Start Your Training the Right Way

Important Rules

Take Two Rest Days Per Week. Before you go ahead and work out for 3 weeks straight, it’s vital to understand the importance of rest days! Rest days play a key role in making sure your workout quality remains high and keeps your motivation at its peak. Always factor in 2 rest days per week. Ideally, the rest days should be spread out evenly during the week, with 2-day or 3-day training blocks in between. (Example: Rest Day on Monday. Workout Tuesday-Thursday. Rest Day Friday. Workout Saturday and Sunday)

Plan Your Week. Make sure you are thinking about the best days to do your workouts. Ideally you should aim to do your toughest and highest-intensity workouts the day after a rest day. This means you are fresh and ready to hit your intense training days as hard as you truly can! Leave the less intense or lighter workouts for your second or third consecutive days of working out.

Pace Yourself! You should always get clearance from your doctor before starting a training or workout regime, but just because you have permission doesn’t mean you should start immediately training as if you’re heading out for the Tour de France! Start with a maximum of 7 hours of exercise per week. If that feels good, increase your training volume by no more than 10% per week! Jumps in volume or intensity that are too drastic are the number one way to get an overuse injury.

Bottom Line. Training for a long bike ride is a marathon, not a sprint! Make sure you pace yourself and introduce a workout routine in a steady and thoughtful manner. It will help guarantee consistent results over the long term, which is how the best progress is made.