Getting stronger through practice isn’t such a mysterious thing. At its core, the method to improve is actually quite simple: it’s about “training.” Training doesn’t mean carrying two buckets of water up a mountain every day or holding a horse stance for two hours. It means “transforming your body into the desired state”—that’s what training is.
Think of training like squeezing a steamed bun. Your body is the bun, and the goal you want to achieve can be imagined as a cup. Training is about figuring out how to squeeze the bun so it can fit into the cup. Steamed buns are interesting—you press them lightly with your hand, and they’ll soon return to their original shape, which means your effort is wasted. But if you press too hard, they might break, and then you’ll be off to see the doctor (most commonly with a cold). So the right way to train is to apply “the right amount of pressure at the right time,” and gradually the bun will shrink enough to fit into the cup. Then congratulations—your training is a success.
So what is the formula for training progress?
The answer is: Power + Skill + Fitness = Riding Faster and Farther.
Of course, these three elements need to be trained separately, each with its own methods. Here’s a brief description.
1. Power
Power training is relatively straightforward. The most effective way is to do weight training—hit the gym until you’re wailing and your whole body feels like it’s falling apart, then replenish nutrients to let your body recover, and your strength will increase.
Cycling mainly engages the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, iliopsoas, and abdominal/back muscle groups. To train effectively, you should work on the whole set, and the abdominal/back muscles are actually more important than the leg muscles. However, there’s a lot of science behind the relationship between “weight” and repetitions in weight training. It’s recommended to consult a gym coach to improve muscle strength without risking injury.
2. Skill
We’ve talked a lot about skill training before. The most important aspects are “pedaling practice” + “setup.”
The essence of pedaling practice isn’t to pedal faster, but to eliminate unnecessary force during the motion—efficiency is king. I’ve seen people stronger than me who, once on the bike, put out less than half the power I do. It’s not that they lack strength—it’s that they don’t know how to apply it. And setup is even more crucial. If your setup isn’t right, no matter how much you train, you won’t ride efficiently.
3. Fitness
Lastly, there’s fitness. Fitness can be trained, which might be a less familiar concept to many, and it’s also one of the main differences between endurance sports like cycling and other types of exercise. The basic idea of training fitness is simply getting your body accustomed to doing that kind of activity.
For your reference, I hope everyone can become faster and stronger.