Training tips for a road bike weekend - The perfect weekend on a road bike - here's how!

The perfect cyclist rides through the winter, starts the season with a training camp and then implements their personal training plan. But work, family, other hobbies and the inner couch potato often stand in the way of this ideal. It often sticks to the routine of a Saturday round at home - which is nice, but not very effective. Our tip: Change your perspective! Choose a weekend and make it - from Friday afternoon to Sunday - all about having more fun on the bike and getting more out of your training. You don't have to go on holiday - your compact training camp starts right on your doorstep.

Consistent also means Discuss this with your family or the people whose understanding, indulgence and support you need - as appropriate. Make it clear how important sport is to you on this particular weekend and plan other tasks and activities for the rest of the time as thoroughly as possible. The advantage of this change of perspective is that sport takes centre stage and the rest is grouped around it - in contrast to other times when you tend to look for a time slot between weekend shopping and social commitments into which you can squeeze a hectic bike ride.

Another advantage Due to the other, emphasised intensive training, three of the planned four sessions of the weekend - two of them on Saturday - will be comparatively short. If you plan skilfully and stick to it, the regeneration phase after your first intensive training session will begin over breakfast with the family.

You see This weekend with TOUR, you will steer your way along the roads in a targeted and planned manner and learn what you can do better in the future. Because you don't have to fly to Mallorca to train in a focussed and consistent manner. Prerequisite: You are healthy and already have a few kilometres under your belt. Always listen to how your body feels! The most important tasks of this road bike weekend are: breaking through ingrained routines, setting intensive training stimuli, refuelling your motivation. And here is our plan ...

TRAINING DAY FRIDAY

The structure You can also adopt the basic patterns from this weekend for your future training:

- Hard sessions are always followed by a recovery ride or a rest day
- Never do long endurance rides the day before interval training
- Interval training always with warm-up phase, intensive main block and coasting phase

Interval training (70 min.) High-intensity interval training is the magic weapon of all training plans. The principle is always the same: warm up slowly and roll out relaxed (20 minutes each) - and really let it rip in between. Ride four hard three-minute intervals at high speed and cadence. Each interval is followed by five minutes of recovery while riding. Don't start the intensive block too quickly: divide the power so that you can pedal evenly for three minutes. It should be really strenuous without you breaking down at the end.

What it does Muscles cannot work without sufficient oxygen. Maximum oxygen uptake is therefore an important performance criterion. Interval training is particularly efficient. The training improves maximum oxygen uptake. Intervals are most effective when they are controlled by a power meter.

What you can learn To get better, you need to train in a varied and occasionally intensive way. However, this does not work on a long ride, but only in short intervals accompanied by recovery.

After training

Regeneration For perfect recovery, it is crucial to refuel immediately after training. Mix yourself a recovery drink consisting of carbohydrates and proteins. Studies have shown that cocoa with low-fat milk is the perfect recovery drink. Alternatively, you can also take a bought recovery drink.

What it does The muscle glycogen is restored - the body recovers more quickly afterwards.

The perfect night's sleep During sleep, growth hormones are released that promote muscle growth, the metabolism is boosted and the immune system is strengthened - good sleep is therefore crucial for performance. Good to know: Alcohol slows down regeneration and makes sleep restless. Avoid alcohol this weekend and get enough sleep.

EAT A HEALTHY DIET

Support the success of your training weekend with a healthy diet.
Avoid sugar, alcohol and convenience foods and eat more salads, vegetables and wholemeal products to provide your hard-working body with important nutrients. Here are a few ideas.

Breakfast: energy for the day Start the day with oatmeal - as porridge or muesli with fruit. Oatmeal is rich in protein, contains long-chain carbohydrates and provides plenty of magnesium and iron.

Lunch: Easily digestible On the bike, bananas or rolls with a low-fat topping provide new energy. Easily digestible dishes such as vegetables or salad are ideal for the lunch break (even in the office) to avoid digestive fatigue.

Dinner: replenish your memory Boiled potatoes with quark and cress or chives are a perfect combination to top up your stores. If you want to save calories
calories, opt for vegetables.

FIVE IDEAS FOR MORE PERFORMANCE

1. optimise your sitting position
2. cycle to work
3. strength training (squats, press-ups, forearm support)
4. document training (training diary)
5. train more specifically (power meter/heart rate)

FIVE IDEAS FOR MORE FUN

1. find a training group
2. ride new routes, e.g. from www.gpsies.com
3. train with more variety
4. set new training incentives (e.g. through Strava)
5. seek adventure (night ride, cycle tour, event)

TRAINING DAY SATURDAY

PRE-MAY

Threshold training (80 minutes) For warming up and warming down, you cycle at an easy pace for 20 minutes each. In between, cycle three ten-minute intervals at your performance limit. After each interval, roll at a relaxed pace for five minutes. Start the first interval at a measured pace - ten minutes can be really long! The aim is to be able to complete all three intervals with roughly the same intensity.

What it brings Training at the performance threshold is particularly effective for getting better.

What you can learn Riding at the limit for ten minutes is not possible without experience. Many athletes pedal like crazy for the first two minutes - and then collapse. You are guaranteed to mess up a competition this way. Training long intervals trains your body awareness.

WEDNESDAY

The perfect lunch Treat yourself to a tasty lunch. Ideal: pasta or rice with vegetables. Important: The food should be easy to digest. Avoid meat and too much fat.

AFTERNOON

Active relaxation (60-90 minutes) You can recognise a good cyclist by the fact that they can ride slowly. Get on your bike and ride at a relaxed pace for 60 to 90 minutes - really relaxed! Don't get nervous if you are overtaken. Riding slowly is just as important as riding fast.

What it does Only a recovered body can process the next training stimulus. Recovery rides are ideal elements after hard sessions - this can also be the bike ride to the office the next day.

What you can learn Many cyclists always train too quickly. They are then too tired the next day to set new stimuli. If they try anyway, they fall ill or, in the worst case, develop overtraining syndrome. Listen to your body!

EVENING

Strength exercises Round off your sports day with strength training - you can find good examples of effective exercises in TOUR 5/2015. Don't be shy: try out the exercises - once you've done them, the threshold for overcoming yourself will drop. Because it's good for you.

What it does Strength in the legs only becomes propulsion with the help of strong core and back muscles.

THE GOALS AFTERWARDS

Did your legs hurt, was there a pull on the chain - and above all, was the weekend fun? Then you have the best proof of how a set goal can inspire your training and sport. Take the momentum of the weekend with you and set yourself new goals straight away: a Strava record on the home circuit, your first 24-hour race, a good age group placing in the Everyman race or good form for a cycling holiday. Or do you want to train more often and more specifically in future? Or less often and harder? Use your bike more often in everyday life or organise a fixed day for cycling with friends? You now have every opportunity to realise your ideas. The important thing is not what goal you set yourself, but that you do it! Take the time to define your goals and rekindle your motivation for this season and the next.

TRAINING DAY SUNDAY

Endurance ride Variety in your daily training routine creates new motivation. Look for a new route, which may be a little longer today: whether 100, 120 or even 150 kilometres is up to your body feeling. The task for today is to ride consistently and not overdo it.

What it does Optimising fat metabolism is one of the main tasks of road bike training.
Long training laps are particularly suitable for this. Long rides also increase your
aerobic endurance.

What you can learn It sounds banal: Only those who are motivated on the bike will ride well. Years of the same routes can slowly erode your desire to cycle. What's more, the demands are always the same. Look for new routes in order to set new mental and physical stimuli. The basis of sensible training is long training rides, which are then combined with crisp units. Do you want it to be even more effective? According to studies, fat metabolism training with partially depleted glycogen stores is particularly effective - e.g. with a short morning lap and a ride in the afternoon.