How To BOOST Your Cycling Fitness: a 7 Day Training Plan EVERY Cyclist Can Follow

I met with WorldTour cycling performance coach, John Wakefield, to discuss a 7-day cycling training plan to improve your cycling fitness. From day 1's warm up activation ride to day 5's high-intensity session, this training plan will help you maximise your time and make substantial gains on the bike.

ESP: Me reuní con el entrenador de rendimiento en ciclismo del WorldTour, John Wakefield, para discutir un plan de entrenamiento de ciclismo de 7 días para mejorar tu condición física en la bicicleta. Desde el paseo de activación del calentamiento del día 1 hasta la sesión de alta intensidad del día 5, este plan de entrenamiento te ayudará a maximizar tu tiempo y lograr ganancias sustanciales en la bicicleta.

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Please note: the training sessions discussed in this video are designed to improve your cycling ability when followed correctly. They should not be attempted without sufficient warm up. Please always ride safely, on roads with minimal traffic and pedestrians, and never go beyond your limit. The best fitness gains will come from following each session properly, maximising your rest periods, eating properly before, during, and after your rides, and consulting your coach or dietician if you have questions. This video is a guide only and does not constitute an a training plan written specifically for you.

00:00 Intro
01:11 Day One
02:33 Day Two
03:46 Day Three
04:36 Day Four
05:11 High intensity session
07:42 Day Six and Seven
09:59 For time-crunched cyclists
11:10 Final thoughts

This interview was filmed at the Science 2 Sport lab in Girona, Catalunya, Spain; a cycling mecca that has been home to many professional cyclists including Ben O'Connor, Jack Haig, Esteban Chaves, Ryan Mullen, George Bennett, James Knox, Dorian Godon, Jay Vine, and at one point George Hincappie, Lance Armstrong and Tyler Hamilton. Girona is used for training for races such as the Tour de France, Volta Catalunya, Vuelta Espana, Paris-Nice, Giro d'Italia and more. Teams such as Bora-Hansgrohe, INEOS-Grenadiers, Israel-Premier Tech Pro Cycling, Human Powered Health, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team, UAE Team Emirates and others use Girona for team training camps and rider testing.

[greghart]

Probably the simplest and yet most comprehensive training plan Ive heard so far. Easily within reach of us working joes as far time investment goes. Cheers guys!😊

[xKillYourTVx]

01:13 🚴‍♂️ *Day 1: Activation Ride*
- Day 1: 1-hour activation ride with 3x 15-sec neuromuscular sprints.
- Emphasis on staying in gear during sprints without shifting.
- Easy spinning for the remainder of the hour.

02:52 🚴‍♂️ *Day 2: Threshold Training*
- Day 2: 1.5-hour session featuring 3x 10-minute threshold sets.
- Explanation of threshold intensity (95-105% of FTP or Zone 4).
- Importance of warm-up, recovery, and cooldown during the session.

04:03 🚴‍♂️ *Day 3: Full Recovery*
- Day 3: 1.5-hour recovery ride (Zone 1) following the intense threshold session.
- Recommended intensity between 0-4 out of 10, focusing on complete recovery.
- Emphasis on taking it very easy for effective recovery.

04:43 🚴‍♂️ *Day 4: Rest Day*
- Day 4: Complete rest day, emphasizing relaxation and recovery.
- Suggested activities include stretching, massage, and light chores.
- No cycling or intense physical activity on this day.

05:27 🚴‍♂️ *Day 5: Anaerobic Training*
- Day 5: 1.5-hour session with anaerobic intervals (5x 2 minutes or 8-10x 1 minute).
- Intensity recommendations for the 2-minute and 1-minute intervals.
- Advice on pacing and adjusting intensity for beginners.

07:46 🚴‍♂️ *Day 6: Endurance Ride*
- Day 6: 3-hour endurance ride or 1-hour recovery if fatigued.
- Flexibility in making it a hard or easy ride based on individual feel.
- Guidance to control intensity during group rides for better recovery.

08:55 🚴‍♂️ *Day 7: Recovery or Endurance*
- Day 7: Option for a 1-hour recovery ride or continuation of the 3-hour endurance ride.
- Flexibility based on individual preferences and weekly engagements.
- Reiteration of the importance of easy days and being mindful of recovery.

[sasatrifunovski]

Don’t miss key sessions
Go easy on easy days

Gotcha!

Smashed PR on local climb by 2 and a half minutes on easy day

xD

[MikeWick]

Morale of the story: 2 hard interval sessions per week, spaced out so you’re fresh for the hard work. If you have the time, make sure you get a few endurance/recovery rides in to continue building your aerobic engine.

[mattsammekull]

Well this is amazing! I just finished a threshold workout on Zwift, spending a lot of time thinking about what the heck I'm doing. I hope to be in better shape next season than this past one, so this info is just what I needed! Cheers!

[Avianthro]

Now this is a training plan that really makes sense! The two days of higher-intensity work and one of long low-intensity with emphasis on recovery between those actual training sessions. Bravo!

[jorgecarrillo]

Great video, , , , simple yet well explained training plan, key takeaways: don’t over complicate things and be consistent; results will come

[MOK]

More training videos please. 🙏🏽 learnt so much from your videos.

[crisgrant]

Thnaks guys - looks like a great program for people with limited time. Cheers

[avinashdesamangalam]

Great video Tristan and John. Really informative. Looking forward to the monthly training plan. Also, it would be helpful if you guys could do something around event-specific training plans. Like if I have an event 3 months down the line, how to build up, taper, recover, etc. Amazing work by you both; helps save a lot of money on paid training plans 😜

[dantelobue]

2 cool video ideas maybe. 1) would be a training program with 15 or 20hrs a week. This one was fantastic for 10hrs but if an individual has more time I'd be curious what that plan would look like. 2) would be video on all things nutrition. So calculating base calories plus your ride, how much protein fats and carbs to eat. Fasted vs non fasted. That would be cool and real good topic

[guillermomunoz]

Fantastic content and usual. Even for those of us who put quite a few mikes, awesome to get a reminder on the importance of good training practices. Looking forward to that one month video.

[matteo]

Very nice and helpful. I’m someone due to limit od time able to ride one 1.5h and one long weekend ride. Each time I get on the bike I need to maximize the effort I spent on it for max gains.

[adam_tri_hard]

A huge thanks 👍 I can finally put some structure around my unstructured training

[glennicol]

It would be great if you were a guest on the Nero Nero Show on YouTube.

[lechprotean]

any chance to hear how to mix that with gym sessions? I'm not a pro cyclicts so I still want to have upper body...

[davidsilva]

Thank you 🙏 great guide to what I can do starting immediately 👊🏽👍🏽

[DanielGecse-gf]

Tristan, awesome content. In the future please drop a video where you guys present an in-season training plans when you race every weekend

[jordivila]

Saying adéu at the end! Lovely! Nice video Tristan

[nickfitzpatrick]

Superb, thanks! Great advice, easy to implement. So helpful 👍🏼