Seven Ways to Fit Cycling Training into Your Hectic Week

With the Gold Coast Cycle Fest and Robbie McEwen’s amazing Gran Fondo event coming up in October, cyclist of all levels of cycling prowess are gearing up to get fit for the event; from the Gran Fondo to the Sportive and the Piccolo Fondo courses, no matter what your level of expertise Robbie has an event for you.
 

And no matter what event you’re planning to participate in, one of the biggest challenges can be trying to fit your training into a busy, hectic schedule; between work and family, extra curricular commitments and even a little sleep from time to time, trying to shoehorn a regular cycling appointment into your day can take an intense effort.

We’ve come up with seven tips for beginner cyclists to help you get in the groove and work out a realistic training schedule to help you get in shape for the big day:
 

Work Smarter, Not Harder

When getting ready for an event, many athletes mistake taking things to the limit for quality training; the thing to remember is that training every day, particularly when you’re under stress due to limited time is not always effective.
 

Keeping a realistic schedule and training when you can do so without completely disrupting your life is an important way to reach your goals effectively, as long as you’re consistent.
 

An example is starting out with one 2 hour ride per week and working up to a weekly 4 or 5 hour ride over a few months; another great option is a fast but short hour-long ride or a fast-pace interval workout once you feel you’re fit enough.
 

Build in Recovery Time

Recovery is an essential part of building up your physical fitness and without taking adequate time you’ll simply end up exhausted and stressed out; be sure to take into account all the other activities in your life in order to avoid overtraining and ignoring your usual responsibilities.

Be Flexible

As anyone with a family and a busy schedule knows, things tend to come up and being too rigid with your training schedule will only serve to frustrate you and make things far more difficult than they really need to be; while discipline is definitely a virtue when it comes to training, be sure to relax and fit things in as you can or you’ll end up too tense and agitated to enjoy the ride.
 

Build Cycling Into Your Schedule

Cycling to work or school is a brilliant way to work your fitness goals in with your day-to-day schedule, and merging the practical with the pleasurable is sure to take some stress off; instead of coming home from a long, hard day and having to take off again to cycle, you can relax knowing you’ve done your training duty!
 

Define Your Goals

Defining your goals and keeping them very clear will help with time management; getting ready for your event will require specific training increments which need to be mapped out from ride to ride, so be sure you know what you need to do and how long it will take in order to be able to effectively fit it into your schedule.
 

Use Intervals

Interval training is a beautiful thing, particularly for those who are low on time or who tend to get bored during workouts; by working out a reasonable interval schedule you’ll not only boost your fitness in a shorter amount of time, you’ll help keep your head in the game by preventing your rides from becoming old and stale.
 

Be Mindful

Perhaps the most important tip of all is to be mindful from day to day as far as what’s working and what isn’t; if the training schedule you’ve been on for the past two weeks is wreaking havoc in your personal life, make some adjustments.
 

While it may take a bit of brainstorming to work out exactly what works for you, once you get into a groove that works with your lifestyle while maintaining your progress, you’ll have a far easier time accomplishing your goals without undue stress and remember, no matter which event you’re entering, the point is to do your best, challenge yourself and have fun doing it.