The BIG chainring - your secret weapon
You need strength, lots of it, to ride up hills, into head winds and along the flat. Regardless of what you are training for... Whether it is a recreational event or an elite competition, power training on the bike will make you ride faster. The more power you have, the easier your riding becomes.
I have a mantra. It goes like this... Build base before strength and strength before speed. I discuss building base in depth with this article: Cycling Base Training tips - How to Reach Your Full Capability as a Cyclist.
Once you have a good solid base it's time to focus on building strength - both on and off the bike.
While the Matt Brindle DVD is a great way of building functional strength off the bike the BIG chainring is your friend when it comes to building strength on the bike. Because it is done on the bike it is the best form of "specific" cycling power training you can do.
In this training phase you'll spend a lot of time riding in the big chainring. On the flat, up hills, into head winds… It's almost like doing weight training at the gym but instead you are doing it out on the bike.
Strength gives you the power base to start developing your speed.
In racing, power enables you to ride hard in breaks and bridge across to them, develop a killer sprint or get great personal bests in time trials. In recreational rides it enables you to complete them quicker and with greater ease and comfort.
When doing this type of training it is important to always focus on your pedalling style. Keep it smooth and strong. Try to also keep your cadence above 40 rpm.
Remember that during this phase of your training you many find that you'll start to slow up. So it is also important to balance big chainring cycling power training with high cadence recovery bike rides. Too much big chainring work is like doing too much weight training at the gym. You will trash your legs because you don't give them the chance to recover properly. This article discusses this overtraining effect in a little more detail: Train with consistency and increase your cycle training load gradually - your guide to becoming a better bike rider.
All the best with your cycle power training in the big chainring!
Where do you go from here? Check out the following products to help you keep motivated and training hard indoors:
- One of the world's best fluid trainer
- Our very own downloadable "Complete Cycling indoor workouts training guide" e-book
- Our range of Chris Carmichael and Spinervals DVD's
- The Gymboss interval timer and stopwatch
- Cycling-Inform remote coaching program
Our personal recomemdation for a strength building workouts on the indoor cycling trainer:
Don't forget our very own Matt Brindle Functional Strength Training DVD specifically designed to help you ride faster:
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