The best way to improve your performance as a cyclist or runner is through these five basic habits: consistency, intensity, volume, strength training, and recovery.
Regardless of how much time you have to train, if you can be consistent in your training, make sure you get the right blend of intensity, strength, and endurance, and take enough time to recover, you can make gains in your performance.
But finding that blend can be a challenge, especially if you are limited in your training time.
The key for cyclists and runners over 50 is to maximize your training time to meet your particular fitness goals.
1. Consistency
Regardless of your age, consistency in training is critical.
Your body has to have regular training in order for the body’s systems to start adapting to the training load and therefore get stronger.
Doing shorter training sessions four days a week is typically better than a long session once a week.
With one workout, your body thinks it’s a one-off situation, makes you sorry you did all that work, and then reverts back to the original state.
But if you continue to stress the body, it will start to change and get stronger in order to adapt to the increased stress.
Regular endurance training, even if it’s short, can still leads to increased mitochondria and an increased number of capillaries.
2. Intensity
If you are a cyclist or runner over 50, it’s more important than ever to include intensity in your training if you want to improve your performance.
A key reason for the intensity is building lean muscle.
That is, as we age, we lose muscle strength.
High-intensity training forces the muscle fibers to work harder and therefore become stronger.
Additionally, some research suggests high-intensity intervals can improve VO2 max, which decreases as we age.
3. Strength Training
Your need for intensity, though, is not limited to bike or run workouts.
You also need strength training.
Strength training is critical for older cyclists and runners for three reasons:
- Muscular strength decreases with age and decreases more rapidly the older we get. Doing big-weight strength training not only builds muscle but increases hormone activation.
- Lifting weights helps prevent bone density loss. While running helps maintain bone density, strength training forces the bones to be healthier to support muscle growth.
- Finally, when older cyclists and runners commit to a regular strength training plan, they typically have fewer injuries because their body is durable enough to withstand training and racing stress.
I recommend focusing on full-body strength training that includes core work.
4. Volume matters
Your body still needs a steady diet of endurance training to at least maintain your fitness.
And regular long-endurance training still leads to increased mitochondria and an increased number of capillaries.
Even if your time is limited, getting out for a long run or long ride at least once a week is important because you get important training adaptations without all the high-level training stress from intensity work.
Plus, doing long workouts will help with fatigue resistance as you build more and stronger slow-twitch muscle fibers.
5. Recovery ties everything back together for athletes over 50
One of the hardest parts of getting older was admitting that it simply takes me longer to recover from hard efforts!
I can’t simply go all the time!
Regular sleep and good nutrition are the keys to good recovery for runners and cyclists over 50.
Getting 7:30 to 9 hours of sleep, eating lots of protein, and consuming less processed food and sugars all contribute to improving the quality of your recovery.
We only make the adaptations and gains from our training during sleep!
Plus, a good recovery plan helps your mental health as well.
Three things to consider if you are an endurance athletes over 50
- Take care of yourself with good sleep, proper recovery, and good nutrition
- Get in the gym for strength training
- Blend lots of consistent endurance training with shorter, really hard interval sessions
Need more?
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Paul Warloski is a:
- USA Cycling Level 1 Advanced Certified Coach
- RRCA Running Coach
- Training Peaks Level 2 Coach
- RYT-200 Yoga Instructor
- Certified Personal Trainer
- Certified Nutrition Advisor
