6 Tips to Cycle Faster!
Do you get overwhelmed with all the information on the internet about how to cycle faster?
We don't blame you!
With so many programs, coaches, techniques, tips, strategies and equipment floating around the Internet, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of information available.
Importantly, a lot of the information isn’t actually going to be beneficial to you personally, and may not in fact be entirely correct to start with.
We’ve put this blog together with the average cyclist in mind who just wants to:
- Ride faster;
- Beat his or her personal bests, and/or;
- Get the most out of our great sport of Cycling!
To simplify it, we’re going to give you 6 tips that are sure to help you Cycle Faster!
1. Discipline
It’s incredibly easy to go out and purchase a bike, bring it home, take it out of the box and let it sit in your garage.
It takes discipline to regularly wake up in the morning, or get your gear on after work and take your bike out for a ride or session.
With our clients and in our experience, we’ve found that the more sessions you can frequently turn up to, and the more rides you can head out on, the better chance you’re going to have at riding faster, and kicking your goals.
Discipline isn’t a quality that sticks around, it’s something that has to be developed and maintained - just like riding your bike.
When things get busy at home, or at work, discipline always finds a way at escaping from your life.
This is why other strategies like time-management, goal planning and prioritisation are important elements in maintaining discipline.
Discipline is also closely related to mindset.
You have to have a good mindset that is focused on your goals to be motivated and disciplined.
Be sure to check out our Olympic Mindset Coach, Georgia Ridler who has done some videos if you’re looking for some motivation to help you with your discipline!
2. Program
Having a training program is like having a GPS in your car on the way to a destination that you’ve never been to.
Without the map and guidance, you’re never going to get to your location.
Without a training program, you’re never going to know what to do to progress as a cyclist with your fitness, strength and speed.
The athlete’s we’ve worked with who have come from a recreational background have ALL improved their speed as a result of having a program to follow.
Having a good coach and program is the bread and butter of successful riding.
Yes, it’s great to have the equipment!
But...
Without the knowledge and coaching that goes into writing a program, you’re destined to stagnate and your rate of development and speed progression will be inhibited.
You can save 70% right now with our 4 Week Speed Training Program for only $29 (usually $97).
3. Technique
Technique and positioning on the bike is not only important for aerodynamics, but also for efficiency.
The more efficient you are, the faster you’re going to ride.
Having good efficiency involves a number of elements which include:
- Good functional strength to support strength and power transfer into the pedals;
- Neural muscular coordination development to help pedalling speed and fluidity;
- Saving energy as you become more efficient with your pedalling and energy transfer on your bike.
Without going into too much depth, we’d recommend you check out Kerrie’s free video on 'How to Ride Faster Instatnly' if you haven't watched it yet. Kerrie goes into more depth about pedalling efficiency which will instantly improve your speed.
4. Nutrition
Have you ever heard the saying - You are what you eat?
Eating foods that equip you with the energy to perform at training or racing sessions is paramount.
If you don’t eat the right types of foods a number of factors can affect your performance.
For example: too much high saturated fat foods = poor body composition and low power to weight ratio resulting in your inability to ride fast due to weight factors.
Or: too much high fat foods BEFORE a high speed session will make you feel sluggish.
Instead: a good quality carbohydrate and protein source would be the better option.
Focusing on eating well is a great way to equip your body to perform at it’s best which is paramount in enabling you to ride faster!
We've done a free 2x part video series on Nutrition that you can watch.
5. Aerodynamics
Understanding aerodynamics is important if you want to cycle faster!
It bascially comes down to two things:
- The equipment you use
- Your body position on the bike
AND... aerodynamics becomes MORE important the faster you ride.
We are learning a lot more about aerodynamics as the latest advancements in science and biomechanics become available.
Wind resistance is a barrier that ALL cyclists need to overcome. So understanding aerodynamics is crucial.
To understand more about Aerodynamics, you can read our blog about it here.
6. Training Quality
“What you train for is what you get”
If you spend hours riding on the road at 25-30kph, you’re going to get good at riding 25-30kph on the road for hours...
...but you’re not going to be developing speed!
Ensuring that your training is quality and specifically works on speed development relative to your discipline is definitely worth considering.
As mentioned previously, a lot of this comes down to ensuring that you have the right exercises prescribed in your training program which are being directed and monitored by a quality coach.
Learning about the body’s energy systems, and how to best develop them to enable you to achieve your goals is paramount to success.
If you have a program from a coach, it’s worthwhile asking these couple of questions:
- Why are certain activities being prescribed in my program?
- What they are aiming to achieve?
Asking these two questions will not only help you understand and believe in what you’re doing, but also enable you to focus on maximising key training elements within the activity or session.
We hope you've enjoyed this blog post!
Leave us a comment below, we'd love to hear from you.
Feel free to share this with your cycling friends, and let us know what else we can help you with!
