You have bought a bicycle, you have a helmet and you really want to ride in your city or your area. Cycling is one of the healthiest aerobic activities and, more importantly, it can be practiced by anyone. It is a sport in which it is very easy to adapt the intensity to a high competitive level or a recreational level by taking a walk in the park.
However, it is important that if you are not used to exercising, you first progressively increase your aerobic capacity with a good training routine . As you accumulate sessions with the bicycle, you must also learn to pedal correctly and have an adequate cadence.
For all these reasons, we offer you this training program aimed especially at people who are new to cycling and designed so that little by little you can adapt to one-hour sessions. We will also explain how to record your training data and what benefits this has for you.
Training plan for beginners cyclists
This training plan that we present below has a duration of 4 weeks and with it you can easily adapt to exercising with the bike. During the first 3 weeks you will do 2 consecutive sessions followed by 2 rest days. In the last week you will only train 3 days.
| Week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 30 min. EEP 5 | 30 min. EEP 5 | Break | Break | 30 min. EEP 6 | 30 min. EEP 5 | Break |
| Week 2 | Break | 45 min. EEP 6 | 45 min. EEP 5 | Break | Break | 45 min. EEP 6 | 45 min. EEP 6 |
| Week 3 | Break | Break | 60 min. EEP 5 | 60 min. EEP 5 | Break | Break | 60 min. EEP 6 |
| Week 4 | 30 min.* | Break | Break | 30 min.* | Break | Break | Break |
* Vary the speed randomly between an EEP of 5 and 7.
What does EEP mean?
The acronym EEP stands for Scale of Perceived Effort. It is a scale that is measured out of 10 and that indicates the intensity of the training. A 1 means that the effort is minimal while a 10/10 is a maximum effort.
As you can see, as you progress, the sessions get slightly longer as your cardiovascular capacity and pedaling technique will have improved. In the last week you will be able to play with the speeds a bit and raise your heart rate for short periods of time.
How do I know that I am training at an appropriate intensity?
- You must have some difficulty speaking but you should be able to say short sentences.
- Your heart rate and breathing rate should be faster than when you are at rest.
What is the correct pedaling technique and what cadence should I have?
Taking care of your pedaling technique is very important to avoid pain and reduce the likelihood of injuries. To pedal correctly.
- You should place the front third of the foot (the part where the toes meet the rest of the foot) on the pedal.
- Your knees should point straight forward, never to the sides.
- The pedaling rhythm that you must take should be something greater than 60 pedaling per second .
What happens if I cannot comply with the training program?
It is not necessary that you follow the proposed training program to the letter. For example, if it hurts to do 2 workouts in a row, you can intersperse a day of rest between them to recover well.
In the event that it is difficult for you to comply with the sessions due to having a very restricted work schedule, you can try to carry them out by moving from your workplace to home as long as the distance is optimal.
conclusion
Cycling is a sport suitable for all ages but it is necessary that you follow a progressive training plan that allows you to gradually enter the aerobic training threshold and with which you can learn to pedal correctly.
Once you have gotten used to riding a bicycle, you will see how pleasant it is to do sports while enjoying the landscapes and at the same time you will enjoy the benefits that this sport offers you.
References
- Kidd, S. Beginner Cyclists: A Program to Get You Started. For Breakingmuscle.com [Reviewed September 2015].
