4ucycling

Professional cyclists are lucky to have a team soigneur. A soigneur is the person in their team who is in charge of food preparation, laundry, massage and other important tasks. Massage is really important for cyclists because it prepares them for a hectic and stressful activity and it also helps them cool down, recover and heal from the said activity. However, if you're a cyclist and you don't have a soigneur, it doesn't mean that you can't get a massage or perform a massage on yourself. Here are some massage tips that you can do on your own: Warm Up: The first thing that you need to do is do a couple of warm up massage strokes. So you need to sit on a towel. Another option is to sit on the edge of a chair or a bed. Loosen the upper leg muscles by quickly stroking them in an up and down motion. It's just like brushing crumbs off of your hands. Afterwhich, proceed to massaging your lower legs. This action will help loosen your calf, your hamstrings and your quadr...

Ask any serious cyclist about their workout regimen and they'll absolutely tell you about strength training. Cycling is a physically-taxing activity that requires you to have powerful legs, a solid core and strong arms, and the best way to achieve all that is through total body strength training. Although your legs are the core muscle group used in cycling, the rest of your body needs to be trained to effectively support the foundation they create. Your back and abdominal muscles must provide a stable platform and strong core that supports your peddling power and increases your speed and endurance on the bike. Keep in mind, all the strength training you do also boosts your leg power, so it's a win-win situation all around. In addition to improving your cycling performance, strength training is important for the health of your muscles and joints. Because cycling requires the body to engage in repetitive movements for extended periods of time, a strength deficit can begin to ...

Cycling has become an up and coming sport for Americans during the last two decades. Many American professionals, including Lance Armstrong, Greg Lemond, and George Hincapie, have done wonders for growing the sport of cycling in America. They have inspired many juniors to get on their bike and ride in hopes of maybe participating in the most competitive cycling event in the world, the Tour De France. Cycling can be confusing for those who do not understand it, let alone not sure how to get in to racing. In this article, I will lay out the steps necessary to race and move your way up the ranks in becoming a professional cyclist. First and foremost, to get started you will need to have a bike to race on. You can either borrow one from a friend or buy one, either way, you have to have one. After you get your hands on a bike, you can begin riding. If you have never ridden before, you will have to spend some time training and learning the techniques to handle a bicycle efficiently. Once y...

While training the cyclists, one should keep in mind that they must not go after how much distance they cover every week, it is around 400-600 k/m per week is enough. The time should not be wasted on spending extra kilometers which are of no use. For your on satisfaction, you can go to any limit of the extra kilometers but you will not achieve anything extraordinary. Registering in the cyclists training sessions with a calculated number of kilometers and a proper schedule must be followed. It includes various races along with the period of recovery and the divided training sessions. Endurance is very necessary part of any training however in cycling it must be kept in mind that having a session of anaerobic is more necessary than endurance. There is another training given to how to take a break and get recharged while cycling and still win the race. Anaerobic sessions are given more significance in the training and it requires a high level of attention during the training. It m...

I'm sure that we are all looking for speed workout for cyclist for the same reason. We all are too slow when we race. I always felt pretty bad lagging behind the rest of the pack in every race I was in. I started to workout hard trying every workout I could get my hands on. Finally, I found one that really worked. Eventually, I started placing higher. But I still could not win. I don't know what was worse, being last and knowing I couldn't win or coming in the top 10 and not being able to get that extra boost of speed no matter what. I bet you can understand exactly how I felt. That is until I found workouts that actually helped me. One workout for cyclist I found that really helped me to increase my speed is interval training. I bet some of you have heard of this style of training, but some of you have not. For the latter group let me explain. Intervals are periods on intense work followed by a little longer period of rest. These are repeated for a certain number of ...

One of the most common cycling training program for improving your cycling endurance is riding over long distances periodically and systematically. This cycling training program is aimed at building your muscles strength and and improving your cardiovascular system so that you will have good oxygen uptake, body recovery and to build up your leg muscles strength. In this article, you will learn about a cycling training plan that will help you to boost your cycling endurance. I have broken down this cycling training program into 5 steps for easier understanding. Here are the 5 steps; 1. Determine your target distance. If your reason for training is so as to compete in a long distance cycling race, then your target distance is the distance of your race. So whatever your reason, determine an average distance of how far you would like to ride. 2.Select a route that is almost similar to your cycling route. If the route you are training for is hilly at some parts and flat in other a...

Stationary bike workouts can help you to boost your cycling speed easily, while tracking your progress along the way. When training it is important to measure your interval times so as to finish your cycling training effectively. In this article, I will share with you an exercise bike workout that you can do to improve your cycling speed while at home if you have a stationary bike. Here are the 5 steps to this stationary bike workout, 1. Pedal for 20 seconds at a fast pace. In this workout, you will start by pedaling on your stationary bike at a relatively fast speed for 20 seconds. Set the resistance relatively high but not too high, so as to give you some resistance to build your leg muscles strength. After pedaling fast for 20 seconds, slow down by pedaling easily and slowly for another equal time of 20 seconds. This is so as to let your body recover and to catch your breath. 2. Repeat this cycling exercise another 9 times. After the first rep, you should repeat this exerc...

