Confused About Cycling Training? (Follow this Simple Rule)

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Please excuse the typo for *adaptations

[@mj3298]

How about the “intesnity” one? ;)

[@jemthompson8174]

Interestingly that structure at 5:12 is pretty much the same as the routine I fell into naturally when I started doing 10hrs+ a week, without even thinking about a set structure or plan. Thanks for including HR measures for us riders too poor for power meters!

[@mansjohnson4502]

Thanx Cam. It was about time someone cut through the mangrove bog of how to do training in a simple way. Its endless of besserwissers in there 20s and all of them are from uk or usa. RCA and you rule the shit on youtube for cyclists. Awsome. Salute from Sweden.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

We're glad you are enjoying the channel and getting great benefits from it! -RCA Team

[@nockee]

Agree. So simple. Not hung up on polarized vs sweet spot.

[@lukenicholls2522]

I've been struggling to work out what to do with my training due to information overload. This makes sense and is simple enough that I can easily implement it. Thanks!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Good stuff Luke.

[@ryandorris7144]

Nicely Done mate.Your going to help alot of people buddy.Great job

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheer Ryan

[@sfreud2079]

Thank you. This is easy to understand and follow. Been using this method for the past month, and really liking it thus far.

[@abedfo88]

This is gold. After finally getting a solid zwift setup ive been able to get 6hrs in a week between work/life. Kind of got stuck at the same level for a while, maybe too much sweet spot work and not enough polarised.

[@eric13hill]

There is so much wisdom in this video. I enjoyed it when you first posted it, but coming back to it many months later, I have more appreciation for what you said. Thanks!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Nice one Eric, it's always a wise move to come back and watch again. I actually suggest that to all members of the RCA that watch the video tutorials. Watch them 3 or even 4 times over 12-18 months!

[@williamm3542]

Apologies of being late to the party BUT this video is excellent. The world of cycling training seems full of good info and nonsense, tried and true techniques and fads, every coach, presentor or Channel personality always has the "key " to lift you to the next level…………help!! I'm just a guy who wants to improve a bit while still enjoying my cycling and not have my handle bars look like the cock pit of the space shuttle. This video did exactly what I wanted…..a KISS system that will result in both improvement and fun. Thanks for posting.

[@Naurulegend]

Great meeting you at Giant. The boys loved the selfies

[@RaabStephan]

Brilliant, setting up my first 4 week block in this manner.

[@nockee]

Have been exploring polarized training. Your model seems really straightforward to follow. I like the idea of a group ride being the 3rd hard ride of the week along with 2 interval sessions. Thanks

[@PhillProBike]

I have found that doing an easy/Z2 steady ride after a Z4/Z5 anaerobic hill training ride my legs recover faster. I usually do high intensity day 1-easy ride day 2-day off-ride again, usually the long rides are at the weekends(full time job here in Healthcare so busy as anything) . Some weeks I tend to feel the fatigue in my legs, some weeks I don't so I play it by the ear. I commute to work 5 miles one way every day regardless the weather. I only use HR to gauge my efforts. Good video! Learning loads!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Thanks for sharing on the thread Phill.

[@personalbestphysiotherapy2609]

Great video for cyclists getting back into it, or who haven’t done a lot of structured training before. Great take home points.

[@jshepard5840]

Really well done video, very informative. Being an older cyclist (56 years old) and someone who follows the polarized training method, I find that 1 intense session a week is good for me. I would add that I also do a rather spirited group ride with the local cycling club once a week and so that pretty much makes it two intense sessions a week. More than that and these old legs just get a bit lippy (your legs DO talk to you, don't they? Isn't that why we have to tell them to shut up?). The problem with my training method is that my long base rides are not something that many others want to join in on. They always want to ride fast because they just can't comprehend how riding longer and slower makes you faster. Anyway, thanks again for another great video and ride safe!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Yes, I hear you regarding friends not being able to comply with a Zone Two ride! Frustrating

[@Rzagski]

After 5 miles of rolling down hill I stop have some much needed coffee and a blueberry muffin which is my sweet spot. I call Uber and load my bike in the car and get driven home. Can’t believe I’m not shedding lbs 🧐

[@dirtdiver3615]

Great video exactly the info I was looking for to know which zone to do structured interval training in instead of just go out and smoke myself on the bike! Subscribed

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Dirt, thanks for supporting the channel.

