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INTERMEDIATE 100 MILE CYCLETraining plan

Thank you so much for signing up for this event and supporting CLIC Sargent. Rest assured, we’re behind you every step of the way!This plan has been designed and written for someone with some cycling experience who’s looking to complete a 100 mile race, and to enjoy the day. Before starting the plan, you should be able to cycle for 60 minutes. We have included a four-week lead-in plan to get you ready for the 14 weeks of progressive training.

When training for an event, the most important thing is to be honest with your starting point. This is far more important than putting pressure on a time-based result. Your training needs to fit in with your availability to train each week. Think carefully about your work, family and social commitments. It’s not the amount of time you spend doing something, it’s what you do with your time. We’re not professional athletes, and we have busy lives, so we have to do the best with what time we have. The process needs to be enjoyed; it maybe a little tough, but it’s not a chore. The goal is to: “Structure your Training into a busy Lifestyle, maximizing its Benefits while Reducing your Chances of Injury.”

Understanding the Plan There is a huge amount of flexibility in this training plan. From optional rest days, to options in what to do in you do in the supplementary sessions. It’s very much a case of if your distance & performance is progressing, then stick with what you are doing. This is all a learning process as to how your body responds and adapts to the stresses placed on it.

How long should my first Ride be?However long you want it to be, there is no “one size fits all”. In the early stages it’s a lot easier to use time as a measurement rather than distance. Going out for a 20, 30 or 60min ride is easier to build into your life when you’re just finding your feet and getting your head around how to fit your training into your lifestyle. What do you know you could do? 15 mins? 20 mins? Start there and come away with a win, build up slowly from a positive place.

Long RidesThese combine a long ride with some quality speed work. A slight acceleration at the end of the long ride can help create the “on the day feeling”. Not a sprint, but the pace you think you might try and hold.

IntervalsWhether they’re short or long, interval sessions are designed to be tough. They push you out of your comfort zone in a controlled way but help with being comfortably uncomfortable. Prescription may be by effort level (RPE) or heart rate zone depending on your training level and technology.

Steady/ RecoveryEffort is low when referencing speed, but can be increased by spending more time on your bike. These rides make up the bulk of your workouts to build a base. You should be able to hold a chat during these.

Why are my long rides on the weekend?The brain has this amazing ability to become accustomed to patterns. Most endurance events happen on the weekend and so we wouldn’t want to get used to riding far on a Wednesday night and resting on a weekend as that would not build a pattern that was going to help us on the day. The weekend is also when we generally (not always) have the most time. At some point in your plan you may be out riding for a number of hours+ and so can be tough to fit them in during the week. Does that mean if you did a long ride in the week it’s the end and you have to start all over again? No. Things happen and we have to be prepared that some sessions will need to be adapted or even missed, and that’s ok.

What should I do when I’m not riding? There is going to be a lot of time during the week that you’re not riding. Keeping focused with your weight loss goals or other nutritional goals is going to be essential to the long-term success. On days that you’re not riding you don’t need as much fuel so maybe bringing down your calories on these days can help more than just eating less every day. Keeping yourself active is important to your recovery as well. Keeping the body moving helps to move blood and keep muscles healthy. Walking is a great thing to do every day, even if it’s just 10 mins, taking the stairs instead of the escalator and working on your core exercises can all help prepare you for the next

Why is Strength Training so Important? Strength training has many benefits to health and life in general but specifically to cycling. It can help with efficiency, power, and help us cycle more. Getting into a routine of strength training 1-2 times a week with basic movements can really help with injury prevention and running fitness.

Squatting movementshelp to strengthen the legs (Squats, deadlifts, lunges etc.)Pulling movementshelp to strengthen the back (chin-ups, rows, reverse fly etc.)Pushing movementshelp to strengthen the front (press-ups, bench press, pec fly etc.)

The Importance of Sleep Sleep is the only time your body can recharge and repair. Some research has shown that our fitness can decrease by 30% after a bad night's sleep. More research suggests that if you’re averaging less than 6 hours of sleep a night then your risk of injury goes up hugely. It's important to listen to your body, and potentially adapt your plan to accommodate for sleep. If you had a bad night’s sleep or just didn’t get much then it may not be the best time to tackle a huge workout. Bringing the intensity and duration down a little maybe the smart thing to do.

Sleep also helps our brain to learn new things, so if you're quite new to cycling then you can actually get fitter in your sleep! Part of the stress of cycling is learning to get all the muscles working together in an efficient way (we call this a movement pattern). When we sleep the brain goes over and over that movement pattern to make it a little easier next time. Over months of doing this you become more and more efficient. Prioritise your sleep!

