Cycling training with limited time

How to train with limited time

Training against the clock (image © EEPaul on Flickr)

I had an email from VeloNomad reader Rob the other day. Rob wanted to know how to train with the very limited time he has.

Rob is 8 weeks into his first block of the VeloNomad Cycling Training Program but Rob lives in Canada where the days are short and cold (-35C anyone?) right now. He does shift work on a roster (ie X days on, X days off), has a family and therefore has limited time for training (but is doing a great job).

Rob has asked me a few great questions which I find a lot of people have about how to train with limited time. These question are pretty applicable no matter what your training program is.

• Can I train on a trainer indoors instead of the road
• What if I have limited time (how do I adapt sessions)
• Can I just drop sessions if I am busy
• Can I re-arrange sessions

It’s a good time to talk about this – with Christmas coming up, you’re probably going to be busy with family and friends.

If you’re having time off – great – but if you want to maintain your training plan (if you have one), let’s look at how to squeeze our training into busy schedules whether they're busy because of family, work, other hobbies, shift work or something else!

Typical training

Most training plans have 4-6 days of riding every week (except rest weeks where you usually have 4 days or so off) comprising 120-180 minute sessions during the week.

And most plans will have 2 longer sessions (circa 3-6 hours) in a row each week.

For most people living real lives, this is simply too much. With jobs, family, other commitments not to mention some down time, the reality is we start dropping sessions which can be hugely demotivating.

I used to do that amount of training (in addition to racing) and to be honest it bred an unhealthy obsession with training and sometimes even a resentment of cycling.

I mean, as an amateur cyclist the last thing you want is to become obsessive and turn a hobby or love into a job.

(I'm sure I'd feel different if someone was handing me thousands of Euros a month!)

I know people who have spent thousands of dollars on power meters and are really obsessive about training in general (spending over $400/month), and for me at least, that takes away the love of cycling and the desire to actually train (and can breed resentment toward cycling and resistance to training).

(That’s why I was careful to develop a cycling training plan that fostered a healthy desire to actually train, without calling for ridiculous amounts of riding.)

Equally it's important that if pushed for time, that you go for quality not quantity.

Adding sessions, dropping sessions and more

So, onto Rob’s questions which I suspect will apply to a few people.

Remember Rob's questions are from the point of view of someone doing the VeloNomad training, which do have a reasonable volume but are pretty flexible.

However, these points are most applicable if you have some sort of training regimen and who need to adapt the plan to accommodate your schedule.

Can I train indoor instead of on the road?

You sure can. I always found – and you might too – that a trainer doesn’t let you push quite as hard on the road. I always find it a struggle to get my heart rate as high.

But for those of you training during winter, an indoor trainer provides a perfectly good way of getting time training whilst catching up on Game of Thrones, Parks and Rec or whatever else.

Can I add sessions?

Not in the VN training plan, no. There’s plenty of volume and you must have rest.

Can I drop or shorten sessions?

The short answer is yes.

However, the preference is to adapt sessions by shortening them rather than dropping them entirely.

Like I said though, you can always drop sessions and not feel guilty.

The key thing when shortening sessions is to drop the base load in a session. Say you have a 2 hour ride with 3 x 20 minute efforts and 60 mins of high cadence riding, the way to shorten the ride would be to warm up, do your efforts, then warm down, to accomplish a 1 hour ride.

If dropping sessions, it's important to not drop sessions that provide the overload. If you have 2 x long hard rides in a row, you'd want to do those as generally they will be the sessions that cause your body to be put under strain. This strain is what causes your body to be overloaded then adapt (and become stronger).

Can I re-arrange sessions

The short answer is don’t re-arrange (too much).

The scheduling – and this is true of all training plans – is constructed in a way that progressively overloads your body, then allows rest, which is what causes adaptation and improved strength and fitness.

For this reason it's pretty important to do the key sessions in the dictated order.

When you have a rest day and an easy session you could swap them, or you could always drop a rest session.

Other tips for cycling training with limited time

In the article I wrote about How I Train, I described how I train with the limited time I have and maintain my fitness levels.

An important component of this is cross training.

Those two articles might give you some additional ideas and flexibility by showing you how to fit short intense training off the bike into your busy schedule, but still provide immense benefit to your riding and overall fitness (I like kettlebells and short intense bodyweight-based Crossfit-like workouts).

The key thing to remember is that any sort of exercise and training is better than none, so even if you have to jump on the cross trainer for an hour, or shorten your 2 hour session to 1, at least you'll be on the bike.

Get the VeloNomad training plan

The VeloNomad training plan is a really flexible, simple program for riders of all levels. Read more about it, and sign up, here.

Ideal for those wanting to get fit, lose weight or train for Etape or any other sportif, it suits riders of all levels.

If you are after a training plan and have a crazy busy schedule, with the VeloNomad Cycling Training Program, you can have the training adapted to your specific circumstances.

It's simple and works: Sydney-sider Michael is starting to rack up lots of Strava PBs, only 6 weeks into the program, which has been developed in conjunction with a leading coach (currently testing at the track with some Green Edge guys) specifically for you guys. He drops and shortens sessions too but is still kicking butt.