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As a cyclist progresses through years of intense training, sometimes motivation can lack. Many cyclists will continue to drag themselves through a few more months of training, hoping that their motivation will come back. The problem isn't motivation though. These athletes are seriously burnt out from the tedious efforts of repeating their cycling workout over and over week in and week out. This lack of energy and drive to cycle doesn't come for no reason though - it is not just "in your head", it is not just a mental block. This is the body's way of telling a cyclist that they are lacking something! They are lacking variation! Constant endurance training does produce results, of course, but there are other variables that affect performance in the road as well.
 Many Cyclists Lack Energy Seemingly For No Reason.  Click To Enlarge.Many athletes will start off the spring and summer ready to go and full of motivation to succeed after taking some time off. They start off a little slower than before but after getting past the initial DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness), they find themselves shattering old records. Then the cycle (no pun intended) repeats itself and the athletes lose motivation. They are bored again!
This is where periodization comes in. It is now becoming more common knowledge to the contemporary athlete that the body can not perform at a peak level of stress all year and continue to make progress. This is because of various adaptive processes that take place in the body and it is the reason why cyclists stop shattering records after their peak months in the summer. By cycling their training (yes that was a pun) cyclists can improve their progression in speed, strength, coordination, and even endurance. What's more is that they can do this while hardly touching a bicycle!
They have just come out of their big race and taken a week or two off to give their bodies time to recover. Or was that a month or two? Either way, cycling just doesn't seem too fun after the big competition. The weather is now what they would call dreary and a little chilly. At this point in the middle of September or beginning of October a dedicated cyclist can begin to train once again.
The chart below found in Joe Friel's The Cyclist Training Bible depicts how these variables are interrelated. This is called the Training Pyramid. Sound complicated? Don't worry about it. It is actually very simple and this article will lay out a way to use these variables to your advantage.
 The Training Pyramid. With this visualization to improve your understanding of periodization, we can now look at how to organize these variables. Many cyclists prefer to hit the gym in the cold and dreary months instead of hitting the road to cycle. Doesn't it seem obvious that heavy weight training and high time under tension efforts such as cycling do not go well together? This is because they don't.
In order to get maximum results to improve one of these variables, an athlete should focus on just one at a time. This doesn't just go for strength versus endurance; it means that any one corner of the triangle should be the focus for one "training block" and not more than one.
Later on the athlete can start to integrate all variables into their training to bring them all up to an optimal level. This is beneficial because after taking time to focus on (for example) strength by itself, the athlete's endurance and speed will suffer a "de training" effect - in other words, they temporarily lose endurance and speed.
Remember in the beginning when we mentioned the cyclist taking time off after the competition? Well this is where the article comes full cycle. Another rest phase is in order. The body loses some strength, speed and endurance but it also becomes fully rested up for upcoming phases.
Periodization has its foundations in the Eastern Bloc Olympic Training which produced many successful athletes in the 1970's and 1980's. This training system used many of the principles outlined in this article. Hopefully all athletes will come to use this training system, not just cyclists or Olympic weightlifters. Periodization can be much more involved than this article reveals, but the reader should now have a good idea of how to break up their training and peak for a competition for cycling. One book about cycling training is Joe Friel's The Cyclist Training Bible. Another is Chris Carmichael and Lance Armstrong's The Lance Armstrong Performance Program. Both go into periodization and ways to improve cycling performance.
This section will provide some ideas for training blocks.
Calf Raises: 4 x 8-12 Leg extensions: 1 x 15-20 Lying leg curl: 1 x 15-20 Abdominal exercise: 4 x 8-12 weighted
Tuesday - Upper Body Workout A
Dumbbell Bench Press: 2 x 8-12 Shoulder Press: 2 x 8-12 Arm flexion exercise: 2 x 8-12 Arm extension exercise: 2 x 8-12 Shrug exercise: 2 x 8-12
Thursday- Lower Body Workout B
Front Squats: 2 x 8-12 Calf Raises: 2 x 8-12 Abdominal exercise: 4 x 8-12 weighted Hyperextension: 2 x 20
Friday - Upper Body Workout B
Rowing exercise: 2 x 8-12 Shrug exercise: 2 x 8-12 Lateral raise exercise: 2 x 8-12 Forearm exercise: 2 x 8-12 Rotator cuff exercise: 2 x 8-12
Monday - Lower Body Workout A
Dumbbell Step Ups: 4 x 8-12 each leg Leg extensions: 1 x 15-20 Lying leg curl: 1 x 15-20 Abdominal exercise: 4 x 8-12 weighted
Tuesday - Upper Body Workout A
Dumbbell Bench Press: 2 x 8-12 Shoulder Press: 2 x 8-12 Arm flexion exercise: 2 x 8-12 Arm extension exercise: 2 x 8-12 Shrug exercise: 2 x 8-12
Thursday - Lower Body Workout B
Front Squats: 2 x 8-12 Calf Raises: 2 x 8-12 Abdominal exercise: 4 x 8-12 weighted Hyperextension: 2 x 20
Friday - Upper Body Workout B
Rowing exercise: 2 x 8-12 Shrug exercise: 2 x 8-12 Lateral raise exercise: 2 x 8-12 Forearm exercise: 2 x 8-12 Rotator cuff exercise: 2 x 8-12
 Endurance program
Monday - Lower Body Workout A
Dumbbell Step Ups: 1 x 8-12 each leg Leg extensions: 2 x 15-20 Lying leg curl: 2 x 15-20 Abdominal exercise: 2 x 15-20 weighted
Tuesday - Upper Body Workout A
Dumbbell Bench Press: 2 x 15-20 Shoulder Press: 2 x 15-20 Arm flexion exercise: 2 x 15-20 Arm extension exercise: 2 x 15-20 Shrug exercise: 2 x 15-20
Thursday - Lower Body Workout B
Front Squats: 2 x 15-20 Calf Raises: 2 x 15-20 Abdominal exercise: 4 x 15-20 weighted Hyperextension: 2 x 20
Friday - Upper Body Workout B
Rowing exercise: 2 x 15-20 Shrug exercise: 2 x 15-20 Lateral raise exercise: 2 x 15-20 Forearm exercise: 2 x 15-20 Rotator cuff exercise: 2 x 15-20
"Tie It Together" Program
Like many things, the body works best in cycles and after a while needs variation. The successful cyclist will not only take this knowledge but expand on it through experience and other readings and learn what they respond best to. Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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