Main Page> Articles> Improve Your Cycling Whether your new to cycling, or have been trying it out for a while, this article will give you ideas to be able to travel faster and longer. Stationary bikes and cycling classes help build endurance and strength in your legs, but to be a good cyclist, you have to practice on the road. Before heading out on the road, make sure you have a good helmet, and sunglasses (good for protecting your eyes against dust as well as the sun) and of course a well-conditioned bike. To become a better cyclist, you need to push yourself at each workout to do a little more than you did the last time. Chose a path that challenges you. I like long hilly roads with very few cars. This way I can push my speed without having to worry about traffic. If you are just starting out, flatter roads are probably best. If you are aiming to do off-road adventures, find dirt trails instead. To improve your speed pick a challenging 10-25km route (adjust the route length as you see fit). Ride the route as best you can and record how long it took you to complete it. Notice at which points you feel weaker during the ride. This could be in the middle of the route, at the top of a hill, or a few minutes after completing a difficult section of the route. Ride the route again several days later. This time, when you notice yourself feeling weaker, push yourself just a little harder. Make your legs spin just a little faster. Try to finish the route in less time than your first time. Continue doing this until you feel you have mastered the route. Once you are pushing yourself as hard as you can, find yourself a longer, more challenging route and begin the process again. I'm not suggesting you use the same route everytime you cycle, but it is important to have a route or set of routes you use to benchmark your progress. This way you can tell if you are improving. As a beginner, you should be changing your "benchmark routes" at least 1-3 times a month. As you become used to the sport, your "benchmark routes" will not need to change as much. Use a variety of routes when you train and push yourself to go faster and/or further everytime. Once every few weeks, go to your "benchmark route" to check your improvement. Interval training can also help improve your speed. Pick an interval time such as 15 seconds, 30 seconds or 1 minute. Alternate between sprints and recovery speed at the interval time for about 3-10 minutes. For example, if my interval time is 30 seconds, I would go as fast as I could for 30 seconds, then bike at a recovery rate for 30 seconds, then speed up again for 30 seconds. I would continue this for several minutes. Pyramid training is another form of interval training. I like to use a 3 level pyramid, of 30 seconds, 45 seconds and 1 minute. At each level, I perform an easy, moderate and intense drill. For example, I would begin biking at an easy (recovery) speed for 30 seconds. Then I would bike slightly faster than I normally would for another 30 seconds. Then I bike as fast as I can for 30 seconds. I repeat the entire process at 45 seconds and then 1 minute. Then you must climb back down the pyramid and repeat the 45 second level and 30 second level again. A reverse pyramid would use the levels; 1 minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute. You can do an entire interval training style cycling workout or just incorporate an interval training set or two into your regular cycling route. Since cycling requires strong legs and some tricep (and arm) support, it is important to do some weight training on top of your cycling routing. I suggest working your legs with exercises such as squats, leg curls, leg extensions, lunges and calf raises at least once a week (twice if you are cycling less than 50km a week, since your legs will have more recovery time). Exercises such as push ups, tricep dips, bicep curls, pull ups and overhead press increase the strength in your upper body and should be done 1-2 times a week as well. Click Here For Descriptions Questions or Comments? Please e-mail me at bestrong_ca@yahoo.com