33 Cycling Training Tips to Improve Your Riding

By Arnie Baker

The only way to get finished is to get started.

Keep in mind these tips during the course of your cycling, whether you are a beginning or seasoned cyclist, or you are training indoors or out. Come back to this list for a quick reference occasionally as a way of initiating a review of your overall program. The tips will help keep you on the right track.

• Get a plan, set goals, and figure out what you need to get there.
• Keep a training log.
• Keep track of feet climbed with your bike computer.
• Periodize your week, training differently during different sessions.
• Learn to work harder on hard days, easier on recovery days. Plan for recovery.
• Work on different aspects of fitness in different workouts.
• Climb, climb, and climb. Learn to love climbing.
• Work on aerobics, endurance, and strength.
• Work on strength with heavy gears and one-legged riding.
• Train strength by riding hills or into the wind in big gears at about 50 rpm.
• Pull and push with the same-side hand and leg when climbing.
• Establish a breathing rhythm when working hard, especially when climbing.
• Ride with riders both stronger and weaker than you are.
• Play intensity games with friends.
• Improve your riding technique and skills though practice and from coaches.
• Generally ride with relaxed, bent arms. Time trial starts and sprints are different.
• Ride with knees up-and-down or knees in. Avoid knees-out riding. If you ride with knees out, you may need to raise your saddle or increase the distance between your feet using longer-axle pedals or pedal spacers.
• Train in different riding positions.
• Use a heart-rate monitor.
• Use a power meter.
• Wear a helmet and gloves. Keep your equipment safe and in good working order.
• Check your position on the bicycle, especially your seat height.
• Rely on food, not pills or supplements, for your nutrition.
• Maintain hydration; drink before you are thirsty.
• Keep carbohydrate solution in your water bottle.
• Optimize your weight.
• Redirect the stresses of your life.
• Have patience in your program.
• Do not try new equipment or foods for the first time on event day.
• When your group is warming up, or cooling down, ride in a smaller gear than just about everyone else to learn to spin better.
• Learn to work hard on a stationary bicycle trainer. Use online apps like Zwift or TrainerRoad if necessary to keep motivated.
• Practice skills such as pacelines, regularly.
• Watch good riders and how they flow without doing any more work than necessary. Try to learn from them.