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This article is about setting your weekly training schedules, what to keep in mind, and the importance of keeping your schedule going as planned.
Setting a Weekly Distance
Training for your cycling season can be very complex and complicated. Especially if you don’t have a specific set of goals and schedules worked out before you begin. One of the significant problems cyclists encounter when they’re trying to set up a training program is determining how far they plan to ride each day as well as how many kilometers they’re going to ride.
You should have a log book with milestones that you wish to meet within a certain deadline. Your friend may travel five miles in one hour, whereas it may take you an hour and a half to travel the same five miles.
Set your Training Goals
You need to work your way up to what the “elite” cyclists can do. Trying to do too much too soon will result in adding unnecessary stress to the body. That can lead to soreness and possible injury. When this happens, it will slow your progress down even more.
Making Your Schedule Count
It’s important to remember that the body reacts to stress in different ways. This should be taken into consideration when setting your cycling schedule. When you begin cycling, set a goal for yourself and try to not go over that goal. Try to stay at the same goal for the first two to three weeks. When you see steady progress without stress, you can consider moving on to the next step on your schedule.
For instance, if one mile per day is what your first goal is, continue doing that for the first couple of weeks, and then increase it to 2 miles per day. Continue this for another couple of weeks. After you have reached your eight-week milestone, you can add hill training and base training tempo to your training schedule.
Making Advancements without Injury
If making advancements in fitness is your goal, you need to start your training season with a low amount of distance per week. You cannot expect to begin by training for long-distance cycling. And not expect to get injured or very sore.
Nothing will slow down a training season faster than injury; get the list of the most common injuries in cyclists. Another thing to remember is not to set yourself up for failure by setting your goals too high. Also, remember always to warm up before you begin each training session and cool down when you’re done for the day.
There are some straightforward and efficient stretches you can do to warm up and cool down. The best way to quickly reach your training goals and be ready for competitions is to work slowly but surely. If you feel the schedule you’ve set for yourself is coming too quickly, increase it slightly and gradually.
When the real cycling season begins, you’ll be glad you stuck to your training schedule.
If you are interested to read more about training programs then feel free to check some of our other articles on this topic:
