A nice way to get in the miles. Remember when the weather was this warm?
If you start cycling with a very low level of general fitness. It is highly advisable to break yourself in gently. For a few weeks, if not months, you should concentrate on base level (aerobic) fitness. This is essentially cycling at a decent pace, but, avoiding any sprints up hills.
This is mostly common sense, most people won’t need to be told, as it will feel like the best thing to do. However, if you’re riding with other people or enter a cycle sportive in the heat of the moment, you may find you are pushing yourself more than you imagined.
When you have a few good rides in your legs, you will start to get a better idea of what the body can cope with. You can gradually increase distance and later intensity.
This kind of base level training is done around 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. It is an effort level, where you should be able to speak to someone cycling alongside without running out of breath.
Base level training is not just for beginners but every cyclist. Typically, I concentrate on base level training during the winter. I will spend about three months of training at a low intensity, but, trying to get a lot of miles in.
Heart Rate Zones.
You can use a heart rate monitor to keep yourself within a target heart rate. However, don’t become a slave to your heart rate monitor. If you find yourself creeping up into a high heart rate on a hill, don’t feel obliged to get off and walk. If you feel reasonably comfortable and have an idea of what the body can cope with, don’t worry about going into ‘wrong zone’ every now and then. During the long winter months of training, sometimes I just feel like pushing hard up some hills. There is no law that you have to keep within a certain heart rate for three months at a time.
The only time when I am strict about not going into a higher heart rate is during recovery rides during periods of intense interval training. If you are training and racing hard, it is important that recovery days really are recovery days.
Base level training should be fun. Find good roads, pray for good weather. Find other people with similar goals to help pass the time. Commuting to work, can help create more hours on the bike.
How Long to Keep Base Rate Training?
As you build up your aerobic fitness, you will feel more comfortable at racing up hills. You will be able to do more effective training when you have that base level of fitness.
Cycling with heart rate monitor
Training for cycle sportives
Winter Cycle Training
That’s a particularly lovely photo. The essence of a beautiful English summer day. Let’s hope we get plenty of them this year!
Nice blog very informative, thank you. I also took a look at the Hyperlinks Heart rate monitors, you have given me a much better understanding of training thank you.
Also always remember to warm up, especially before races, even if they are entered on the spur of the moment. And stretch after cycling, even when the sun’s shining and you’re feeling good.