[@hoomanpowered]

How you explain things is very relaxing.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

haha, cheers Hooman. Cam

[@stormrider1119]

Mate, many thanks for the great advice. I'm relatively new to this and a concise summary of the basics was what I needed. Cheers!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers mate. Cam

[@joaobrito1801]

Always helpful, your channel is a gift. Thanks Cam!

[@markhines]

Very nicely done. Concise. Knowledgeable. Well presented.

[@stevezodiac491]

I race TT's and for my age do pretty well. I can't understand that trainers tell you to do a low intensity session to recover from the previous days high intensity session. My belief is that the best recovery session is sitting on the sofa doing nothing, so why can't you do that for the days between high intensity sessions. Following my thoughts, for months now over our winter, all I have been doing is go on zwift, generally tempus fugit watopia and do a max aerobic session at my aerobic threshold heart rate of 170, interspersed with holding off competitors, taking my heart rate higher for short periods, a really severe hour long work out, eccentially an hour ftp test every other night and I love it. Doing this on an every other night basis, which suits my longer recovery as a 62 year old man. I find that now I am rarely beaten, in the end my stamina tells and my competitors drop off one by one, apart from 0, 1 or 2 individuals per session usually. It seems to work for me, last night I averaged 26 mph for an hour beaten by only one person ?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Interesting to hear, thanks for sharing Steve

[@philiphookham8135]

Hi Steve, I thought I was a fit 62 year old cyclist until I saw your post ! The thought of doing an hour long max aerobic exercise every other day - well I couldn't do it, you must be a beast on the bike. Congratulations on achieving that level of performance. Out of interest, do you also train for endurance - say rides of 100 km+ or is your focus just on the FTP needed for shorter TT's ? I like hill climbs as I only weigh 58 kgs so maybe your brutal training approach would work for me if my heart and lungs can take the stress.

[@mustafaertik1798]

Perfect kick-off. Thanks for keeping it simple and concise. Pandemic made me switch from mtb to roadbike & trainer and i am really glad to find an opportunity to understand basics for building a structured workout. Hope this new series and content bring an end to all those confusions👍

[@roadcyclingacademy]

👍

[@redbertiethechampion1863]

Perfect, thank you so much sir! This helps me a lot🙏

[@lukaskonecny3979]

Cam, thank you very much! This is so substantial to know in order to better one's performance on bike that I had to give you a shout out. Cheers!

[@JohnSmith-mt5ok]

Problem I have with HR training is getting zones right, I’m 57 with a RHR of 39 and as I type now it’s at 45, and if I use the calc my max is 163, which nigh on impossible for me attain, instead Garmin reports easy or at best 2.4 aerobic, I’d appreciate your thoughts on this? Thank you

[@danman1522]

Your videos are amazing and super informative. I've learned alot from you. Thank you

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Daniel

[@andysmith8877]

Really good, Cam... Super solid advise.... :)

[@christoffertews9792]

Hey Cam! Thanks for also bringing up heart rate zones + examples for training. There are so many videos / blogs that rely on FTP which is sometimes hard to translate if you don’t have a power meter. I myself want to improve my performance in a structured way, yet I am not right in the spot for buying a powermeter. So having heart rate examples help. Do you have any advice on how to measure performance gains in the recovery week than? Cheers and greetings for Germany 🇩🇪

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Yes, a benchmark climb. Just ensure weather conditions are similar.

[@marknacional6388]

Thanks for the video! Subscribed!! Definitely will be using this channel for training tips. And thanks btw for giving a tip regarding cornering in descents after i downloaded your ebook. Keep up the good work!! Cant wait for your new uploads for your main channel haha

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Mark, thanks for the support over here. Cam

[@daraocarroll2261]

Very nice video Cam thanks for sharing the information and keeping it to under 10 mins so makes it easy to go back a watch a few times to get it to sink in.

