Want to bike like Lance?

Matt Fitzgerald wrote an article for active.com about cycling like Lance Armstrong. He talks about 4 aspects of Lance training that has helped him ride like he does (that hopefully can make you a better cyclist too):

1. Aerobic Development

His trainer says: "Aerobic development—that is, increasing Lance’s ability to transport oxygen to his working muscles—takes up 95 percent of our focus in training,"

"I see a lot of triathletes focusing on getting their lactate threshold up as high as possible," he says. "But there’s a point of diminishing returns. If your lactate threshold is 85 to 90 percent of your VO2 capacity, it’s just not going to get any higher. So what you’ve got to do now is go back and build a bigger engine, which means you’ve got to grow your VO2."

2. Pedal Cadence

There are only two ways to cycle faster: by pushing higher gears and by pedaling faster.

3. Consistency

Armstrong has said, "I never miss a workout. Ever."

4. Stretching

Armstrong stretched an hour a day in preparation for the 2001 Tour using a program designed by Jeff Spencer, a former Olympic cyclist himself and now a Scottsdale, Arizona-based chiropractor.

Armstrong publicly credited the stretching with taking his cycling performance to a new level by increasing his power output and pedaling efficiency, reducing muscle recovery time, and keeping injuries at bay.

From my experience, being consistent in training (and in everything we do in life) is key to success. Hopefully this can inspire you (and me).

Stretching is probably the biggest challenge I face. I don’t like to stretch, and stretching for an hour a day?

Read the whole article here and hopefully these tips will help you.