5 Tips for Improving Your Cycling Interval Training

Interval training is all about doing any form of exercise but in the form of reps at defined time periods. For example, you could decide to ride for 20 seconds uphill then pedal slowly to recover for 1 minute. That is what interval training is. 

I found some cool tips to help you benefit from your interval training and I wanted to share it with you. 

Here are some of the tips:

1.Give high priority to your interval training

First of all you must decide that you really want to do interval training. It might sound obvious, but if you give high priority to your interval training, it’s also much more likely to become a success. Try to perform your intervals as the most important part of your ride. Prioritizing interval training means that it is more important for you to perform your intervals than e.g. getting your planned distance, joining a social group ride or even participating in a race.    

2. Have a goal

When you perform interval training, you will often try to pace yourself through high intensity efforts that require a high amounts of mental power. If you have a goal like to participate in a specific race you are training towards, it is a lot easier for you to go through the difficult parts of the training.

3. Schedule your intervals

When you have decided to perform you interval training, it is a good idea to make a crystal clear plan for your interval training. You (and your training partners) must know exactly what is going to happen when the interval training begins. Intensity, distance and recovery should be well defined in a way that everyone understands. There should be no need to ask questions during the interval session.

4.Warm-up before interval training

Warming up before interval training should be a no-brainer. Metabolic processes are temperature-dependent, thus many enzymes perform better at higher temperatures. Oxygen transport from blood to tissue is more rapid. Simply put, warming up increases your performance and makes it possible for you to train at higher oxygen consumption. You can go here to learn How to perform a quick warm-up before interval training.

5. Active recovery between intervals

It is tempting to stop pedaling after finishing a hard interval, but it makes good sense to keep pedaling at low intensity because it helps your recovery. The recovery periods can also be used to maintain your oxygen consumption at a relatively high level and thus make it easier for you to reach high aerobic levels in the next interval.

6. Evaluate

When you have performed your interval session you must always remember to evaluate how it worked out for you. Are there any things you would like to adjust before your next interval session?

7.Cool down after interval training

When you have finished your interval session it is recommended to perform a short cool down. If you are serious about your cycling training, this is the time where you should start your post-training recovery process. For example, eat proteins and carbohydrates, drink water and ride easy to boost the recovery process.

Parting Shot

Hope this tips were helpful, for more cycling workout tips and training exercises that you can practice, you can visit my blog at www.bikingtraining.com