A cycling workout that requires regular rotation is plain and simple zone 2 cardio.
Endurance riding is the cornerstone of your training as it should be. Cycling is an aerobic sport, so improving your aerobic capacity is probably the most important component of your training. There’s good reason a pro spends the majority of his training time in Zone 2 among cycling training zones, and it’s because aerobics is one of the most effective ways he improves his performance.
This is a simple ride, but it makes a vital part of a balanced cycling training plan because it improves fat metabolism, increases muscle capillary density, and creates a strong aerobic base to build through mitochondrial biogenesis. form. The focus here is on improving oxygen delivery to working muscles.
Riding harder won’t improve your training, but it will increase fatigue. So try to start with zones whenever possible.
workout
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brief explanation
There are many ways Zone 2 training can help improve your aerobic performance. Simply put, it’s about improving the amount of oxygen that can be delivered to your muscles and improving the system that uses that oxygen in your muscles to generate power in the most efficient way.
If you compare your body to a car, this workout will make you more fuel efficient (using oxygen as fuel) and more powerful (because you can supply more oxygen and use it as fuel).
let’s be a geek
(Image credit: Future)
As for oxygen delivery to muscles, this is improved through a process called angiogenesis. This is the creation of new muscle capillaries that allow more oxygen to be transported through the blood to the muscles. It has been found that increasing the intensity can actually reduce the level of angiogenesis.
Next, we need to consider the muscle’s ability to utilize the supplied oxygen. This happens thanks to mitochondria. You may have heard of mitochondria as the powerhouses of the cell, but that’s not all. The more mitochondria there are, the more organelles (special structure) increases. bodily functions).
The way zone 2 training helps with this is called calcium signaling-mediated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC-1alpha) activation. Basically, your muscles are contracting regularly for long periods of time, so every time your muscles contract, calcium is released. Mitochondrial production is stimulated.
More oxygen means more fuel, which helps increase strength by increasing fat burning and carbohydrate oxidation rates, and more mitochondria means more energy to break down fuel sources to produce ATP. , which means that it has a high ability to generate power.
golden rule
The golden rule of Zone 2 training is to not overdo it. These sessions are the epitome of long, low-intensity training. However, it is often too strong to provide additional benefits, and may actually reduce some of the benefits and increase fatigue as well.
sunny? how is it…
This cycling workout can easily be done as part of a club group ride, so an outdoor session is ideal. Or a quick solo ride outdoors.
But let’s consider how to approach it if you need to do your cycling training indoors. Suppose the coach sets him zone 2 for 3 hours, but the weather is just awful (honestly, you’d be better off indoors then!).
A good rule of thumb I use when doing this ride indoors is to reduce the time taken by a third. So 3 hours becomes his 2 hours and you can watch a few episodes of movies or Netflix series while doing the session. The advantage of doing this with The turbo trainer is that it is very easy to control the intensity and keep it low enough.
Looking for something different? how is it…
– Cycling Workout of the Week #1: 20/40 Seconds [50 mins]
– Cycling Workout of the Week #5: Under/Over [59 mins]
– Cycling Workout of the Week #6: 1 Minute On, 1 Minute Off [45 mins]
– Cycling Workout of the Week #8: Tempo [1hr 15mins]
