Start getting fit and losing weight in the New Year with our beginner cycling program. This program can get you fit and ready to then start any of our sprint or olympic triathlon training programs.
Cycling for fitness can be one of the most beneficial and easiest ways to lose weight. The benefits of cycling to lose weight is the low impact nature of cycling and the ability to cycle more frequently with more volume (and intensity when appropriate) than you can with running. Although swimming is another great sport that’s low impact during a weight loss period, it’s not as convenient as getting on your bike and riding. If your bike is set up inside this time of year on a bike trainer, it’s even more accessible and easier then driving to the pool and getting into a cold pool on a cold winter morning.
This plan is specifically created with the overweight person in mind who is looking for a no-impact weightloss plan to start losing the pounds and getting fit. After you get done with all 3 months of this training plan, you should be fitter, slimmer and ready to start a specific triathlon training program such as a sprint program.
Of course if you are not overweight, but have no fitness now, you can certainly start with this plan too to start getting fit and then transfer to a triathlon training plan once this plan is completed.
Any weight loss program that involves exercise should also involve balanced nutrition as well. Just because you are working hard at exercise it doesn’t give you a license to stuff yourself with Twinkies when you are done with a workout. Keep that in mind, next time you step off your bike and your choice is an apple or a handful of potato chips. Always think about how the food you are ingesting will help you get to your goal body composition, and if its not going to help you reach your goals, then don’t eat it! It sounds simple, but it’s a hard rule to execute.
Ok, let’s start off with the first month of training – we’ll hit on basically 3 types of workouts this month:
Aerobic
Skills – one leg pedaling, high rpm spinning
Muscular Endurance
An aerobic workout will focus on getting your HR up while you are still able to maintain a conversational effort.
Skills such as one leg pedaling involve pedaling with one leg clipped into your pedals, and one leg not clipped in. You’ll find out right away that one leg is definitely doing a lot of the work when both legs are clipped into your pedals. High RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) spinning will focus on getting you to spin above your normal cadence and getting your heart rate above aerobic for a few seconds at a time. These type of drills will improve your efficiency and help you become better at pedaling because you’ll be wasting less energy.
*If you don't have a trainer, just do the total time riding normally at 85-92 RPM's. If you don't have clip-less pedals and shoes, just do the total time riding normally at 85-92 RPM's.
Our last type of workout we’ll have on our schedule is a Muscular Endurance workout, and these workouts involve pedaling at a lower cadence to improve our strength. By using the big chain ring in the front of the bike, you’ll be forced to pedal slower and with a more focused pedal stroke.
Key: WU = warm up CD = cool down RPMs = Revolutions Per Minute ‘ = minutes “ = seconds ILT = isolated leg training – spinning with one leg, while the other leg is unclipped from pedals.
Month 1 - WEEK 1
Monday
30
10’ warm up and then 10x30” at 100 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down for 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
30
30’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
48
15’ warm up. Then 4x4’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy 5' cool down.
Thursday
30
30’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
30
TRAINER: Warm up 10'. After WU, alternate 20-60" with 1 leg off the pedals and up on a chair. Get a total of 5' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down for 10'.
Sunday
45
Long aerobic day – ride from 45-75’, as you feel.
Total Time = 3hr 33min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout: 10 push-ups, 20 crunch sit ups, 10 body weight squats, and 10 lunges, each leg. Keep good form do ONE set!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout: 2 minutes jump rope, 10 steps up, 10 reverse lunges, 10 dips and 15 crunch sit ups – do ONE set!
Month 1 - WEEK 2
Monday
38
10’ warm up and then 15x30” at 100 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
52
15’ warm up. Then 4x5’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy cool down for 5'.
Thursday
30
30’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
35
TRAINER: 10' warm up. After WU, alternate 30-60" with 1 leg off the pedals, and up on a chair. Get a total of 7' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down for 10'
Sunday
55
Long aerobic day – ride from 55-75’, as you feel.
Total Time = 4hr 10min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout: 10 push-ups, 20 crunch sit ups, 10 body weight squats, and 10 lunges, each leg. Keep good form, do TWO sets!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout: 2 minutes jump rope, 10 steps up, 10 reverse lunges, 10 dips and 15 crunch sit ups – do TWO sets!
