Winter is a tough time for many cyclists. The days get cold, the nights get longer, and motivation is often low.
In my racing career as an ultra-endurance cyclist and from my experience working as a personal trainer to cyclists, I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of a well-thought-out winter training regime.
I was a relative latecomer to cycling, only getting into the sport around a decade ago when I was in my twenties, but I was an immediate convert to the physical and mental health benefits of cycling.
Don’t just take my word for it though – there are a ton of benefits of cycling backed up by expert advice, and the experience of thousands of other cyclists like me. From cardiovascular fitness to mental clarity, cycling has been proven to be a huge bonus for overall well-being.
For a beginner road cyclist, road cycling can sometimes seem like an intimidating hobby to get started in.
In reality, beginner road biking is one of the most accessible, independent, and worthwhile sports around – and has the huge added benefit of combining exercise and transport into one neat package.
There are numerous approaches to cardio training for cyclists. Some cyclists focus on doing a lot of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), others tend to stick with moderate-intensity steady-state cardio workouts, and others use heart rate zones to guide heart rate training. Another worthwhile approach is polarized cardio. Polarized cardio splits the focus to the two … Read more
A couch-to-20k cycling plan takes a beginner from zero to comfortably riding 20 km (12.4 miles) in 6–8 weeks. The progression: week 1: 3× rides of 5–8 km at conversational pace. Week 3: 3× rides of 10–12 km. Week 5: 3× rides of 15–17 km. Week 7: one 20 km ride completed. The key principle … Read more
Cycling builds the gastrocnemius (the upper, visible calf muscle) and the soleus (the deeper calf muscle that handles long-duration efforts). The gastrocnemius does most of the work during high-cadence efforts and standing climbs; the soleus carries the load during seated steady-state riding. Cycling produces well-developed but not bulky calves — typical pro riders measure 36–42 … Read more
Cycling training zones split effort into 7 levels based on power (% FTP) or heart rate (% threshold HR): Zone 1 (active recovery), Zone 2 (endurance), Zone 3 (tempo), Zone 4 (threshold), Zone 5 (VO2 max), Zone 6 (anaerobic), Zone 7 (neuromuscular). Below, we cover each zone’s purpose, prescribed durations, and how to use them … Read more
The six best HIIT cycling workouts are: Tabata (8 × 20s/10s), 30/30s (8 × 30s hard / 30s easy), 1:1 minute intervals (5 × 1 min hard / 1 min easy), the “40/20” VO2 protocol (10 × 40s hard / 20s easy), micro-bursts (15s sprint / 15s easy × 12), and the classic 4 × … Read more
Tempo training cycling is a great alternative to Zone 2 training and an excellent way to improve your aerobic performance. Zone 2 rides are long rides at low intensity, which are pretty easy going on your body while going a long way to improving your fitness. These endurance rides have their place, but you can … Read more