[@petercaro384]

Great Cam,very informative

[@ΘάνατοςΧορτοφάγος]

I really like the 3 zone from polarized, KISS 👌

[@MIAthe305]

I like the schedule plan. I just got a smart trainer and I’m gona start doing some structured training. I’m stoked to see what kind of progress I can make, but I have to admit it’s a little overwhelming - so videos like this are mega 🤙🏼

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Awesome Joseph, glad to hear re trainer and all the best with the training! Cam

Great advice, thanks

[@clivepritchard]

Great advice. I've been trying this using Dylan Johnsons 6hr per week plan. It's working, I'm seeing improvements quite quickly atm, I'm only about 6 weeks in so I guess progress will slow somewhat.

[@tonyhanemaayer6407]

Great video, I really enjoy your videos, keep up the great work.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Tony.

[@davidtyler5129]

Great session Cam. Thanks for the tips 🚴

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers David.

[@patrickparisienne1917]

Great info, clearly delivered. Well done👌

[@rogerhartley4456]

Excellent advice! Thanks Cam!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Roger

[@jamesmcavoy5440]

Good advice. Well done.

[@andyg9991]

Sorry, hand writing illegible , ended up eating a pack of pringles :-) Great plan for an already decently trained cyclist, but I feel that's too much intensity for a beginner. Polairised 80/20 works very well for beginners (and many not so beginners as well....especially if you have to deal with the day to day stresses of everyday life) Thoughts?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

This model of 3 intense sessions a week is boarder line polarised. Especially if two sessions are HIIT. A HIIT session will at times only involve 10-20mins of intense riding with the rest aerobic/recovery. So a 90min HIIT session is not all at intensity. Far from it. Cam

[@jonathanfroggatt5865]

Really love these videos 👍

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Johathan, and thanks for supporting the channel.

[@RoquetteAttaquer]

Thanks for the explanation, really helpful. Well done 👍 cheers mate

[@sachtkarenard8267]

Love this, thank you

[@alpal5948]

Great video. Very informative and KISS!

[@alainpfammatter8224]

great video and very valuable tipps and tricks. Thank you Cam. I m happy to sse that I m training like you suggested. I have made quite some improvement in my fitness following this type of weekly training plan.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Awesome to hear Alain, thanks for sharing. Cam

[@mwilko79]

Great video Cam 👍I made the mistake last year by not doing recovery / base sessions...didn't get anywhere 😔

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Thanks for sharing Mark,

[@sebastianruhl6221]

Great video! Thank you.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

No worries 👍

[@roebbiej]

You just gained a subscriber!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Thanks for the support Robert

[@bikenliftdad9983]

I started one of the strava premium plans for the CTS 6 minute climb. I am retesting my power this weekend. Seems to line up to what you briefly outlined.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Interesting to hear mate and good luck with the power test! Cheers, Cam

[@bikenliftdad9983]

@@roadcyclingacademy keep up the quality videos! Enjoy watching them

[@robertcastellani5301]

Terrific again !

[@cliveastman6448]

Nice video, however you never explained the difference between Polarised and Sweet spot training, or what are differences between 5 and 7 zones. For beginner cyclists or cyclists learning to use power or heart rate training it would be nice to get the real low down on all these terms and how to use them correctly to improve their ability.

[@adam_tri_hard]

Great video, thanks. What is the name of the data overlay you use with your GoPro footage?

[@nadz336]

Hi cam, you are the best coach ever.. thanks mate .. very nice video and informative.. i have a 1 question .. How long should the HIIT session be ? Thanks

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers mate and sorry for the late reply. It depends on your fitness, your goals etc. But a 60-90 min session is plenty.

[@nickw6175]

I would say after watching the same fault over and over is riders who are so obsessed with strava average speeds they do the efforts -intervals etc and then keep going trying to keep up that average speed they usually manage one or two reps and blow up.

