Your On-Bike Training is the most important part of your training as far as actually improving your speed and performnce on the bike.
This is your ‘Sport Specific’ training, just as a runner runs, and a swimmer swims. A rider, rides…
And just like any other sport, there are 2 main aspects to improving performance;
Ensuring that we are being consistent with BOTH of these aspects, no matter what level your riding is at. Is the key to continued improvement, and faster gains.
While good riding technique should always be a big focus during your riding, there are times when more specific technique and skill work is needed. As everyone (even pros) can always improve on their technique on the bike.
As a general rule, you should be doing specifc technique training on a weekly basis. Wether that be an entire riding session dedicated to it, or starting off a session with a bit of skill work or drills.
This is where the Rider Self Evaluation Form comes in handy. As you can evaluate certain aspects of your riding and technique after each ride, and record that information, and use that to determine what you need to work on and develop.
The other thing to consider here, is that it can be a little tricky to always do this yourself without some outside help and advice. This is why I always encourage riders to get as much coaching in as possible, so that you can get your technique dialled in. I always encourage riders to see as many different coaches as possible, as each coach will ave their own way of teaching and explaining things, and sometimes that can be the difference between you having that big ‘lightbulb’ moment and being able to fully grasp a concept/technique, and just understanding what you’re supposed to be doing.
This is where so many riders are doing themselves a massive disservice, and leaving a huge amount of performance gains on the table every time that they ride.
The biggest realisation that riders need to have around this, is that your conditioning training on the bike, follows similar principles to your conditioning training that your do off-the bike. Just because you are riding your bike, does not mean that all the principles of endurance development go out the window, in fact, your training will be even more effective as you are doing it with your specific sport!
This means that the different Interval training techniques that you learned last week, and specific intensity work etc, are all relevent and applicable to your riding. And using these methods in your riding are going to help to develop all areas of your fitness on the bike. By increasing your intensity and overall endurance on the bike.
Performing training in this manner, as opposed to simply ‘cutting motos’ every time you ride, you will find much faster and better improvements.
With the above knowledge, and understanding. You then need to be able to put it into practice and create and plan your training.
The best way to get this done is to first know what it is that you need to work on… This is done by having a record and documenting data and feedback from your riding on a regular basis. Using the Rider Self Evaluation Form every time you go riding is an awesome way to get this done. Simply print off a heap of copies, put them in a folder with several pens (no excuses) in your gear bag to fill out when you go riding. One of the questions is “where do I need to work on for the future”. When you are planning out your riding training, it’s good to review these forms and then ou can make some good informed decisions around what to work on from there.
Below is some awesome drills and exercises to use in your rider training…
Speed Training:
Endurance Training:
Since recording this video, I have since moved over to using the CrossBox Lap Timing system over the LITPro. This is due to the CrossBox having more features, and also being cheaper, making it a much better choice for riders.