Month 1 - WEEK 3
Monday
33
10’ warm up and then 10x45” at 105 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down for 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
56
15’ warm up. Then 4x6’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy cool down for 5'.
Thursday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
35
TRAINER: Warm up 10'. After WU, alternate 45-60" with 1 leg off the pedals, and up on a chair. Get a total of 7' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down for 10'.
Sunday
60
Long aerobic day – ride from 60-80’, as you feel.
Total Time = 4hr 24min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout: 2 SETS: 15 push-ups, 25 crunch sit ups, 15 body weight squats, and 12 lunges, each leg. Keep good form and if you feel good, do THREE sets!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout: 2 SETS: 2 minutes jump rope, 15 steps up, 12 reverse lunges, 12 dips and 20 crunch sit ups – if you feel good, do THREE sets!
Month 1 - WEEK 4
Monday
36
10’ warm up and then 12x45” at 105 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down for 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
45
45’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
60
15’ warm up. Then 4x7’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy 5' cool down.
Thursday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
35
TRAINER: Warm up 10'. After WU, alternate 50-75" with 1 leg off the pedals, and up on a chair. Get a total of 7' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down 10'.
Sunday
70
Long aerobic day – ride from 70-85', as you feel.
Total Time = 4hr 46min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout: 2 SETS: 15 push-ups, 30 crunch sit ups, 15 body weight squats, and 15 lunges, each leg. Keep good form and if you feel good, do THREE sets!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout: 2 SETS: 3 minutes jump rope, 20 steps up, 15 reverse lunges, 15 dips and 25 crunch sit ups – if you feel good, do THREE sets!
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Beginner Cycling Training Program - Month 1
Start getting fit and losing weight in the New Year with our beginner cycling program. This program can get you fit and ready to then start any of our sprint or olympic triathlon training programs.
Cycling for fitness can be one of the most beneficial and easiest ways to lose weight. The benefits of cycling to lose weight is the low impact nature of cycling and the ability to cycle more frequently with more volume (and intensity when appropriate) than you can with running. Although swimming is another great sport that’s low impact during a weight loss period, it’s not as convenient as getting on your bike and riding. If your bike is set up inside this time of year on a bike trainer, it’s even more accessible and easier then driving to the pool and getting into a cold pool on a cold winter morning.This plan is specifically created with the overweight person in mind who is looking for a no-impact weightloss plan to start losing the pounds and getting fit. After you get done with all 3 months of this training plan, you should be fitter, slimmer and ready to start a specific triathlon training program such as a sprint program.
Of course if you are not overweight, but have no fitness now, you can certainly start with this plan too to start getting fit and then transfer to a triathlon training plan once this plan is completed.
Any weight loss program that involves exercise should also involve balanced nutrition as well. Just because you are working hard at exercise it doesn’t give you a license to stuff yourself with Twinkies when you are done with a workout. Keep that in mind, next time you step off your bike and your choice is an apple or a handful of potato chips. Always think about how the food you are ingesting will help you get to your goal body composition, and if its not going to help you reach your goals, then don’t eat it! It sounds simple, but it’s a hard rule to execute.
Some useful nutrition articles:
Ok, let’s start off with the first month of training – we’ll hit on basically 3 types of workouts this month:
Aerobic
Skills – one leg pedaling, high rpm spinning
Muscular Endurance
An aerobic workout will focus on getting your HR up while you are still able to maintain a conversational effort.
Skills such as one leg pedaling involve pedaling with one leg clipped into your pedals, and one leg not clipped in. You’ll find out right away that one leg is definitely doing a lot of the work when both legs are clipped into your pedals. High RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) spinning will focus on getting you to spin above your normal cadence and getting your heart rate above aerobic for a few seconds at a time. These type of drills will improve your efficiency and help you become better at pedaling because you’ll be wasting less energy.
*If you don't have a trainer, just do the total time riding normally at 85-92 RPM's. If you don't have clip-less pedals and shoes, just do the total time riding normally at 85-92 RPM's.