[@hucklejoko4838]

This is why i create private segments where I go all out and asses my performance in those segments so I dont have to care about the average speed over all a session.

[@jonathanweatherill1029]

This is easy to figure out but it gets complicated when trying factor in intense running or swim sessions into a week.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

That is true! Another session

[@grahamcowie9438]

Great vid, lot of great advice in such an easy to understand and practical format. Wished I'd known this starting out training a few years ago - would have avoided lots of overtraining mistakes. Do you have a favourite HIIT workout?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Yes, hill repeats. VO2 max and Anaerobic work.

[@FrankieRevell-o7b]

Hey Cam, would you say that 6-second explosive sprints are "intense" thanks.

[@raysoares9014]

Cam, great channel! Being new to road cycling (having mountain biked for 20 years), the content is not only new and exciting, I'm learning a lot from it. I have a question, and apologies if this has been asked in the comments already. How do you, or when do you accommodate off bike strength training within the structure? Are they added to the intense" days at a different time of the day, say morning or evening, or is strength training done on the recovery days? Thanks a mil, Ray

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Hey Ray, thanks for supporting the channel. Yes, especially legs. It's quite a technical topic, so I will have a dedicated video on this some time very soon. Stay tuned. Cam

[@FrankieRevell-o7b]

Hey Cam, would you say that 6-second explosive sprints are "intense"? Thanks.

[@matthewrepucci3564]

Thanks for sharing, I appreciate it! Just got into road cycling in late summer and have spent all winter doing 4 to 5 programmed training sessions a week on Zwift. Finishing my last 4 week block then planning on heading back outdoors in April. The question is: How long should a typical outdoor session be? My hope is an hour a session with an hour and a half to 2 hour session on weekends?? Thanks!

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Depends on your goals mate. If you want to be strong on the bike for 3 hours, you need to ride long. If you want to be a criterium animal, 1-2 hr rides are enough.

[@matthewrepucci3564]

Right on, I guess that's what I have to try and figure out. Either way, looking forward to getting back outside. Thanks for the response, wicked helpful!

[@michaelaliz]

Thanks for a great video! 1- Do you have a video/link that explains how to calculate FTP and heart rate? 2- How do I combine this training method with learning to ride further? I've been riding for 2 years and my longest ride is 30 miles. Hoping to do 45 miles by September :)

[@penglipur_lara]

I never knew what type of training there is for cycling, everyday I always try to max out my heart rate and weirdly enough, without following any training plan my average speed was increasing a lot, but I think this type of training plan will assist us efficiently and at same time prevent burnout and injury. I might try to implement this training plan for my daily ride and compare the difference with my old method. Can anyone help me to understand what is an easy ride or recovery ride?

[@carlosgomezzzzzzz]

Currently looking for an XCO version of this video, any suggestions???

[@mille1000boy]

Thanks Cam, really cuts out the BS and makes it simple. Where can I get a copy of that spreadsheet to work out my zones?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Neill. It will be available on the RCA website shortly.

[@tomharris2813]

Hey Cam, how important do you think flexibility and stretching is for cycling? If you do lots can you do a video on the best stretches?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

It differs, try it and see if it works for you. I need to do it others-wise I get niggles.

[@Markhypnosis1]

Great tips. I do two intense full body workouts twice a week, which I think I'm successfully incorporating into my own cycling plan. But how would I incorporate those into your weekly plan.....do the workouts on the rest days? Or try and do them on the same days as the base cycling days?

[@KareemSumner]

Didn't see this soon enough and asked a similar question.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

I would do legs on Sunday under this structure. It gives you a full rest day before your HIIT session. You could also do legs on Thursday after a HIIT session but you need to be wary of fatigue. The light spin on Friday then becomes critical. Upper body I wouldn’t worry about too much, unless you’re experiencing noticeable fatigue. Listen to your body, mostly important.

[@PhiyackYuh]

It depends on the individual, if you do barbell strength its pretty taxing on the system and usually need 48-72 hours to recover from. Doing 3x riding a week is doable and sustainable. Any more than that its experimenting with trial and error. Find the happy medium. Strength work at the gym has been proven to help you perform on the bike. Its even more important as you get older. Strength build your body up to be robust whilst cardio destroys you but not in a bad way.

