Training4cyclists.com has a large number of visitors who like to read about heart rate monitors, power meters and cycling training in general. Currently there are more than 450 unique visitors every day, but I want to make Training4cyclists.com even bigger and more importantly even better. Thus I would like you to help me to make this blog better known and more interactive.

1. Comment on posts
By posting a comment you have the opportunity to ask questions related to the post and get answers. This is a very good way to make Training4cyclists.com interactive. Until now I have answered 90% of all comments posted and I do my best to answer comments within 24hrs. If you check the ‘Notify me of followup comments’ you will be sure to see an answer from me or one of the many experienced readers. Some of my articles have had a lot of comments:
- What is your lowest heart rate ever? (38 comments)
- Effective programs for indoor cycling (19 comments)

2. Send ideas
I still have many ideas for topics on Training4cyclists.com, but it is very likely that you have a good idea for a post that you would like me to discuss. If that is the case then give me a hint and I will see what I can do about it.

3. Write articles
I haven’t tried to have guest bloggers writing articles for me yet, but if you are interested in writing quality articles about cycling training, heart rate monitors, wattage training or something related to these topics, there is a chance we can make a deal. Contact me for more info.

4. Link to training4cyclists.com
Adding links on websites, blogs and discussion forums on the internet is good way to help training4cyclists.com to grow. Every link pointing to Training4cyclists.com is a big help, because it adds visitors to my site and favours my rank in the search engines.

5. Stumble it
This social media tool is a great and fast way to discover news about bicycling or other topics. In the top of every article there is a small icon with the Stumbleupon.com logo you can use to recommend the articles you enjoy most. My article about strength training got quite a lot of attention through Stumbleupon.com and showed me that it is a great help if you stumble the pages you like. Join Stumbleupon.com and help Training4cyclists.com

Comments (4)

Motivation is important when you are a serious cyclist, because you spend so many hours on your bike. The best cyclists have an ability to motivate themselves workout after workout, season after season. But even though you think of yourself as a dedicated and motivated rider, you might sometimes feel that you have ended up in a training vacuum: You train every single day, but you don’t get any better.

Change training strategy
Doing the same interval procedure every Tuesdays and Thursdays are not necessarily the best way to train and certainly not the most motivating to ride. Mixing up your regular intervals with other intervals is not only motivating, but might improve some of the skills that you haven’t touched for a while. If you haven’t done focused anaerobic training that is one of the fastests skills to improve.

Unorganized intervals (fartlek)
Systematic interval training is the cornerstone in many training programs, but even the best training program needs to be mixed up with unorganized intervals. What I talk about is Fartlek, which is a combination of many different intervals with both aerobic and anaerobic events. These intervals are not organized as the intervals you know from regular interval training. Instead you use the terrain, the winds or you friends to get inspired to make attacks of various lengths. It is very challenging to train Fartlek if you train it with a couple of competitive friends.

Long Slow Distance Training
This might not sound like an opportunity if you are fed up with training hours, but if you have done a lots of systematic intervals with your power meter and got bored, there is a chance that doing couple of LSD sessions could be challenging.

Participate in Races
One of the easiest ways to increase your performance is to participate in races. In several countries there are opportunities to ride extra races every week, so that is a great alternative to your regular training. By doing races as training sessions you get targeted training that is very specific for what you aim for.

Even the best training program has limitations
Evaluating your performance is a process that shall continue throughout your career. Your training program must be optimized as you get knowledge about what works best for you. But even the best cycling program must be changed once in while.

Comments (4)

Fartlek was developed by the Swedish coach Gösta Holmer back in the 1930’s. It was originally used by runners, but a lot of other endurance sports have adapted it as a part of their training. If you read in Wikipedia, you will find a description that sounds like this:
“Fartlek, which means ‘speed play’ in Swedish, is a form of conditioning which puts stress mainly on the aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of this exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. Most Fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes and can vary from aerobic walking to anaerobic sprinting.”

Unorganized interval training
As you can see Fartlek is a combination of many different intervals with both aerobic and anaerobic events. These intervals are not organized as the intervals you know from regular interval training. Instead you use the terrain, the winds or you friends to get inspired to make attacks of various lengths. I think that the motivating factor in fartlek is the best thing about this kind of cycling training. Actually I know many riders that do this training without knowing that there is a name for it. They do it because it is great fun, effective and similar to races.

Fartlek with a theme
There are many ways you can use fartlek. You can decide to give your sessions a tactical theme: E.g. Try to make explosive, surprising attack when the group slows down.
Or maybe you could give it a technical theme:
E.g. Ride fast in the areas with many sharp curves.
Or you can make a personal theme with something you want improve.

Difficult to reproduce training sessions
If you have a period where your motivation for regular interval training is low or non-existing, then try Fartlek. It is fun and often you will experience that you get a really good workout. The only problem is that it is impossible to reproduce a good training session. Simply because the amount of aerobic and anaerobic training you get is based on how spontaneous you (or your friends) are. Thus, the outcome will vary from time to time. If you have a power meter you can compare the data files from different training sessions, but you can only use these files for analyses. It is impossible to reproduce a previous training session.

