4 Week Training Plan
Our training plan is designed to help you build your fitness, endurance and speed over the next four weeks so you can enjoy the Tour de Broads to the full. It will get you active, help you feel great and achieve more in life as it’s designed to give you some added oomph and energy! All we assume is that you are physically capable of pushing yourself hard, you are already riding a little (perhaps once a week) and you have the drive and determination to want to improve. Our plan asks you to commit to a regime of 3 rides a week for the next 4 weeks – something that should be capable by most people even if you already have a busy life! If you are in any doubt about your physical health or you feel unwell during or after riding, consult your GP immediately.
Training is all about adapting your body to cope with longer or faster or harder physical activity levels. To achieve this we need to define some measurement of how much effort (and ideally how much output) you are making. To keep it simple, we describe this effort and output using a training zone scale with four levels – 1 (easy) to 4 (flat out). We can measure these training levels, or zones, in a number of ways:
Perceived effort – This is your own personal estimate of effort. Think of the amount of effort you’re putting in on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being a poodle and 10 being absolutely flat out!
Heart rate – a lot more scientific & accurate and an excellent way to judge your effort and encourage and regulate your pace. Heart rate monitors are relatively cheap and very easy to use. The first step to measuring your effort with heart rate is to calculate your maximum heart rate. We can do this very accurately with you in our bike fit studio but this method will allow you to get started quickly. Find a quiet stretch of road ideally on long steady gradient and sprint flat out for 1 minute. I mean flat out! Rest for at least 2-3 minutes (ideally spinning the pedals lightly) and then repeat another 3 times. The safest way to do this is on the turbo trainer. The highest number you see on your heart rate monitor we can assume for now is your maximum heart rate. We will use this to measure your riding effort in our training plan.
Power meter – these are now widely available and used by riders looking for detailed feedback and measurement of their training and riding performance. They measure not your effort level but your output levels in the form of the number of Watts you are generating. This requires a big investment in your training and detailed initial calibration which we offer in our bike fit studio – but for this initial training programme let’s discard its use.
So we know how to measure and quantify our effort, now let’s agree our training zones/levels:
L1 – Endurance
- up to 75% max heart rate
- Perceived effort of up to 5/10
- Should be able to keep up this pace for a long time - over 2 hours
L2 – Tempo
- 75-85% max heart rate
- Perceived effort of 6-8/10 – often called 'comfortably uncomfortable'
- Should be able to keep up this pace for 1-2 hours
L3 – Threshold
- 85-95% max heart rate
- Perceived effort of 8/10
- Should be able to keep up this pace for no more than 45-60 minutes maximum
L4 – Flat out
- Over 95% max heart rate
- Perceived effort of 10/10
- Should be able to keep up this pace for just a few seconds
Pedalling speed
Cycling performance is all about balancing two vital systems in your body – your aerobic system (heart and lungs and the carrying of oxygen to your muscles to fuel them) and your muscular system (to generate power). How fast you pedal, often called cadence, is a key determining factor is achieving this balance. Pedal too fast and you overwork your aerobic system (feel out of breathe) and pedal in too big a gear and you over work your muscular system (legs feel like lead!). For most people, the ideal target cadence is between 90-100 rpm. That is about 1.5 pedal revs per minute. Use your gears to maintain a pedalling cadence of around 90-100 rpm.
You may find this tough at the start so work up to it over the 4 weeks. As we age (over 40) you may find 85-95 a more suitable target. Once you slip below 85 you risk losing a lot of efficiency. Cadence measurement is now a common feature of many bike computers
Training on the Turbo Trainer
With the turbo trainer, there is no hiding, no downhill coasting, no traffic lights for a breather. This means your effort tends to be harder and more constant. Broadly, 1 hour of turbo riding is the equivalent of 40-45 minutes on the road as long as you’re riding constantly!
Rest day
A gentle ride on a rest day is an excellent way to increase your adaption to cycling and particularly good if you’re looking to shed a few extra pounds. Don’t go mad, these are rest days. Ride hard everyday and you will end up being burnt out, demotivated and fed up!
If you can ride, just do about an hour at L1, turbo train at L1 with the television or radio or why not cycle to work or to the shops.
Enjoy the ride!
So we have a way of measuring and controlling your effort, we understand the basics of pedalling speed and we have a simple scale of four levels to quantify how much effort we are putting in. All that is left is to enjoy the ride and see the improvements. When I say “enjoy” what I mean is: enjoy the results. Training will be tough at times and not very enjoyable especially when I am asking you for a big 60 second effort but the resultant feeling of satisfaction you will have will be enjoyable. I can’t wait to hear your feedback on your improvements that this 4 week plan will give you. Enjoy the ride....
Neil.
Pedal Revolution, British Cycling Level 2 Coach.