How Do You Prepare For A Self-Supported 1000km+ Ultra-Distance Cycling Race?
If you are reading this, you are probably one of those adventurous souls who love to challenge themselves with epic feats of endurance. You are unsatisfied with the usual weekend rides or even the occasional century. You want to go beyond what most people think is possible on a bike. You want to ride 1000km or more in a single event without external support, relying only on your strength, skills and resources. You want to experience the thrill of ultra-distance cycling. But
Five Simple Training Tips
Improving doesn’t have to be complicated! This blog post provides you with five simple tips that will help you improve your cycling performance. Follow these tips and you'll be on your way to reaching your cycling goals! Consistency Adaptability Progressive Overload Recover Fuel your body Move your body regularly every day or at least every other day. Consistency in training to me as a coach and athlete is exercising at least 3-6 times per week, which should be sport specific
Season Review: What Went Wrong and How To Fix It
Taking the time to assess what went wrong this season can provide ample opportunity to improve your chances for success in the season to come. This guide is based on personal experience, outlines possible scenario and how to fix it. Fatigue Did you burn out? Where you prone to excessive aches and pains? Did you get sick easily and too often? Remedy: First rest, and then start easy and slow. Purposely ceasing training for a few weeks will give your body and mind time to rest,
A General Guide to Nutrition and Hydration
Exercise and nutrition are connected, achieve sports performance at any level depends on meeting day to day nutritional requirements. This guide introduces some of the basics of nutrition and healthy eating, and the effect on your cycling performance. Please note this nutritional guide is not intended to be a medical opinion, diagnose, or treatment of any sort. Balanced Diet This refers to the intake appropriate amounts of food and fluid to supply nutrition and energy to supp
Practical Advice To Enjoy Cycling In Winter
Before you head out of the door, remind yourself that the ultimate goal of every outdoor bicycle ride is to return home safely. The most important thing to remember when riding your bicycle outdoors in winter or summer is that backing off or cutting a ride short can never be a bad decision. Ride indoors on really bad days...there are times when you have to abandon and get on the indoor trainer. Why you should ride outside in ride-able winter conditions? Well it may be unpleas
What Is Off Season Training?
Off-season training is a term that refers to the period when an athlete is not actively competing in their sport. Off-season training is usually designed to help athletes maintain or improve their physical condition, skills, and mental readiness for the next competitive season. Off-season training can vary depending on the sport, the level of competition, the goals of the athlete, and the individual preferences of the coach and the athlete. However, some common elements of of
Recovery Week: A Week Of Very Little Training
My recovery weeks generally consists of 2 active recovery rides during the week and one or two endurance rides on the weekends. There are recovery weeks where I do very little (2 rides) to no riding at all. Personally I found that a rest week completely off the bike creates more time for other stuff, more sleep, and brings more physical and mental freshness. Blend the easy week with the very best recovery method – 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep! Recovery happens when you sleep
Post Ride Recovery
Fatigue is a natural result of a race, hard session and or load; it is the body’s way of communicating that it needs rest. Choosing to ignore this message will only lead to overtraining, illness and or injury. What can you do to improve your recovery time? Warm-up, recovery starts before a race or hard session. Refuel during training and racing. Cool downs, this help your body to return to its pre-exercise state and kick starts the recovery and adaptation phase. This should
What Is The Peak Phase And Taper Phase
After weeks or months of base and build training, you're close to the start line—but your job isn’t done yet. To truly show up at your best, you need to navigate the final two phases: Peak and Taper. Though often lumped together, these phases serve different purposes: The Peak Phase is about sharpening your fitness. It’s when you do just enough race-specific work to hit your highest form without digging a fatigue hole. The Taper Phase is about shedding fatigue, not fitness. H
