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Cycling Training 101

Justin Lee

Justin Lee

— 5 min read
Cycling Training 101
Early Spring 2022 - Racing in the German Bundesliga

Today's internet is flooded everyday with new ideas and misinformation regarding Cycling Training. Recently, there always seems to be a new training method circulating the internet that promises cyclists immediate results and a 20+ watt FTP Boost.

I am no Certified Cycling Coach, and I feel hesitant offering cyclists advice on their own training. However, there are certain principles of Cycling Training that will never change. Principles that are unaffected by the influx of new training methods available today, and are based on the core ideas of consistency and hard-work on the bike. I feel comfortable sharing these ideas with the Public.

Below, is a Cycling 101 Training Guide that offers Cyclists the 5 basic Principles of Cycling Training that has stood the test of time.

  1. Consistency is King

Training to become a stronger cyclist in its simplest form is a continuous adaptation to higher stress, load, and fatigue. In other words, the more training stress a cyclist can absorb and recover from, results in becoming a stronger cyclist. (Ex: Grand Tour Pro cyclists can absorb a lot of stress (30 hours a week full-gas on the bike) and also recover and do it all over again for 3 weeks straight.)

Accumulating high training stress can only be achieved by consistently riding your bike. Consistency is King in cycling. A few important points when approaching training consistency are the following:

  • Try to achieve a consistent cycling training stimulus and aerobic exposure. Depending on your goals as a cyclist, ride at least 4-5x a week, or even better 5-6x a week.
  • Unless recovering from a huge block of training, taking more than 3 days off the bike kills fitness.
  1. Zone 2 Training

Elite-level fitness is built from the foundation of consistent Zone 2 Training. So what is Zone 2 Training? Zone 2 means a lot of different things based on different metrics:

  • In regards to Power, Zone 2 = 56% – 75% of FTP.
  • In regards to heart rate, Zone 2 is 60–70% of your maximum heart rate (HRmax).
  • What if you don't know your FTP or your max heart rate?
    • If you don't have a power-meter or heart rate monitor, Zone 2 can easily be gaged based on feeling. For example, I know I am in Zone 2 without ever looking at any metrics by quite simply paying attention to my breath. A good indicator that you're in Zone 2 is when speaking is slightly strained, but does not leave you out of breath.

Zone 2 Training is important in a Training Plan because it provides the foundation for cycling fitness. In other words, it is hard to reach exceptional fitness without a solid foundation from Zone 2 Training. Once a solid foundation is built, cyclists can expect to get the most out of structured interval training. A few important points when approaching Zone 2 Training are the following:

  • When doing Zone 2 rides, try not to stop for longer than 1-2 minutes. Once a cyclist stops, heart rate drops, fat oxidation slows down, and a loss of the aerobic metabolic state occurs.
  • Aspirational elite-cyclists should be able to consistently handle at least 3-4 hours in Zone 2. (Pro-cyclists regularly ride 6-7 hours in the upper-limits of Zone 2 for their Endurance rides.)
  • Try to achieve consistently riding at the upper-limit of Zone 2 for maximal results. (Going slightly into the lower-limits of Zone 3 are also acceptable on climbs, etc)

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