Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

Consistency is key

I think there may have once been some wiggle room in this space, but the physiology does not lie and there is no ambiguity whatsoever on the subject. When training for aerobic performance (such as pretty much anything bike related, possibly aside from pure track sprinting) consistency in training is so important. The other day I saw a graph of cellular mitochondrial numbers (I’d attribute this if I could find it again…). The drop off in numbers after one week of inactivity took three weeks to repair. One week off the bike means a four week setback to progress in training.
Four weeks!
Imagine you’re preparing for your big event. Doesn’t matter if that event is the Olympics or the next club race – big for you is all that matters. There is a finite amount of time to address your fitness prior to the start line. Being forced to take a week off is equal to a one month hold on your progress. That’s huge when most people are at least a little bit behind on the run in. And let’s be honest, you could almost always be better. It might not matter materially if you are one month better (maybe you need to be six months better to make a big difference), but we could all imagine a state of being better. Though Julian Alaphillipe at his best – I’d be hard pressed to imagine being better than that!
Aim for consistency in your training to be your best.