Many of us have tried to find a good workout that not only gives us results, but is enjoyable enough that we will stick with it. One exercise that many individuals find fun and rewarding is cycling. Cycling is an excellent choice if you enjoy the outdoors and want to get a good cardio workout and burn a lot of calories. You will also engage your leg muscles throughout most of your ride building and toning your entire leg. To get started with a cycling program, you will have to invest in some equipment. First, of course, you will need a bike. You could go to your local bike shop, and they can fit you with the right size of frame for your height and weight. If you are just beginning and want to hold off on a large investment, you will need to make sure that you are comfortable in your current bike. You will want your legs to have a slight bend at the knee when on the pedals. You will need the angle of your seat to be horizontal to the ground. Your handlebars should be at a comfortable ...

Indoor cycling workouts are usually a good way to boost your cycling performance. This is because you can set the appropriate conditions that will help you to exercise your body for the desired results. In this article, you will learn about an indoor cycling workout that will help you to improve your cycling speed. You will also gain access to other indoor cycling workouts. In this 5 step indoor cycling workout, you need to; 1. Stretch accordingly to warm up. You need to stretch your muscles (especially your leg muscles) so as to ensure that you get the maximum benefit from your training. Warming up in any way, also helps to get your blood flowing to ensure readiness for the exercise. 2. Set the resistance level of your stationary bike accordingly. You need to set the resistance level of your stationary bike relatively high, so as to provide the resistance needed to build your leg muscles. Riding at a high resistance level, will help you to increase your leg muscle power and he...

While nothing compares to the excitement of cycling training outdoors, you can get all the health benefits from indoor cycling that you desire. With the technology that indoor cycling bikes have nowadays, you can pretty much simulate what you would typically experience when out on the road. Cycling indoors is a wonderful alternative for those who face cold winter temperatures, frequent rain, or incredibly hot temperatures. No matter what is going on outdoors, you can always turn to indoor cycling. When indoors, you have the control. You can select from a wide range of resistance levels with most bikes to get as intense of a workout as you want. While you can certainly get a highly effective workout from indoor cycling, some may find it rather boring in comparison to being outdoors. The result is that many don't push themselves quite as hard, or find it difficult just to get started. One approach is to keep your workouts relatively short. When you get started, see if you can g...

Training to ride your bike fast will not only increase your cycling pleasure and improve your overall skills; it will also increase your general fitness level. Cycling for fitness should include speed training in your training plans. Don't start speed training until you have built a good fitness level. Look at your fitness like a pyramid. The broader the base the greater peaks you will reach. Here are a few drills to increase your speed training. Sprints Incorporate sprints into your training rides. While you are out riding pick a spot, a lamp post or tree or parked car as your sprint target. Begin accelerating towards it and change up the gears, build some speed up, get off your seat and cycle as hard as you can, give everything you have and get the bike going as fast as you can. When you reach the spot you have chosen ease off, go down the gears and slow down. Resume your normal cycling speed and allow yourself to recover, if you need to go slower then do so. It's imp...

1. Base Fitness. Base fitness refers to the underlying aerobic fitness of an athlete. Aerobic fitness is increased through training at a heart rate zone of between 60 - 80%; this level of training is often associated with long steady training rides. At this level of training the heart is exercised, increasing its capacity to send blood around the body. Base fitness is important for endurance events, however it is also important to have a good base of aerobic fitness before undertaking more strenuous, interval training sessions. 2. Winter training. Winter is a good time to have a break for 2 to 3 weeks. You will lose some top end fitness, but in the long term it can beneficial, especially if you have had a hard season. After taking a break for a couple of weeks it is important to work on building up your base fitness through steady training miles. This will get you ready for the racing season in spring. 3. Monitor performance with Power Meter. A power meter enables you to accu...

The usual approach to train for endurance riding is lots of long rides. On paper this makes sense but in practice it isn't the most effective way to train. A targeted approaching building all facets of cycling fitness will improve your endurance cycling fitness faster than a diet of long steady rides. Learn how to put the pieces together and see your performance increase. There are many fitness factors that let you do well at endurance events. You need high threshold power, good recovery ability, aerobic endurance, muscular endurance, core strength and upper body muscular endurance. If any of these areas are weak you will find your performance drops quickly in the later miles of a long event. Long rides do need to be part of your training program but not the foundation. I advocate a periodized approach that builds functional threshold power and speed with a progression to longer rides as the season progresses. Speed is the hardest thing to build so we spend a far amount of time o...

