There are 3 things you can change Show FREQUENCY - how often you cycle VOLUME - how many hours you go on a ride INTENSITY - how hard you push the pedals when you're on a ride So mileage is not that great a metric, because it's ignoring 2/3rds of the things you can change about training and, speed and distance are, in some sense, indirect consequences of the things you actually should focus on. Beginners generally make big gains and they can do that pretty much whatever they do. Typically beginners want a training plan that emphasizes frequency over the other 2. Often cited here as "Just get out and ride" - don't worry about how fast or far you're going just do it frequently. As you get fitter you'll find that the next best focus is your volume, i.e riding for longer. Typically though this doesn't mean every ride lasts 4 hours. Usually people do 1 or 2 longer rides a week. And finally, for the best cyclists, who cycle frequently and can ride for several hours on Sunday, if they want to improve they need to start focusing on the intensity of their riding. So you can see, there's no good goal mileage in general. It depends on each individual, what their training goal is, and how advanced they are. Your goal might be perfect at the level of fitness you're currently at. If you read someone else saying they ride 300 miles a week it could be a mistake to decide you need to match that. The thing about training is, it makes more sense to ask questions about what the best approach is when you have some kind of goal to aim for. The guy that says "I've entered a sportive in August that's 100 miles with quite a bit of climbing, what training should I do" or "I'm 250lbs, I want to get to 160lbs, what training should I do?" are probably going to have different training plans. "If only I had more time to train, I'd be in super shape." Ever overhear that comment on the club ride? I bet you have. You may have even said it yourself. It ranks way ahead of other cycling "if onlys" — wishes for more power, a faster sprint or a lighter bike. Give me 20 hours a week on the bike, we fantasize, and Lance would be in trouble. Sorry. More mileage, by itself, is unlikely to make us better riders. And that's good consolation for riders fighting a time crunch. Let's examine why a modest amount of training time allows you to unlock nearly all of your genetic potential. Then I'll show you how to reach a very high level of fitness by training only 7 hours per week. More Mileage Doesn't Guarantee More Fitness Each of us has inherited limits to our abilities. Simply adding mileage won't shatter that genetic ceiling. In fact, riding too much can slow us down rather than make us faster when we exceed our capacity to recover. EXAMPLE! Runners are more susceptible to injury than cyclists because of the high-impact nature of their sport. As a result, runners get harsh reminders from their bodies that they're overdoing it. Sports scientists agree that the injury rate for many runners jumps sharply at about 30 miles per week. Stay below this number and most runners can perform almost as well as they would at 50 or 70 miles a week — and have a far lower incidence of injury. Because cycling is a compliant, non-impact sport, we don't get such a dramatic warning that we've reached our mileage limit. But current thinking places it at about 110 to 150 miles per week for people who work for a living. That's 6 to 9 hours of riding. As Olympic road cycling champion Connie Carpenter-Phinney has noted, "If you work full time, 10 hours of riding each week is a lot." There's one more fallacy of wishing for unlimited time to ride: you'd probably get bored with cycling. Isn't gonna happen — you love to ride, right? But if all you did was ride — no weight training, no hiking, no leisurely Saturday mornings puttering around the house — you'd eventually come to dislike the bike. Deciding How Much To Train All of this said, trying to ride a set number of hours each week — and getting frustrated if you don't meet that goal — is exactly the wrong approach. You're an experiment of one. That's what running philosopher and physician George Sheehan used to say and he was right. We're all individuals. The training program that makes Lance Armstrong fit enough to win the Tour de France would make most of us too tired to get a leg over the bike. The secret? Ride when you can, and have fun when you do. You shouldn't punch a time clock when you get on your bike. 7-Hours-A-Week Training Even though this program allots 7 hours, avoid simply riding an hour each day. That can't give you endurance or recovery. Instead, ride longer some days and take other days completely off the bike. Your personal schedule will determine the exact mix, but most people ride more on weekends when they're off work. They schedule non-cycling days for weekdays. Here's a weekly schedule that works for many riders: 7-Hours-A-Week Training Schedule
Remember, intensity is one key to this program. If you could ride 200 to 400 miles per week, sheer volume would guarantee a high level of fitness. But you can't. Instead, make up for missing miles by including intense efforts. Mix short, hard efforts like sprints with longer, steady efforts on hills or into the wind. Spirited group rides raise intensity, too. Aim for efforts at or above your lactate threshold. Lactate threshold is also called "anaerobic threshold." It's the exertion level beyond with the body can no longer produce energy aerobically, resulting in the buildup of lactic acid. This is marked by muscle fatigue, pain, and shallow, rapid breathing. The key is varying the intensity during the week. If you always go at a medium pace, your fitness will be mediocre. So, when you go hard, go really hard. When you go easy, go at a pace that Colorado cycling coach Skip Hamilton calls "guilt-producingly slow." You must learn to go slowly. A second key is sufficient rest. Intense workouts boost your speed and power, but this increased fitness comes at a price. Put the hammer down too often and soon you'll be tired, irritable and slow — all the hallmarks of overtraining. This is why I recommend staying off the bike at least 2 days each week. Lift a little, take a relaxing walk, prop up your feet and read a good book. When the time comes to train hard or to beat up your friends on weekend rides, you'll be rested and ready. Don't forget to squeeze in some resistance training. Cycling is great in many ways, but it doesn't do much for the upper body. Maintaining muscle volume is crucial as we age. So, cheat on the 7-hours-a-week maximum and find 15 minutes 2 days each week for some basic upper-body exercises. Pushups, pull-ups, crunches for the abs and a low-back exercise (such as back extensions) are all you need. Knock off a couple of sets of each to complement your saddle time. A good time to do this simple-but-effective resistance program is right after easy rides when you're warm. Are you so busy that finding even 7 weekly hours looks like mission impossible? The trick is to examine your daily schedule and look for small segments of free time. For example:
Finally, ride smart. Is there a negative to this 7-hours-a-week program? Of course. In lengthy events such as centuries or week-long tours, you won't have the endurance of riders blessed with more training time. The solution is to realize your limitation and ride accordingly. Sit in a paceline, back off a bit on climbs, eat and drink often. You'll do fine.
From the cover: During three decades as a road rider and cycling writer, Fred Matheny has built an international reputation for his contributions to the sport. In this, his thirteenth book, he amasses his knowledge and that of many other experts in what is truly the complete book of road bike training. RoadBikeRider offers Fred's book, many more cycling guides and even a free weekly e-mail newsletter full of tips and news for aspiring bicyclists. How many miles on a bike is a good workout?Tip. When it comes to riding your bike, speed and duration matter more than distance. But if you're trying to decide how long a biking course to map out, working up to riding 10 to 12 miles at a stretch is a good place to start.
How many miles should I bike each day?As a regular biker or a beginner, 10 miles per day is an ideal distance you should take when biking. This benchmark will eventually increase as you build your strength, stamina, and commitment to biking.
Is 20 miles a week on a bike good?Cycling is a perfect way to improve your cardio-vascular health too – the functioning of your heart, lungs and circulatory system. Try this statistic on for size: cycling just 20 miles a week lowers your risk of heart disease to less than half that of someone who takes no exercise.
How much cycling is good in a week?Research suggests you should be burning at least 8,400 kilojoules (about 2,000 calories) a week through exercise. Steady cycling burns about 1,200 kilojoules (about 300 calories) per hour.
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