Getting into a workout routine can be pretty easy, following that plan is not. I have those friends or acquaintances, like many of us do, who say how they are going to start a diet and exercise routine. When I have revisited my friends who have made such claim, usually they have gained weight (and not muscle weight, except perhaps in their legs to support their extra weight.) Although the goal of this post is not aimed to improve weight of those wishing to lose weight, although you can achieve that. The real goal is to work on performance improvement, regardless of your current physical level. The focus on this will be centered on cycling and then other sports specific training regimens will be posted in later posts, so keep posted and SUBSCRIBE!)
(For this regimen I will use myself as an example and you may format it according to you.)
Step 1: Assess your current abilities
My current abilities in road cycling are:
- Average flat speed: 22mph (35km/h)
- Average climbing speed: 16mph (26km/h)
- Longest distance ride: 62mi (100km)
- My current lifestyle situation:
- Full-time student
- Part-time job
- Relatively physically fit
- maximum time for 4-6 rides/week
- time for >30 minutes of exercise everyday
Step 2: Set realistic goals and dream goals (with a time period end)
- Average flat speed 24 mph (39km/h) / 26mph (42km/h)
- Average climbing speed: 18 mph (29km/h) / 20mph (32km/h)
- Longest distance ride 124 miles (200km) / 160 mile (258km)
- End Goal Date (Dec 31)
Step 3: Make a workout routine (using a calendar)
Some basic guidelines for a serious workout routine:
- Abs everyday (>5 minutes/day)
- Weight training 3x’s a week
- Cycling as many days as possible (with a variation genre-specific routes)
- Slowly increase distance and intensity over time.
Here is an example 30-day calendar to give a better idea:
Step 4: Follow through!
Although I would not follow this calendar, because of my involvement in other activities which I write about in other posts, this is an example of if I were to focus solely on road cycling and nothing else. However, I when I have stuck to a training program, I improved a lot.
In another post I will discuss ways to stay on a training regimen and not fall away in your plan, because it is really easy to fall off a training plan.
Comment below on a sport you would like me to cover for the next training routine and supply a sample training plan for. Until then, happy adventuring.