{"id":175885,"date":"2019-10-29T13:37:01","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T13:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=175885"},"modified":"2019-10-29T13:38:01","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T13:38:01","slug":"build-your-own-cycling-training-plan-pro-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/10\/29\/build-your-own-cycling-training-plan-pro-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Build Your Own Cycling Training Plan \u2013 Pro Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The best way to get to the next level as a cyclist is to have a plan. So far, we\u2019ve covered how to work with the basic building blocks of such a plan but there\u2019s always more to learn. How do you deal with unexpected changes, stay flexible, and adjust without abandoning the whole plan? How to periodise, track results, and progress at a healthy pace? Let\u2019s dive into some of the nuances of training plan building.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Be ready to adjust<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This might sound counter-intuitive but strictly following a training plan no matter what may not be the correct long-term strategy. You might get ill, injured, have extra workload at your job, social commitments, exceptionally bad weather, and many other reasons that call for an adjustment. Alternatively, sometimes you might also discover a new way to train or get advice from someone more experienced. So, being open to change and flexible can pay off in the long-term. A good first step is to start tracking heart-rate variability to be able to tell in the morning whether your body is ready for the training load that\u2019s panned or if you need to adjust.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_175892\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-175892\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/10\/cyclist-hill-profimedia-0315070581.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-175892\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/10\/cyclist-hill-profimedia-0315070581-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-175892\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">With every workout you create, you have to know what system or ability it\u2019s designed to improve or maintain, like muscular endurance or anaerobic capacity, for example. \u00a9 Florea Paul \/ Panthermedia \/ Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Periodise<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Periodisation doesn\u2019t have to be complicated but it has to be done. In a very basic sense, it just means that you should train differently at different times of the year. For example, during the winter off-season, you will do more volume but not much intensity but as you get closer to racing, you will introduce a lot more intensity and less volume. The fact that your training changes in a planned and systematic way makes it easier for you to develop as a cyclist. If you just did the same rides, at the same intensity and duration, you would plateau a lot earlier and likely lose motivation.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Increase intensity gradually<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s very easy for amateur cyclists to get too enthusiastic after a good week of training and ramp-up intensity way too much in the following one. Or they might get nervous before a race and start training twice as much to feel more confident. These are exactly the situations where a good training plan is the best prevention for overtraining and injury. A training plan should increase the level of stress on the athlete\u2019s body gradually. That way, positive and sustainable training adaptations can take place and fitness can keep rising without the risk of burnout.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_175891\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-175891\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/10\/road-cyclist-mountain-profimedia-0374728493.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-175891 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/10\/road-cyclist-mountain-profimedia-0374728493-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-175891\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Depending on your current skill level, your style of riding, and preferences, you might want to consider a variety of goals. \u00a9 Richard Johnson \/ Caia Image \/ Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Add race-specific workouts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It is important to build your endurance base, your threshold power, your VO2 max, sprints, and so on. But those are only isolated physiological systems and aspects of fitness. In a race, you need to be able to use all of them in a new scenario. When you start getting closer to your race day, you should plan a race-specific training. Simulate the specific things you will do in a race in your training.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Track progress and iterate<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>What sets pros apart from amateurs is often the fact that they are obsessed with results and tracking of the progress. Be like them. After finishing a training block, test whether it had the training effect you hoped for or not. Was the goal muscular endurance? Then measure how much better it is now and compare it to different training blocks with the same goal. That way, you can leave behind the blocks that don\u2019t work and do more of those that help you get better. Also, track and update your training intensity zones like heart rate and power. Sticking with the same values can easily make you under- or overtrain.<\/p>\n<p>Next up in the series, we will go over specific examples of cycling workouts for recovery, endurance, lactate threshold, and VO2max.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best way to get to the next level as a cyclist is to have a plan. So far, we\u2019ve [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":175894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[332],"tags":[3568,3650,2107,3648],"global-categories":[3449],"class_list":["post-175885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-training","tag-build-your-own-cycling-training-plan","tag-periodisation","tag-training-plan","tag-vo2max","global-categories-kodiaq"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Build Your Own Cycling Training Plan \u2013 Pro Tips - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The best way to get to the next level as a cyclist is to have a plan. 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