The 3 elements of cycling performance
As a coach, one of the points I want my riders to understand is that all cycling performance flows from three main elements: training, nutrition and recovery. You cannot be a successful cyclist unless you master all three.
1. Training. The most obvious element of cycling performance is training. You can’t improve your performance as a cyclist if you don’t participate in some kind of training program. Many books, articles and magazines have been written on effective training for cyclists and most of these can be helpful, depending on your experience level and goals. However, the easiest way to think about training is through the FITT model, which stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. Frequency is the number of times you pedal each week. One of the first decisions you need to make is how often you want to ride. This will be based on several variables, including the time you have available to ride and your goals as a cyclist.
Intensity it is a measure of how hard you work during a given cycling session. Time is the duration of the cycling session, such as 60 minutes or 20 miles. Generally speaking, there is an inverse relationship between intensity and time. The harder you work into a given workout (eg, the higher your heart rate), the shorter the session, and vice versa. The key to successful cycling training is to consistently balance intensity and time in a way that facilitates better performance. Gentle refers to the type of exercise you will perform during a workout (eg, cycling, hill training, interval training, strength training). To optimize training effect (ie, the performance benefits you gain from your training regimen), you must make decisions about how to best apply each of the components of the FITT model based on your goals as a cyclist.
2. Nutrition. To maximize your performance as a cyclist, you must engage in effective nutritional practices. Good nutrition provides at least 3 benefits. First and foremost, it will improve your cycling performance by providing you with the energy you need to complete your cycling training sessions and events such as races and tours. Second, good nutrition will facilitate the recovery process. The difference between feeling great during a workout and feeling like your legs are about to droop can be down to effective nutritional practices. Finally, good nutrition allows you to have a fit and healthy life beyond cycling.
3. Recovery. Recovery may be the most overlooked element of cycling performance. It may also be the most important. Simply put, you don’t improve as a cyclist because you train hard. You improve because you stay tough. Okay, you have to do both, but the physiological adaptation process that leads to better performance happens during rest, not during training. This happens due to the body’s desire to maintain an internal balance known as homeostasis. For example, after an intense workout, you may feel extremely tired and sore because your body is not used to the physical stress you experienced during that workout. During recovery and rest, the body undergoes physiological adaptations that make it stronger.
The next time you do that workout, it will feel so much easier thanks to these adaptations. The key is to allow adequate recovery from that hard initial workout. This is the essence of progressive overload and performance training. You work hard, get plenty of rest so your body can recover and get stronger, and then you can gradually increase the frequency, intensity, and duration. Your main goal as a cyclist is to create a training program that pushes you to your limits and then allows you to rest and recover properly so that your performance can improve. Always remember that hard work without adequate recovery is a recipe for overtraining, which will have an extremely negative impact on your cycling performance.