Gareth rode his analogue bike the other day, and realised that his fitness was not what it should be!
With spring around the corner, it’s time to make sure we are fit enough to enjoy the next riding season….
Nothing beats time on the bike…
Bike fitness is very specific, and the best way to get ride fit is obviously to ride more!
It’s not always possible to get out on the MTB though is it?
Gareth should know better too, with his sports science and coaching background, plus Performance Manager role at British Cycling, he really has no excuses!
The good news is that it doesn’t have to take a lot of time! There is a huge amount of research that suggests the best way to improve aerobic fitness quickly is short and intense intervals.
Spinning classes at the gym are a great way of doing this, or riding on a turbo trainer at home in the garage.
A simple workout would be:
- 5 – 10 minutes warm up
- 30 seconds flat out – 30 seconds recovery (easy pedalling) x 5
- 5 minutes easy cycling
- Repeat twice more
- 5-10 minute cool down
- Stretch
Another great session is the classic pymarid
- 10 minute warm up
- 10 seconds flat out 50 seconds easy pedalling
- 20 seconds flat out 40 seconds easy
- 30 seconds flat out 30 seconds easy
- 40 seconds flat out 20 seconds easy
- 50 seconds flat out 10 seconds easy
- 40 seconds flat our 20 seconds easy
- 30 seconds flat out 30 seconds easy
- 20 seconds flat out 40 seconds easy
- 10 seconds flat out 50 seconds easy
- 10 minutes cool down then stretch.
You’ll soon see that 2 sessions a week plus a weekend mountain bike ride will see an improvement in fitness in no time.
These sessions are intense though, so no cycling the day before or after to allow your body to recover properly too!
Hit the gym
Hitting the gym isn’t really going to help improve your fitness for cycling, but it can really help with your core and strength for descending.
There are 4 core exercises to incorporate into your training – but make sure you take advice to ensure you have proper form!
- Squat – a barbell squat. Works all the key leg muscle groups of Glutes, Hamstrings, Calves and Quads, as well as your core
- Single Arm Dumbell Row
- Chest Press – with dumbells or bench press
- Core – Glute Bridge and Plank.
Here’s a hints and tips video with our friends at Rise Performance to help you get started (keep following our Pedalabikeaway YouTube channel for more)!
Join a night ride!
As we said, nothing beats riding your bike, so joining a group night ride takes away some of the excuses!
You’ve committed to go, have friends coming too, so are more likely to find both the time and energy to turn up and ride.
Our next Shop Night ride is Thursday 27th February, so if you fancy it, head over to our website for full details
See you on the trails!