Saturday, January 14, 2012

How to Make Cycling Plans for Fitness?


If you want to increase your endurance and the distance you can cycle, you may want to pick an endurance bicycling race and begin training for it. Having an end goal in mind will help you stay motivated as you slowly increase the distance you can ride. There are several strategies you can use to improve during this training period.
Weekly Plan
When building up your ability to cycle for long distances, you need to establish a weekly routine of training, according to the National Deaf Children’s Society, which hosts charity ultra marathon cycling challenges. Aim to cycle three to four days a week, aiming for low to moderate mileage. After you have completed three or four medium-length rides during the work week, use one weekend day to go for a higher mileage ride. The day after your high mileage ride should be a rest, or recovery, day.
Weeks 1-3
In addition to a weekly schedule, your training should consist of four-week cycles, or training blocks. For the first three weeks, follow the weekly schedule of three medium-length rides and one long-distance ride. Each week, increase your mileage and intensity slightly, by about 5 to 10 percent, according to the UltraMarathon Cycling Association. For example, the first week, ride 15 miles three to four times and one long ride of 30 miles. The next week, take three 17-mile rides, with one 33-mile ride and take three 19-mile rides and one 35-mile ride the third week.
Recovery Week
The fourth week of your month-long training block should be a recovery week. Throughout the first three weeks of the cycle, you are putting intense physical strain on your body, so you need to take some time for your body to repair itself. Do not stop cycling completely, but reduce your mileage by around half of what you rode the previous week. For example, if your third week consisted of three 19-mile rides and one 35-mile ride, your recovery week should be three 10-mile rides and one 15-mile ride.
Training for a Race
You can continue to increase the distance of your rides until your high-mileage rides hit two-thirds the distance of the approaching race. Ideally, you should reach this peak a week before the race. After you hit this peak, you need to begin tapering, or lowering your mileage and training intensity, so you can recover fully before the race. If your race is a 200-mile ride, your peak mileage should be 130 miles, and your recovery rides during the last week should be between 10 to 20 miles.

 
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