Understanding (and avoiding) junk miles
What exactly is unnecessary mileage?
To perform well and maintain fitness gains, recovery is just as important as the quality of the workouts during which we reach or even push the limits of our muscular and cardiovascular abilities.
Why is this the case? Because fitness is a process of adaptation. The principle is to tax your system during intense exercise so that it adapts and strengthens itself to better respond to future challenges. But for this adaptation to take place, you have to give your body time to recover and rebuild itself. No rest means no adaptation, and therefore no improvement in physical fitness.
If you decide, because you feel good despite the heavy effort the day before, to push yourself, to go just a little too fast, you are neglecting your recovery. Adaptation is poor because you are not recovering completely. You therefore lose the benefits sought during intense training.
The mileage we rack up then is more harmful than anything else.
The program to follow
Let's imagine two typical weeks that illustrate how an amateur or professional cyclist should approach their training.
For a quick look, you can see what it looks like in a program I created in Today's Plan, a platform I use with the athletes I train. Details follow below.
Week 1
Monday: passive rest day. You do NOTHING. Absolutely nothing.
Tuesday: Well rested, you do a long Ride, including a series of threshold efforts at 95-100% of CP and tempo at 80-90% of CP.
Wednesday: take advantage of this day to do endurance training for at least 2 hours. But stay below 75% of your CP20.
Thursday: another good workout awaits you. The Ride will feature 3-minute efforts at VO2max (105-120% of CP).
Friday: active recovery. Invite some less experienced friends to join you. Catch up on the latest gossip. You should be able to talk nonstop about your life throughout this Ride .
Saturday: you're going to be in pain. A nice mix of VO2max intensity and tempo training awaits you.
Sunday: long Ride moderate intensity (50-75% of CP).
Week 2
Monday: complete rest. Take advantage of your free time to stretch and get a massage.
Tuesday: Combine business with pleasure by combining 1 hour of endurance training on the road with a controlled indoor session for intervals that are difficult to do properly outdoors. Then head back out on the road for one last hour to finish off in style.
Wednesday: it's a good time to enjoy the road and invite friends along. Be careful not to push too hard, though.
Thursday: same as Tuesday, but shorter. Only a 30-minute drive before and after specific indoor training.
Friday: Start or finish your Ride with a coffee at Vélo Cartel. Make sure you exert as little effort as possible.
Saturday: You have a big workout ahead of you, as during your three-hour training session, you will alternate between endurance training on the road and anaerobic exercises indoors. The latter should be done carefully in a controlled environment to reap the full benefits.
Sunday: it's time for a nice long Ride friends. It's not a competition. In any case, your legs will be as stiff as tree trunks after yesterday's session. Stop along the way for a coffee and a sandwich, don't go too fast, catch up with your friends and chat with your riding partners. Because that's what cycling is all about.
Avoid burnout
To truly benefit from your intense interval and tempo training, you need to give it your all. This requires physical rest, but also mental rest.
Because pushing yourself to the limit is never easy.
By pushing your body and mind to the limit, stringing together difficult workouts with others that are just a little too intense to allow for proper recovery, you risk draining your strength and motivation, and you're flirting with burnout. Or even overtraining.
And if rides are an opportunity for you to test yourself against your friends, don't cancel them. The social and fun aspect of cycling should come first. But make sure these rides into your training plan for what they really are: a sustained intense tempo activity. Afterwards, don't forget to take Monday off before returning to your power efforts.
