5 ways to improve your riding performance that don’t involve cycling
There's lots to do—off bike—to make you faster
It’s obvious that in order to get better on the bike, you need to stick to it, train often and have a plan. “Ride a much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride,” the famous cyclist Eddy Merckx once said. Getting better in cycling means being consistent. Of course, there’s only so much cycling you can realistically do in a day, especially if you’ve got a full-time job, family commitments and social engagements. But of course, there’s more to training than just the bike. There’s plenty of ways to increase riding performance that don’t involve any extra riding, and none of them require you to change your daily routines in a significant way.
Make sure you recover
Sleep is probably the easiest way to improve your cycling performance and is also likely the most effective on this list. The reason is that you don’t gain fitness during your rides, you gain fitness during the time between sessions when your body is recovering. Sleep is the ultimate form of recovery when your body is completely at rest, so if you’re getting less than seven to eight hours of sleep per night, you’re missing out on some serious recovery time (and thus, some major performance gains).
Eat well
Nutrition is crucially important to cycling well. This doesn’t just mean eating your veggies. Good cycling nutrition means eating enough to support your training, making sure your meals are balanced so you’re getting all the nutrients you need, drinking enough water to keep you hydrated and energized and timing your meals and snacks so you’re fuelling your workouts properly. If you’re concerned your nutrition is holding you back, you can might want to book an appointment with a dietitian who has knowledge about cycling who can help you make a few tweaks to maximize your
performance.
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to practice mobility, balance, breathing, core strength and can help you decrease stress, which aids in recovery. Like strength training, you don’t need to spend hours in a yoga studio to reap the benefits, either. Just 10-20 minutes a few times a week can go a long way.
Strength train
If you haven’t gotten on board with strength training yet, you should consider it. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym or start doing complicated moves with hundreds of pounds. All it takes is a few simple, effective exercises that are done with good form and consistency to become a stronger, more injury-resilient cyclist. It’s good to mix things up, especially over the winter.
The four elements of a balanced strength program for cyclists
Work on your form
A proper pedalling style can be a huge advantage when it comes to cycling. There’s lots of exercises you can do to work on your efficiency, and don’t forget, a strong core means all your energy is going to your legs and pedals. A good core workout can do wonders for your fluidity and efficiency on the bike.
