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Ramping up any exercise plan<\/a> too quickly can sideline you before you even see the benefits of your efforts. As a cyclist, increasing your training load too quickly\u2014by either upping your mileage too fast or riding at too high of an intensity too soon\u2014can leave you susceptible to overuse injuries and overtraining<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we think about how our body adapts [to exercise], we basically do that by introducing exercise stress<\/a>, then allowing time for our body to recover from that stress and adapt to it, as it prepares for a new, higher level of stress,\u201d says Tim Cusick<\/a>, head cycling coach at Base Camp<\/a>. \u201cWhen we go too quickly, when we add too much duration or volume of training too quickly, our body gets too fatigued<\/a> to recover well, which actually negatively impacts our adaptation to those increases,\u201d he explains. Translation: You may end up doing more work, but not attaining your desired results.<\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n That\u2019s why many coaches and fitness experts encourage endurance athletes to progress workouts<\/a> slowly, week to week. However, increasing your cycling mileage or intensity is more complex than following a specific formula.<\/p>\n For example, elevation, headwinds, and tailwinds all can affect how slow or fast you ride which will ultimately affect how much distance you can cover in a given time period, says Brian Hammond<\/a>, bike fitter and coach at Team Wilpers<\/a>. On the other hand, cycling is a low-impact<\/a> sport, so you can push the limits a bit more than you would in a high-impact sport like running<\/a>. So it\u2019s safe to say your approach to upping your training load looks slightly different than other endurance athletes out there. But to help you figure out a solid way to increase your cycling distance and intensity without getting injured, here\u2019s what experts recommend.<\/p>\n Related StoryHow to Gradually Increase Your Cycling Distance<\/p>\n Depending on your experience level and how much time you can dedicate to training each week, you can progress your training load by spending more time in the saddle, adding intensity<\/a>, or both simultaneously as you become a more advanced rider, says Cusik.<\/p>\n These tips will help you do that safely and successfully:<\/p>\n 1. Outline Your Goals and Your Schedule<\/p>\n First, assess your goals<\/a> and how much time you can actually spend riding each week. This will make it easier for you to plan and structure your workouts to meet your goals, whether you\u2019re aiming to ride a 25-mile charity event or a century<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Story2. Build Consistency and Time in the Saddle<\/p>\n From there, focus on building consistency<\/a> and increasing your time in the saddle, especially if you haven\u2019t ridden before.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re newer to riding, Hammond suggests riding for 30 minutes at a conversational pace<\/a>, three to four times a week for at least two weeks. If you can handle that time and frequency pain-free and with energy, then progress your time in the saddle using the 10- to 15-percent rule on the third week, he says.<\/p>\n This means if you ride for 30 minutes three times a week<\/a> on your first and second weeks, add three to five minutes to each ride, or about 10 to 15 minutes to one ride on the third week. Continue to progress your rides each week using this formula, until you reach the hour mark or the maximum amount of hours you can ride per week, the experts suggest.<\/p>\n Related Story3. Add in Intensity<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve maintained a consistent multiple-day-per-week ride schedule and reached the total number of hours you can ride during the week, add a little more structure and intensity to your training. \u201cYou want to use a combination of harder days and easier days to progress your training load,\u201d says Cusick. This means on easy days<\/a>, you do slightly longer easy rides<\/a>, and on hard days, you add in some intervals<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hammond suggests adding 10 to 15 minutes total of hard efforts in intervals to an hour-long ride, with the individual intervals lasting between one and four minutes. To start, do four one-minute pushes at an intensity that leaves you breathless or working at an intensity of 7 to 9 on a RPE scale of 1 to 10 (10 being all-out effort), and three two-minute pushes of the same intensity.<\/p>\n As you progress to longer efforts continue to add intensity. This could mean practicing two three-minute pushes and one four-minute push, Hammond says.<\/p>\n Also, this is the point, consider paying attention to metrics like heart rate<\/a>, cycling power<\/a>, or training stress score, which is a feature of Training Peaks that factors in the duration and intensity of your workouts to calculate your overall training load, says Cusick.<\/p>\n Just keep the 10- to 15-percent rule in mind as you progress your intensity, as you still risk overtraining if you go too hard too quickly.<\/p>\n Finally, don\u2019t increase the length of a ride and the intensity at the same time because it too can lead to discomfort on the ride, like knee<\/a> or neck pain<\/a> or event those symptoms of overtraining, says Hammond.<\/p>\n Related StoryWhy Rest Is So Important When Progressing Your Cycling Training<\/p>\n Recovery<\/a> is the most important part of this process. \u201cThe benefit of working out doesn\u2019t happen during the workout, it happens during recovery,\u201d says Hammond. This is why it\u2019s important to give your body time to rest and adapt to the exercise stress, he explains.<\/p>\n Add a rest day<\/a> to your calendar after hard rides. This can include a recovery ride<\/a>, as long as you make sure you\u2019re cycling at a lower intensity, or a full day off from exercise.<\/p>\n In addition to rest days, it\u2019s smart to add a recovery week to your calendar at least every three weeks. That fourth week should involve more lower-intensity efforts, which gives your muscles time to adapt and absorb all of your prior training, says Cusick.<\/p>\n Related StoryOther Things to Consider When It Comes to Progressing Your Training<\/p>\n While it\u2019s important to slowly progress your cycling workouts<\/a>, you also want to make sure your bike fits properly and you\u2019re fueling your rides<\/a> accordingly.<\/p>\n If your fit seems off or you\u2019re feeling discomfort<\/a> on your ride, like numbness<\/a> or tingling in the hands or back pain<\/a>, consider getting fitted by a professional<\/a>. A solid bike fit<\/a> will set you up for success because it allows you to ride comfortably without aches and in a way that promotes efficiency<\/a>, says Hammond.<\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n Fueling is important for progressing your cycling, too, because how you fuel your rides<\/a> can affect fatigue<\/a> levels. Without energy to keep going, cyclists tend to break form and slow down midride, says Hammond.<\/p>\n To get the energy you need on short rides (an hour or less) make sure you hydrate<\/a> well before you head out. Drink 17 to 20 ounces of water with electrolytes two hours before your ride, and another 8 ounces about 30 minutes before. For rides an hour or longer, consume 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates<\/a> per hour, plus 6 to 7 ounces of fluids every 15 minutes or 24 to 28 ounces per hour. Related Stories Monique LeBrun is a health and fitness editor who is based in Easton, Pennsylvania. She covers a wide range of health and wellness topics, with a primary focus on running performance and nutrition. Monique is passionate about creating content that empowers runners to become the best versions of themselves. As an avid runner and parent, she loves spending time outdoors with her daughter, who often accompanies her on weekend runs as her personal mini run coach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"5 min read Ramping up any exercise plan too quickly can sideline you before you even see the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[11875,6647,102,5136,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-567681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-core","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-service","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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