7 Tips To Improve Cycling Fitness

1. Base Fitness.

Base fitness refers to the underlying aerobic fitness of an athlete. Aerobic fitness is increased through training at a heart rate zone of between 60 - 80%; this level of training is often associated with long steady training rides. At this level of training the heart is exercised, increasing its capacity to send blood around the body. Base fitness is important for endurance events, however it is also important to have a good base of aerobic fitness before undertaking more strenuous, interval training sessions.

2. Winter training.

Winter is a good time to have a break for 2 to 3 weeks. You will lose some top end fitness, but in the long term it can beneficial, especially if you have had a hard season. After taking a break for a couple of weeks it is important to work on building up your base fitness through steady training miles. This will get you ready for the racing season in spring.

3. Monitor performance with Power Meter.

A power meter enables you to accurately measure how much effort you are putting in. It can be useful for gaging effort levels during training. A power meter is more accurate than a heart rate monitor in determining effort levels.

4. Have a clear focus.

To enable the best progress in cycling fitness it is important to have clear goals and a training plan to match. This enables you get the most from each training sessions. When training the quality of training is more important than the quantity.

5.Train at an intensity greater than Race pace.

If preparing for a 10 mile time trial, training should involve more than just riding 10 mile time trials. Interval sessions which involve short time periods of efforts greater than in a race will increase your anaerobic threshold and increase top end speed.

6. Adapt to signals from body.

When training it is important to listen to the body. If we ignore signals of the body then it can easily lead to over training which can do more harm than good. It is an important skill to be able to respond to signals from our own training. This will come over time, it is also helpful to keep a training diary where you can write down how you feel and signals such as average heart rates.

7. Enjoy your Training.

If we view training as an experience to be endured, if we feel training is only about suffering then we have the wrong attitude to training. If we enjoy training we will have a positive attitude and this will enable greater progress. Interval training will never be "enjoyable" in one sense but we should try to maintain a positive attitude to our training.

R.Pettinger is a member of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team and races in UK time trials. He finished 6th in 2006 National Hill Climb Championship.

Website of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team: http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/cycling