (begin very slow and every minute increase the level until your working at about 80% effort on the last minute.

 



Perform short hard intervals 1-3 minutes on all the equipment. bike, rower, x trainer, treadmill. by using a variety of machines you will be building up your overall strength in many more muscles than just cycling alone.



Wearing a heart rate monitor will allow you to push as hard as you can and keep track of your performance. 





Good Luck and let us know how you get on!