[@wilsonricharda]

What does the phrase, "roll more turns" mean?

[@Mathieucros31]

So your zone 3 is still endurance or is it too high ?

[@Machoman510]

How does time in the saddle play into each type of training day? Or phrased another way, what percent of my weekly allocated time should I spend doing each type of training session?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Such a hard question to answer because it 100% depends on your goal. Event, race or whatever it is.

[@moritzhoppe637]

What do you think about 9 day training cycles with 3 mikrocycles for the bike?

[@coreyreeder3549]

I find that I implicitly trust Ausies.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

haha, don't trust them all Corey. Cam

[@phoenixaroui8712]

Hi RCA love your channel I follow you from morocco and love your content and videos ! I train for one year now , i don't have a power meter And ona know if I can train my first intensity of the week by doing hill repeats and adding 1repeat every week to progress And the second intensity on the week doing sprints or is it better to just keep it with the hill repeats also that day ? Sorry for my english :) O

[@roadcyclingacademy]

You can incorporate mini sprints into your hill reps. On the other day work your threshold power.

[@michaelpetersen6854]

when would you slot in weight training. Before or after a intensity day?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

After, if improved cycling is your primary goal.

[@buttlesschap]

i mainly weightlift. i do 4-5 weight sessions/wk with 1hr zone 2 after or before on its own in the morning on an indoor trainer. then 1 intensity cycling day.

[@richjlaw]

If people just recognise that SS is intense and good once a week it makes it KISS!

[@landmannmike]

Surely not enough zone 2 in the weekly plan?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Hey Mike, thanks for the comment. Different training plans will incur different amounts of intensities and durations so no one training plan can be used for all events! -RCA Team

[@EffectsAffects]

Do you need a proper "rest" day, or can that day also be a recovery/base?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Base/zone two can be fatiguing so depends. Zone one spin is best

[@spidey9649]

Surely doing an FTP test on rest week isnt wise? It's the highest form of intensity as it's literally to exhaustion.

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Yes, but a RAMP test is not really fatiguing. And the 20min test isn't a huge amount of intensity. When compared to many HIIT sessions you do during a built.

[@gerrysecure5874]

3 intensity per week as shown on the board seems too much. Make Sat or Sun a long ride instead.

[@davidalhoff7190]

Nice tips, good explanation, clear structure! Though I have a question. I am rather new to cycling. I started last August since i cant run any more (blew my knee while snowboarding). I live in a hilly area and after a few climbs of 50-200m and it gets a little steeper it is impossible for me to stay below 75% heart rate even in the lowest gear (36-32). How should I train to overcome this and not make every ride I do a high intensity session? Cheers, David

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Indoor trainer. Yes, more 💰 but a worthwhile investment. Also means you can do proper recovery rides.

[@davidalhoff7190]

@@roadcyclingacademy thanks

[@akashtanwar1939]

That is one flexible finger at 4.36

[@tunercircle]

When you say intense training, how long of a ride is it? how many kilometer? or how many hours?

[@avlehtine]

Typically it's an interval session, and there are a lot of different ones. They are mostly based on time and power, balanced so that you can just finish the last one while keeping the power up. Good discussion here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3PKcqVtoLGmkLs

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Thanks for the question Ivan, it's a very 'how long is a piece of string answer', but anything where you pushing over threshold / zone 4 I would consider intensity. Even for just 5-10mins in one session. Just separate you intense and base days.

[@tunercircle]

Noted and thank you. I think what I am doing is almost the same. One day i do intense training which i stay on my zone 4 almost the whole session. Then the next day I do slow speed, low intense ride. The idea is to build muscle strength 'memory' over time to increase the fitness/strength level. Again. Thanks.

[@KareemSumner]

How does strength training factor in this plan. Or it doesn't?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

That’s another video. Gets technical.

