HOW TO TRAIN TO PERFECTION LIKE… BEN KING

Striketherightbalancebetweenpushingyourselfand overexertingyourselftogetthebestoutofyourtraining

“There’s a fine line between maximising training stimulus to promote the greatest gains and tipping over into a downward spiral of under-performance,” warns Dave Nichols. With adequate recovery, a deliberate period of intensified training can boost performance to a much higher level. “If you get this wrong, the side effects of over-training can last weeks, months or even wipe out an entire season.” But get it right and you’re destined for success. A great example of a good trainer is Dimension Data’s Ben King. He’s someone who is always right on top of his training and finally made his breakthrough with two stage wins at the 2018 Vuelta a Espana. He went into that race a bit fresher, and reaped the rewards. Of the guys I worked with, he was the stand-out trainer.”

RATE PROGRESS

“Control the rate of progression of your training. Ideally limit any increases in your training load to a maximum of 5–10 per cent per week.” (So if you’re riding 150 miles a week, don’t increase your weekly amount by more than 15 miles at a time.) “Sudden increases in load present a high risk-factor for injury and illness, and may lead to hormonal imbalance, which can disrupt sleep and lead to weight gain.”

BEAT BUGS

“There are two ways to reduce your risk of infection. Firstly, cut down the likelihood of coming into contact with the microbes by maintaining good hand hygiene – use alcohol gels and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Also maintain your immune system function by avoiding sudden increases in training volume/intensity, getting good sleep, reducing psychological stress and eating a healthy balanced diet. Take probiotics and vitamin D over the winter months.”

BREAK IT UP

“Avoid monotonous yourself sufficient recovery time between sessions. Your training patterns should ideally follow a series of peaks and troughs, with the general curve shifting upwards over time to build higher peaks.” To achieve this, mix high intensity or sprint interval training sessions with long, steady endurance rides, and always have one or two recovery days per week. “Longer-term, plan your training blocks into two-three weeks of hard training followed by a recovery or taper week, especially if you’re looking to peak for competition.”

Make good use of the tools available to monitor your training load but don’t just rely on one parameter, such as power or heart rate. Also ask yourself how you feel and adjust your training accordingly – how fresh you feel is important in understanding the ‘true’ training load.

THINK FUELLING

“Maintaining good nutrition will help combat over-training. Start with a healthy balanced diet, before you add any supplements on top – and be sure to increase your carbohydrate intake when you’re in a period of heavy training load. The combination of sustained hard training with negative energy balance to lose any weight you’ve gained during the off-season can raise your risk of over-training at this key time of the season.”

CRASH OUT

“Sleep is one of the most important factors for recovery and performance. Try to maintain a regular sleep schedule, have a dark and quiet bedroom environment, avoid physical or psychologically stimulating activities before bed (read rather than watch TV or check your phone), and use a dim light in the two hours before bedtime.”