Tips for Training Efficiently and Effectively

A busy job, your relationship or marriage with a nice women or man, challenging social live and, top of it all, a set of children and perhaps a dog. All of this usually leads to less time to train and more stress. What is the best way to deal with this? In other words, how can you train efficiently and effectively? Here are our 8 tips!

The 8 golden tips for cyclists with little time.

1. Train harder: The load of a training and thus the impact of the training stimulus is determined by the duration and intensity. If you have less time and the training duration goes down, you should simply increase the intensity.
2. Adjust your goals: You can’t expect that you can prepare well for long distances with only shorter training sessions. So adjust your goals and try to shift the focus.
3. Train varied: It is more important to know when your last FTP or VO2max training was done and when you should schedule the next one, depending on your goals. In addition, it is important to keep training all your energy systems.
4. Train specifically: If you don’t have a lot of time to train and your goals are to cycle better or faster, then train mainly on a bike.
5. Divide your time: For example, if you only have 3 hours a week to train, then try to plan three training sessions of one hour, rather than only one ride of 3 hours.
6. Call the other parents of the soccer team or haggle with the missus: Try to schedule that long easy endurance training at least once every 2 to 3 weeks.
7. Buy an indoor trainer: An indoor trainer is the best invention since sliced bread. Not only can you train on dark evenings, while the rain is lashing against the windows. You can also train at a very high intensity without having to look out for other road users.
8. Train well-rested: Training with a tired body makes no sense. It doesn’t bring you anything. In situations like that, go back to step 2: adjust your goals and train less, but in a fitter state.

Consistency is the key to success. It’s important to keep balance with your personal live and goals on the bike. Training one week for ten hours and the next week for only two doesn’t make you a better cyclist. Try to keep your availability structured week in week out. That’s why Laurens ten Dam, Stefan Bolt and Jim van den Berg talk about this topic in the Beter Worden Podcast. Why you have to keep on training, when it’s a good idea to take some rest and how to keep cycling fun. All this and much more in this new episode of the Beter Worden podcast presented by Live Slow Ride Fast.