[@XTheLancia]

I just started riding road bikes. Is it possible to add weight training to your example week? I would like to become a stronger cyclist but also go to the Gym and lift.

[@mihugong3153]

My experience is that they compete somewhat, especially if you're not very fit to begin with. Both will require recovery time. But then, they will also be mutually beneficial - if you train on the bike intensely, without caring about core strength and general strength, you might have problems soon enough...

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Hey Louis, it does get quite technical. The ideal process is to spend time weight training during the base training cycling phase. Then when you move into the HIT cycling phase of your program, you back off the gym and focus on just maintenance. As a general rule, ideally don't do a hard leg session the day (or even two) before a hard bike session! Fitness and gym gains come in rest and recovery, so you don't want to disrupt those gains with more hard training.

[@Lillee1969]

Thanks for this Cam! I’m week 3 into a 4 week zwift FTP program which wants me to ride pretty much HIIT 6 out of 7 days so this sort of worries me. I’ve had to stretch this out to 6 weeks because I’m finding in heading into heavy fatigue after really big weekend rides. After this 4wk program I will switch back to your suggestion of only 2-3 heavy workouts a week. Your thoughts on those high volume (cram in 6 workouts a week) FTP programs??

[@roadcyclingacademy]

I don’t like them. Too much intensity. I’ve worked with quite a few people that have tried them and there FTP gains have been marginal. If any. On those programs. Definitely stick with no more than 3 HIIT seasons per week.

[@Lillee1969]

@@roadcyclingacademy Thanks for the reply, I thought as much. I tried doing 4 days and I could feel I was not giving it my best...

[@Phil-dx8rw]

As a rider in my upper 40's would 3 days of intensity be too much? I know for me at least I tend to feel it

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Depends how you look at it. Three intense sessions every week is too much. But over the course of a three week block, it’s seven sessions. Also keep in mind that only one week in the block should be considered hard intensity. The middle week is moderate intensity.

[@Phil-dx8rw]

@@roadcyclingacademy thanks, that makes more sense

[@JonReid]

Super useful content in today’s video, thanks Cam! Structured training leads to much bigger speed increases than new wheels or a new bike. Regarding the intense sessions, you said it’s a ride primarily in zone 4. How much time in total needs to be spent in zone 4 to be considered an intense ride?

[@roadcyclingacademy]

It’s a hard question to answer as it depends. However the point is, when you ride base /aerobically, ride it exclusively. Not need to surge into Z4 and above, it disrupts the adaptions of aerobic training.

[@JonReid]

@@roadcyclingacademy totally. I’m not concerned about my base rides, more my intense rides. My plan (still in base phase) has me doing 30 minutes upper zone 3, 10 minutes zone 4 with a 10 minute warmup/cool down. I’m wondering if that’s long enough to be considered intense.

[@doublett4193]

Only one plan... Turn up, go hard then suffer. 😜😂😂😂

[@roadcyclingacademy]

That is the problem for most

[@BFlatBopper]

I got as far as intesnity.

[@hemi265mustard]

Great Video. Only problem with KISS is they are stupid and dont do it lol

[@roadcyclingacademy]

haha cheers mate.

[@aageseljegard8730]

OK so you want me to do intense intervals three times per week - plus base at 70% of FTP? 😂

[@HTB6493]

That's what I thought, sounds a bit much to me.

[@pukway1385]

KISS you should heed your own advice

[@lodvaessen]

Intesnity haha

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Not sure why a typo is so funny when you're getting 10 hours of work for free

[@James-zu1ij]

Go easy a lot...go hard a bit....rest.

[@brucegelman5582]

Not confused about training at all.Confused as to why we watch pro cyclist race day after day and not question what elixirs legal or not they must be consuming by the tons in order to get up day after day without lactic acid turning muscles into quivering spasmodic soup like mere mortals.And dont tell me its the fucking honey banana sandwiches please.

[@rayjohnson3617]

Great video Cam. Greatly appreciated 👍👌

[@roadcyclingacademy]

Cheers Ray

[@DanFleming114]

Great video. Very helpful 👊🏼