If you want to burn calories, enhance your sleep quality, reduce your risk of chronic disease, and improve your brain health—all while having fun—then to simply put it, you should be cycling.
More specifically, to gain all of these health benefits and more you need a cycling training plan that's beginner friendly like this one. Why? Because even if you're not a beginner, this training plan will challenge your speed, strength, and endurance for better performance. Plus, it's one you can follow straight through winter!
This step-by-step plan will push your strength and cardiovascular system while improving your abilities on the bike in a carefully calibrated (but relatively short) amount of time. The more you focus and follow along, the greater the results.
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About those results: You’ll feel stronger, more energetic, sharper, and happier. And there’s a good chance you’ll see some change on the scale, too. So, pull your bike out of the garage and join the ride. Let's go!
How to Follow this Cycling Training Plan
Follow this weekly schedule for rides and workouts. For cross-training days, activities such as running, swimming, or even walking work well. Just make sure you stay active, plus do a warmup and cooldown and focus on recovery too.
For core workouts, find inspiration here or get the full core training program in Bike Your Butt Off!: A Breakthrough Plan to Lose Weight and Start Cycling (No Experience Necessary!) by Selene Yeager and Leslie Bonci.
One tip: If you can’t remember the details of the rides, screenshot it on your phone or write notes on masking tape and stick it on your bike’s top tube. Then you’re ready to go.
How to Determine the Right Level of Intensity
Below, you’ll find rough estimates of the intensity levels in each workout. So many factors affect speed (wind, terrain, bike type), that it’s impossible to take them all into consideration. Don’t get hung up on the numbers—effort is what counts. The max effort level doesn’t factor into this program, but it appears in the second half of the plan in Bike Your Butt Off!
6-Week Cycling Training Plan, Week 1:
This week’s workout is all about getting you out there on the road. It will help you gain confidence in basic bike handling and control your efforts on rides.
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6-Week Cycling Training Plan, Week 2:
This week’s workout helps you gain confidence using your gears to control your pedaling cadence and effort, so you’ll feel more comfortable tackling longer rides. For more experienced riders, pushing against bigger gears and spinning rapidly in smaller ones helps you gain strength by working different muscle groups.
6-Week Cycling Training Plan, Week 3:
This week’s workout emphasizes bike-handling skills and pedaling at a smooth and steady pace. It will help you feel comfortable coasting through turns smoothly and taking corners like a pro.
6-Week Cycling Training Plan, Week 4:
At first it may feel unnatural to ride at 90 or 100 rpm, but before long you’ll notice that a cadence above 80 feels like less work, which is helpful for longer rides. This workout makes those higher-rpm efforts more comfortable and teaches you to use cadence to control your effort. Don’t sacrifice proper form during this segment of the workout. If you start rocking at the hips or flailing at the knees, lower your cadence until you’re in control, then try again.
6-Week Cycling Training Plan, Week 5:
This week’s workout conditions your lungs and legs to withstand the challenges of maintaining a steady effort and gets you ready to meet the demands of longer, harder rides.
6-Week Cycling Training Plan, Week 6:
Standing gives your legs a break and helps you up steep hills because you’re putting all your weight into your pedals—but it also raises your heart rate because your upper body has to work harder to support your torso and keep you balanced. This week’s workout will boost your fitness and riding skills.
This article was adapted from the book,Bike Your Butt Off!: A Breakthrough Plan to Lose Weight and Start Cycling (No Experience Necessary!) by Selene Yeager and Leslie Bonci (Rodale Books, 2014) which includes nutritional information, tips, a six-week training plan, and fat-burning exercises for beginner and experienced cyclists alike.