Make a finish time or line
You have to ride on feeling, just like you do in races. But as a thumb of rule, set a time for the duration of the fartlek, so you will now when it is time to make the session harder or be more passive. I have tried to ride these sessions without a defined finish time. Believe me when I say that fartlek without time or finish line is enjoyable only for the strongest rider who can punish his so-called friends.

Have fun
I can only recommend all riders to try fartlek if they haven´t tried it yet. Though it is an unorganized way to train compared to most of the other advice I give here on training4cyclists.com, it is still a very effective and inspiring way to get a good workout for your aerobic and anaerobic systems.

Comments (1)

When you train hard, you deserve to get good results. One of the best moments to improve your performance is the first hour after your training session. Here are 5 simple tips for a better recovery:

Cycling recovery

1. Drink water
   60% of your body weight is water, so there is buffer system to cover water loss during training. Nevertheless this water loss has a huge impact on your performance and must be replaced as soon as possible. Plain water is under normal circumstances adequate for rehydration, since solid food replaces the electrolytes lost during exercise. Thus, if you eat properly, you do not need to take any supplements to make it up for the electrolytes. Under very hot conditions it is though necessary to replace electrolytes as well as the lost water.
2. Eat carbohydrates
   Blood glucose concentration regulates the secretion of insulin, which works as an anabolic steroid for you after training. Thus, we are interested in eating carbohydrates to stimulate the secretion of insulin and get all the benefits of this naturally hormone. Insulin promotes the uptake of glucose from blood into cells (advanced version will come later), stimulates the synthesis of glycogen and promotes synthesis of muscle proteins.
3. Eat proteins
   This is not an advice I will keep for strength lifters and body builders only. Muscles cells are built of proteins and they are broken down during training. Endurance athletes also need proteins immediately after training to recover from their effort. Just like carbohydrates, proteins stimulate secretion of insulin, which help building up the muscle again.
4. Change clothes
   Get some dry clothes on immediately after training or competition. You can easily get a cold if you do not change clothes. And do it before you start to freeze, please. I have seen it a lot of times, when people are chatting after a race. Exactly that moment is one of the easiest moments to get ill. It is a very frequent mistake that happens again and again. Please do not do that mistake.
5. Cool down
   Take a short ride in small gears. It helps your muscles to recover from hard intervals or races. Removal of lactate and other metabolits is enhanced when you do light exercise. Depending on your overall fitness, I will recommend you do a 5-20 minutes ride after each training session.

Comments (9)

1. Know how hard to train
Understand the terms ‘overreaching’ and ‘overtraining’ and use them to improve your performance. Distinguishing overtraining from overreaching is important, because overreaching is a very natural process when we train. Actually that is an advanced use of the super compensation principle.

2. Make a training plan
Plan your training and set a goal for your training. Find out how much time you can spend on training and how you can get the best results with the time you have. When you know what your goals are and what time you have to achieve your goals, it is time to make a detailed training program.

3. Power meter training
Measure your effort in watts and evaluate your training rides and races. A power meter is a very powerful tool, which gives you opportunity to make even better training plans. It is best way to follow your progress.

4. Strength training
Heavy and explosive lifting makes you more efficient and stronger. Use Cycling Training Tips’ strength training program for cyclists.

5. VO2 max intervals
Increase your maximum oxygen consumption. For a cyclist a large aerobic engine is essential. When you go for a ride you stimulate your aerobic system, but how much stimulation depend on the intensity you ride with. VO2 max intervals triggers a great response from your aerobic system.

6. Anaerobic intervals
Increase your anaerobic endurance. After only a few of these sessions your body will be better to work at an anaerobic environment. This skill is primarily used in competitions, where jumps and sprints demand anaerobic efforts. This art of training is very exhausting and therefore it should primary be used for competition preparation.

7. Sprint training
Get faster and more explosive. When it comes to true sprinters, genes play a big role. Sprinters are born to be sprinters. It is said that you can make a slow donkey to a faster donkey, but you can never make a donkey to a race horse. This animal is simply born to be slow and it is the same situation for many non-sprinters. But even slow donkeys can get faster, so sprint training is strongly suggested.

8. Fartlek
Improve your tactical skills (and aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, sprints… etc.) If you have a period where your motivation for regular interval training is low or non-existing, then try Fartlek. It is fun and often you will experience that you get a really good workout.

9. Aerodynamics
Improve your aerodynamics. Cheat the wind… The biggest changes in aerodynamic drag come from changes in body position.

10. Recovery
Optimize your recovery. When you train hard, you deserve to get good results. One of the best moments to improve your performance is the first hour after your training session.

Comments (1)

There are lots of good places to find information out in the blogosphere. Once in a while I mention blogs that I think are worth a visit. Today I will present a couple of various links:

• Science of Sports has some good articles on cycling and doping problematics.
• GamJam has some tips for optimization of time trialing (what reminds me that I was supposed to write a couple of articles about time trialing…)
• Herneweb is surprised that Michael Rasmussen has a lot of supporters after he was pulled of the Tour. I have made a lot of thoughts about this ‘Chicken’ case because I think it is very interesting for a couple of reasons. I will make a post on that topic in the future.
• Finally I would like to mention what I forget from time to time on my computer: Double Check everything that doesn’t work!

Comments (2)