I’ve mentioned before that I, like many others, had numerous events cancelled/postponed/rescheduled during Covid. It meant that my training during that time looked very different and I was staying active but the emphasis was on the fun and enjoyment – and I won’t lie, I loved it! I am a firm believer that you have to enjoy what you are doing and so remembering why I cycled in the first place, enjoying the trails, taking my time and having a more relaxed approach was good!
That being said I do have some longer rides planned for this year and so I switched tactic again in order to increasing the training load in a sensible way.
How To Increase Your Training Load?
This can look different to everyone depending on what your goal is or what events you are training for. It is also important that you keep this in mind because whilst advice from others may be great, if they are training for something totally different to you then that advice may not be applicable to you.
This is the approach that I took:
- took time to work on my base fitness during the winter months
- built in shorter, more intense workouts by committing to racing with a team once per week
- when racing ensured I allowed time to warm up to raise my temperature and increase blood flow to the muscles
- allow time to cool down to regulate blood flow and slowly reduce heart rate
- gradually increased mileage on my rides
- gradually increased the number of rides I completed per week
- planned for differing rides including endurance, tempo and recovery rides
- if you need to scale it back then do so
- added in yoga for mobility
Why You Should Not Ignore Recovery
I have previously written a post about the benefits of a recovery ride that you can read here.
Rest is essential! Your muscles need this time to repair from activity and it leaves you stronger.
Over training is not good and you will not perform or get the results you want with sore/swollen muscles so it really is counter productive.
Remember To Listen To Your Body
We all react to training and sessions of varying intensity in different ways and in order to limit injury it is important to listen to your body. If you need to skip sessions or adapt it is good to do so and wise to remember that one session you may not be able to do will not make or break your event/goal.
My Product Recommendations
I am an ambassador for Premax and highly recommend their products. They are genuinely part of my routine and I can really notice the difference when I do not use them. Two of the products to note in relation to this topic, that are my go to, are:
- Premax Warm Up cream – depending on the type of ride I am doing I will often use this cream. You can actually feel this cream working and the muscles warming.
- Premax Recovery cream – I use this after almost every ride. As noted on their website it includes evidence based ingredients (sour cherry, omega 3 and arnica) that help both the body and skin recover from the rigours of exercise and sport.
There is also a huge amount of information available on the Premax website on many topics including this. Plus founder Randall Cooper regularly hosts live sessions, which are also recorded, providing professional advice and information on how to get the best from their performance skincare range.
In addition to the above I also use FlexiSEQ and have done since I got my knee injury a few years back. This gel is drug free, targets joint pain and again has become part of my regular routine. As described on their website:
The joint lubricating ingredients in Flexiseq are small enough to penetrate the skin but too big to enter the bloodstream. Over time Flexiseq lubricates the joint you are applying it to and in doing so targets joint damage thereby reducing pain.
There are two gels which include FlexiSEQ and FlexiSEQ Max Strength. I have used FlexiSEQ for several years now and honestly I don’t even think about using them any more, I just reach for them and can really notice a difference when I don’t, and not in a good way!
There is a lot of expert advice on the FlexiSEQ website including the following:
I should note that my mum, who has osteoporosis and my grandfather who has rheumatoid arthritis, use this following my recommendation and much like me highly recommend it (my grandfather would bathe in the gel if he could!).
Want to be in with a chance to win yourself some FlexiSEQ and Premax product? Head over to my Instagram where I am giving some away.
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