Start a bicycle training program

Pedal less, perform more

Let’s start by addressing one of the basic principles of training too often overlooked, especially by young cyclists. It is not the number of kilometers one does that matters, but the way in which they are done. In fact, it is commonly accepted that riding long distances at a steady pace, without ever breaking the pedaling rhythm, is the way to go.

But in reality, one must get used to abrupt, sudden, and repeated changes in cycling rhythm on the flats and uphill to be successful. This is because sprinting, especially on easy routes, is the most effective weapon for attacking and responding to an attack. But it requires rapid and violent muscle contractions, so a rider’s muscles must be supple and ready to adapt to sudden stress changes from organs in the circulatory and respiratory systems.

Those who train to sprint have breath for any level of exertion, regardless of how hard and long the effort may be. And they will be able to cope with the sustained demands and go the distance. Those on the other hand, who have not prepared their muscles, heart, lungs and nervous system for this work, if forced by circumstances to sustain it, will soon be crushed by the feeling of heavy legs, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

This method also has the advantage of spending fewer hours in the saddle, which, even if the training is light, is a considerable expenditure of energy. To get used to staying in the saddle for the hours needed for an endurance event or race (such as a Gran Fondo), a long ride once a week is sufficient.

In practice, this concept translates into doing far fewer kilometers than the event or race distance requires.

Perfecting your pedal stroke, that is, the style, is the first goal to pursue at the start of any bicycle training program. In the beginning, one should limit oneself to pedaling according to traditional theoretical principles: that is, with the widest ankle clearance and the leg rising without hip, torso or head movement. Continue practicing your form until a smooth and round pedal stroke is automatic. Proper pedaling style saves a great amount of physical effort. 

Reaching your ideal weight and adapting all organic functions to an increasingly demanding work load on the bike is part of the physiological goals of training. Before starting a training program, a body is more or less loaded with fat that is basically dead weight that hinders pedaling fluency and organ function. 

The elimination of this fat must:  

● Be progressive, not all at once. 

● Not be total; the muscles should remain enveloped in a light layer of fat and not be too cut.

Weight loss progression during the training process should include an initial and noticeable reduction in fat loss, followed by a decrease in its speed of loss and quantity, and a slight increase in muscle mass before stabilizing. 

A gradual and simultaneous increase in agility, strength and endurance must go hand in hand with the progressive refinement of style as you achieve your ideal weight. It is important to remember that the progression of strength and endurance must, however, not be at the sacrifice agility in the process as it is the fundamental skill of any cyclist. The ratios will change, that is, improve over time, but not cadence, which should always be medium-high.