Training

Interval training for cyclists is a structured way of alternating harder efforts with easier recovery periods to improve specific areas of fitness, such as endurance, threshold power, VO2 max, sprinting and race repeatability. Put simply, intervals give each workout a clear job.

Cycling and weight lifting can work well together when you manage timing, volume and recovery. The goal isn't to train like two different athletes at once, but to build one joined-up programme where the gym supports the bike and the bike doesn't ruin the gym. Riders usually get into trouble for three reasons: they lift too heavy too soon, they place hard gym work too close to key rides, or they treat soreness as proof that the session worked. That's how a sensible strength plan turns into a Zone 2 ride that feels like dragging a fridge through wet grass.

Polarised training in cycling is an endurance training model where most riding is kept genuinely easy, a small amount is made properly hard, and the tiring middle ground is kept to a minimum.

RPE, or rate of perceived exertion, is a simple way to measure how hard a ride feels by rating your effort on a scale, usually from 1 to 10. For cyclists, RPE helps you judge intensity using breathing, muscle fatigue, focus and overall effort, even when power, heart rate or speed don’t tell the full story.

Train with more intent and get better results. Whether you need coaching, data or motivation, these running apps can help you stay consistent, improve performance and reach your goals faster.

If you want better results from your riding, heart-rate zones are a simple place to start. Discover how to calculate yours, train with purpose and balance intensity with recovery for steady progress.

Heart rate variability, or HRV, is the small variation in time between one heartbeat and the next, and for endurance athletes, it’s most useful as a trend that shows how well the body is handling training and life stress, not as a one-off score that tells you whether today is good or bad. Used well, HRV can help you decide when to push, when to hold steady, and when to back off, but it only becomes genuinely useful when you judge it against your own normal range and combine it with sleep, soreness, mood and the demands of your training.

Outdoor cycling is what happens when you take your indoor fitness back onto real asphalt or gravel, where wind, terrain and bike handling suddenly matter again. After months of riding indoors, the change isn’t just physical, it’s sensory, technical and a little humbling at first.

Gravel riding is a cycling-specific mix of endurance, sustained power, bike handling, fuelling, and equipment preparation designed to help you ride fast and efficiently on loose, high-resistance terrain for long periods.