DisclaimerAlways warm up adequately before any workout and immediately cease any exercise which results in pain or discomfort. Consult a doctor before beginning any new exercise regime. Whilst this plan been designed to be appropriate, and of benefit to cyclists, Fitness Aspirations Ltd (and CLIC Sargent) shall not be held responsible for any loss or injury that is incurred through the use of the information or exercises within this document. In using the information contained within this document, you hereby agree to the above terms.

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat SunWeek 1/4

Session type RT B RT B RT B B

Training 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 30 minsWeek 2/4


Training 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 40 minsWeek 3/4


Training 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 5Week 4/4


Training 30 mins 30 mins 30 mins 60 mins

Four week lead in plan

B = Bike, RT = Rest, G = Gym

14 week progressive plan

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

Week 1/14

Session type RT B G/RT B G/RT B B

Training 30 mins

(interval/zone/ recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining

30 mins (interval/zone/

recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining30 mins 60 mins

Week 2/14

Session type RT B G/RT B G/RT B R

Training 45 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 3/14

Session type RT B G/RT B G/RT B R

Training 45 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

Cross training


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/



Week 4/14


Training 60 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 5/14


Training 60 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 6/14


Training 40 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

Cross training


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 714


Training 30 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

Cross training


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/



Week 8/14


Training 30 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 9/14


Training 60 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 1014


Training 30 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

Cross training


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 1114


Training 30 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

Cross training


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/



Week 12/14


Training 20 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 13/14


Training 20 mins


Core, legs, glutes/

crosstraining


recovery)

Core, legs, glutes/


Week 1414


Training 20 mins 20 mins 20 mins Race Day

How about writing your OWN plan?It’s actually pretty simple, providing you follow the following steps, and is something I would recommend everyone to do:

1. How are you going to present this plan to yourself? (Spreadsheet, notebook, flip calendar) Something where you can see the whole week in a glance is great.

2. How many hours a week do you have to dedicate to cycling?

3. How many hours a week can you dedicate to strength work? (max 2)

4. Mark in your diary the days and times that you can make these sessions happen. You might want to have a day in between the sessions to recover or to do a strength session. For example, cycling Tuesday, Friday, Sunday. Strength on Wednesday and/or Saturday.

The idea is to set your starting point. If heading out for a 60 min ride sounds daunting, then start we 30. If 30 sounds daunting, then start with 15. It’s not going to be a representation of where you’ll be in the months to come. Just get something into your feet and feel successful. Stick around the same numbers for the week and then progress a little more the following week:

Week 1: total mins scheduled: 120



The plan is not concrete, and you should be ok with changing things around if needed. Try to put the longer efforts on the Sunday.

How to measure the output of my sessionsThere are a number of ways to measure the intensity of our training sessions. Heart rate monitors are great, just be careful if you are using one without a chest strap. The variability between a watch reading versus a chest strap, can be 20%. This is significant. A great way for most of us to measure the level of our output, is using an RPE scale. A Rate of Perceived Exertion. The RPE scale is a rating scale ranging from 1 to 10. The numbers on the scale correspond to descriptive statements that rate how hard or difficult you find an exercise or physical activity.

Use the table below to get an understanding of you training efforts, and make sure you keep tabs on your RPE for your workouts on your training plan.

Running

Zone

Type RPE (1-10) Effort Heart

Rate

2 Endurance 2-4 Easy 60-70%

3 Aerobic Threshold 4-5 Easy / Moderate 70-80%

4a Tempo / Lactate Threshold 6-7 Moderate / Hard 80-85%

4b Anaerobic Threshold 7-8 Hard 85-90%

5a VO2max 8-9 Very Hard 90-100%

5b Sprint 9-10 Maximal 90-100%

Just note that this is just a guide as there are a number of individual factors (such as fitness, age, stress levels, etc) which can affect heart rate & perceived exertion.

Enjoy the process and thank you again for being a part of Team Young Lives.

Phil is a fitness professional who specialises in intrinsic biomechanics, injury prevention, and behaviour change. Along with a Sports Science degree and numerous other qualifications, from NLP to Biomechanics Coaching, his greatest ability as a coach is relating to regular people.

He has 12 years of involvement with charity runners and cyclists and will help you to prepare your body & mind for the demands of getting to the start line.

@PhilRoberton

Sports Science BSc / Level 5 Biomechanics Coach / NLP Practitioner / Clinical Hypnotherapist

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