Organising your Century Bike Ride Training is reasonably straight forward if you plan well. The amount of time you'll need to train prior to completing a Century will depend on your level of cycling ability. I'm going to assume you are fairly new to endurance riding and find an hour or two cycling reasonably comfortable, but about your current limit. If that's you then I recommend starting your training about 3 to 4 months in advance of the big day. If you're a total beginner then I suggest adding another couple of months to the front of the following plan to get yourself to the level of being able to ride 1 to 2 hours comfortably. Plan a few long rides: 25; 50; and 75 miles. You don't want to do the same routes all the time as they'll get monotonous however comparing your first and latest times over the same route will be the easiest way to see how you've improved over time. Also try to pick routes which are similar to the Century ride in terms of numbe...

GPS or Global Positioning Systems are a relatively new invention for consumers although they have been around for the military for a while now. While we're used to seeing in car navigation systems to help us navigate our countries streets. We're less than used to seeing GPS used for sports. The thing is they are incredibly useful for sport. They can help improve your performance in your chosen sport as well as your enjoyment. What is GPS GPS uses the network of 24 satellites that orbit the Earth. The GPS system works when the GPS receiver can "see" 4 satellites at once. When this is the case it can accurately plot it's location. The signal is continuously received and as your location changes then differences or speed of differences can be recorded. The GPS system are advanced electronics and can now fit into the palm of a hand and their reliability is now unquestionable. Why GPS is so useful in sports GPS is so useful in sports because the measurements th...

If you are an intermediate cyclist, then you will be more likely to be interested in sports drinks. Although drinking water is already a good habit, consuming sports drink can elevate your cycling performance, especially during long distance rides. One of the common sports drinks is "Gatorade". So are they really beneficial to us? Some cyclists might question the use of these products, especially beginners. In learning about the truth, we need to find out about glycogen. Glycogen is the compound in which sugar is stored in the liver for release to other parts of the body. In simple sense, glycogen is your energy. The truth is, your muscles themselves are fueled by glycogen. They are also stored in muscles, other than the liver. However, long cycling rides will last approximately 3 hours or more. This is a problem because the glucose reserves can only last you about 90 minutes, provided that you give your best effort when cycling hard. Experienced riders who have exper...

On the list of the most high-profile sports in the world, cycling does not necessarily fall within the top ten. In fact, most of us know very little about the sport in general. Though bicycles are among the most familiar objects known to man, we are much more likely to associate them with training wheels and leisurely bike rides, not competitive, heart-pumping athletic activity. While the Tour de France and the Olympics bring some attention to the sport, it remains largely unknown. Cycling seems to simply fly under the radar. And while cycling isn't necessarily the most popular or well-known sport in the world, it is not insignificant. The reality is that cycling is really quite exciting to follow and is extremely beneficial to practice. The bicycle - the tool used for the sport of cycling - is primarily a means of transportation. Largely used for getting from one place to another and for recreation, it is also used in sport and athletics. Cycling races date back to the 19th ...

It is no surprise that cycling confidence plays a critical role in cycling performance.  Fostering cycling confidence is sometimes easier said than done.  Cycling can be an intimidating, and sometimes dangerous sport.   Crashes can, and will happen in bicycle racing.  How do you overcome your fear of crashing to achieve cycling success? Let's begin with with the question.  What is cycling confidence?  Cycling confidence means that you are able to ADAPT to a situation, and BELIEVE in yourself when it matters most.  Your cycling confidence allows you to exercise your personal freedom to eliminate anxiety, self-doubt, and indecision during a criterium, road race or time trial. Second, where does cycling confidence come from?  Simply put, cycling confidence comes from how you choose to PERCEIVE yourself as a bicycle racer. Let's breakdown the definition to the ABCs of Cycling Confidence.  A is for Adaptability.  B is for Believe in You...

If you're not a pro-athlete, you might not know much about how a cycling coach works with their protégé. One of the common misunderstandings of cycling coaches is that they only work with professional cyclists and triathletes. In reality even many amateur cyclists and triathletes work with a coach. Anyone who wants to improve their performance in the cycling sport can benefit from it. Cycling coaches can work with their trainees both directly and via distance. If they choose to work face-to-face then they can actually train together on cycle ergometer or new inventions like the cilomulino which originated in Italy. If the relationship is based on distance training, the Internet has allowed cycling coaching to communicate thru email and the web. For example devising training and nutrition programs and monitoring progress. Having a relationship primarily through the Internet can be successful if approached properly. Here are some ways to improve your relationship with your cy...

Bicycle racing can be a tough sport. It is common knowledge that the longer bike races are very physically demanding, but even if you race over the shorter distances you will still be faced with the strains on the body from training. For this reason the mental aspect of cycling is very important, as focus and willpower become valuable weapons in the racers armoury. Cycling is one sport where physical ability will only get you so far, which keeps the playing field fairly even and allows the most dedicated riders to climb the ranks in the racing world. So what are the weapons that a cyclist can use to forge their way to the top? Patience - Possibly the greatest skill a cyclist can develop. In most other sports, athletes can achieve success at a very young age. How often do we see school children winning tennis grand-slam titles, 14 year old swimmers taking home Olympic gold medals, teenage football and basketball players becoming instant stars. Cycling is not like this, and it often ta...