Our last type of workout we’ll have on our schedule is a Muscular Endurance workout, and these workouts involve pedaling at a lower cadence to improve our strength. By using the big chain ring in the front of the bike, you’ll be forced to pedal slower and with a more focused pedal stroke.
Before beginning this plan, please see:
Key:
WU = warm up
CD = cool down
RPMs = Revolutions Per Minute
‘ = minutes
“ = seconds
ILT = isolated leg training – spinning with one leg, while the other leg is unclipped from pedals.
Month 1 - WEEK 1
Monday
30
10’ warm up and then 10x30” at 100 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down for 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
30
30’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
48
15’ warm up. Then 4x4’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy 5' cool down.
Thursday
30
30’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
30
TRAINER: Warm up 10'. After WU, alternate 20-60" with 1 leg off the pedals and up on a chair. Get a total of 5' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down for 10'.
Sunday
45
Long aerobic day – ride from 45-75’, as you feel.
Total Time = 3hr 33min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout:
10 push-ups, 20 crunch sit ups, 10 body weight squats, and 10 lunges, each leg. Keep good form do ONE set!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout:
2 minutes jump rope, 10 steps up, 10 reverse lunges, 10 dips and 15 crunch sit ups – do ONE set!
Month 1 - WEEK 2
Monday
38
10’ warm up and then 15x30” at 100 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
52
15’ warm up. Then 4x5’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy cool down for 5'.
Thursday
30
30’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
35
TRAINER: 10' warm up. After WU, alternate 30-60" with 1 leg off the pedals, and up on a chair. Get a total of 7' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down for 10'
Sunday
55
Long aerobic day – ride from 55-75’, as you feel.
Total Time = 4hr 10min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout:
10 push-ups, 20 crunch sit ups, 10 body weight squats, and 10 lunges, each leg. Keep good form, do TWO sets!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout:
2 minutes jump rope, 10 steps up, 10 reverse lunges, 10 dips and 15 crunch sit ups – do TWO sets!
Month 1 - WEEK 3
Monday
33
10’ warm up and then 10x45” at 105 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down for 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
56
15’ warm up. Then 4x6’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy cool down for 5'.
Thursday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
35
TRAINER: Warm up 10'. After WU, alternate 45-60" with 1 leg off the pedals, and up on a chair. Get a total of 7' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down for 10'.
Sunday
60
Long aerobic day – ride from 60-80’, as you feel.
Total Time = 4hr 24min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout:
2 SETS: 15 push-ups, 25 crunch sit ups, 15 body weight squats, and 12 lunges, each leg. Keep good form and if you feel good, do THREE sets!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout:
2 SETS: 2 minutes jump rope, 15 steps up, 12 reverse lunges, 12 dips and 20 crunch sit ups – if you feel good, do THREE sets!
Month 1 - WEEK 4
Monday
36
10’ warm up and then 12x45” at 105 rpms with 1’ recovery between sets. Cool down for 5' after the last rep.
Tuesday
45
45’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Wednesday
60
15’ warm up. Then 4x7’ at 55-65 RPMS. Recovery is 3’ easy spinning between sets. Easy 5' cool down.
Thursday
40
40’ easy spin, keep the effort conversational and the cadence between 85-92 RPMS.
Friday
0
Off day – cross train – walk, hike, swim.
Saturday
35
TRAINER: Warm up 10'. After WU, alternate 50-75" with 1 leg off the pedals, and up on a chair. Get a total of 7' of ILT on each leg in workout. Alternate legs as you feel like it. Focus on eliminating dead spot at top of stroke by pushing toes forward in shoes at top. Cool down 10'.
Sunday
70
Long aerobic day – ride from 70-85', as you feel.
Total Time = 4hr 46min
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Post Workout:
2 SETS: 15 push-ups, 30 crunch sit ups, 15 body weight squats, and 15 lunges, each leg. Keep good form and if you feel good, do THREE sets!
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Post Workout:
2 SETS: 3 minutes jump rope, 20 steps up, 15 reverse lunges, 15 dips and 25 crunch sit ups – if you feel good, do THREE sets!
Beginner Cycling Program - Month 2
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