Become faster on the bike through strength training

Strength and mobility is one of the train smart principles that I include within my training programmes. I find this gives you a holistic approach to improving your cycling performance and ultimately makes you faster on the bike. What is strength and conditioning? "The physical preparation of athletes towards enhancing sports performance and reducing injury” Often referred to as S&C this is a broad term that includes all aspects of physical strength, resistance training and mobility. It is found in aspects of a fit heathy body and should also be [...]

By |2019-09-03T05:05:29+00:00September 3rd, 2019|Strength & Conditioning|0 Comments
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My second attempt at the 12hour TT

It was 2 years ago that I last completed this challenge where I completed 235miles and my target this year was 240+. The Forecast was not great ahead of the event with 18mph winds that were going to be a head wind for half of the course. Arriving at the HQ I arrived at the headquarters early so as to not have to rush and was due to set off at 6:33am. Having decided that any toilet requirements would be made in motion to save time I decided to have [...]

By |2019-08-14T12:44:04+00:00August 14th, 2019|Races|6 Comments
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Which bike is faster? Road or TT

Have you ever wondered which bike is faster, road or TT and if so by how much? Now normally this is an obvious answer and 99% of the time it would be the TT bike however if the course is hilly and technical then this may not be the case. 12 hour time trial I am competing in a 12 hour time trial this weekend and although the majority of the ride is on a fast flat route it ends with a 12 mile finishing circuit. You complete this as [...]

By |2019-08-09T05:33:04+00:00August 8th, 2019|Testing|0 Comments
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Improve your aerobic endurance on the bike

Training your aerobic endurance on the bike will make you faster. Cycle endurance training should form the backbone of any good training plan and at the high end around 80% of time at this intensity. If you are a time crunched athlete then you may do less however don't underestimate its importance. It is still important to train at all intensity levels so don't neglect the higher zones however cycle endurance training forms the foundation to build from. What is aerobic endurance? Basically this is the ability to keep going [...]

By |2019-07-17T06:00:15+00:00July 17th, 2019|Training|0 Comments
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Do you need a cycle coach?

Although the principle of training on the bike is relatively simple once you understand the basics, the skill of being a cycle coach can be more in depth. The end result for hiring a coach is ultimately to make you faster on the bike although the "reason" for having your own coach can be different for many reasons which are often unique to each person. What not just download/follow an online training plan? The biggest component to improving on the bike is consistency so what we are looking for is [...]

By |2019-07-03T06:02:30+00:00July 3rd, 2019|Training|0 Comments
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Round Norfolk Epic 200 miles

If you want to see the whole of Norfolk in a day on the bike then this event is for you! The event follows the perimeter of the entire Norfolk border taking in all of the stunning coastline. When you sign up to a 200mile sportive you know it is going to be an early start on the day and this did not disappoint as I set my alarm for the 3am wake up call to drive to Great Yarmouth for the event start at 5am! Luckily the weather was [...]

By |2019-06-19T09:07:28+00:00June 19th, 2019|Events|0 Comments
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Mallorca 312 – More than a Gran Fondo

This is my favourite sportive and my second year of riding it so I now know what to expect so can hopefully complete it faster than last year. The event consists of 8000 riders tackling 15,000ft of climbing over 312km on closed roads. There are also options of riding 167km or 225km on the day tackling most of the major climbs which you can decide during the event or the decision can be made for you if you don’t make the cut off times. The cut off times to complete [...]

By |2019-06-10T11:50:07+00:00June 10th, 2019|Events|2 Comments
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Do you lack motivation to train? My 5 top tips to getting your training done!

Being a coach is so much more than just setting a training plan, this is just a part of it. True success is when you understand what motivates and what works for your athletes. Wanting to find out more I surveyed a range of athletes to see what does and doesn’t work for them and have included my top tips for getting your training done. The most common reasons for training were fitness, events/races, to improve as a cyclist and lastly weight loss. Speaking from experience having an event to [...]

By |2019-05-21T06:01:40+00:00May 14th, 2019|Training|0 Comments
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Hell of the North

Paris Roubaix Growing up watching this event it has always been one for my bucket list and having cycled to Paris before I was really looking forward to riding through this amazing French capital again however, after a last-minute check of the route it appeared to start nowhere near Paris!   Arriving at the venue to sign on in good time, which is unlike me, we queued for the doors to open only to be told that they are delaying getting registered by 1 hour with no reason, this would [...]

By |2019-04-28T15:46:44+00:00April 28th, 2019|Events, Races|0 Comments
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London to Brussels charity ride

Sitting on the Eurostar as we travel home I thought this would be a good opportunity to reflect on the trip and write my blog. Now I would normally have done this each day however due to the fact that we barely finished cycling within the same day that we started most days I was not quite feeling it!   This challenge started for me 3 months ago after seeing a post from a friend who used to work for my brother asking for donations to help her poorly son [...]

By |2019-03-26T07:12:39+00:00March 26th, 2019|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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