In partnership with Canadian Cycling Magazine
Developed by Kevin McKinnon, a former professional triathlete who has been coaching cyclists, runners, and triathletes for more than 30 years, this plan will give you the training fundamentals you need. No matter your level of current cycling skill, this guide provides suggested weekly rides – long rides, speed work, steady-pace rides – and other activities to build endurance and stamina to take you across that finish line at MS Bike this summer!
The MS Bike 12-Week Training guide is broken down into 3 parts is and is easy to follow:
Weeks one to four: Getting comfortable on your bike
We’re here to help with a program designed to help you complete a 60 or 100 km ride. The main goal with this first month of training is to get you comfortable on the bike and help you develop a consistent training plan.
First things first, there are a few things you need to take care of before you get started.
- Bike fit and tune up: Take your bike to a bike shop or have an experienced cyclist look at you on the bike to make sure it fits. There’s nothing worse than trying to spend lots of time on a bike that doesn’t fit properly. Once that’s done, get your bike into the shop for a tune-up to make sure everything is working properly.
- Get the right clothes: There’s a reason cyclists wear shorts with a padded chamois! Avoid chaffing from day one with the right gear.
- Spend some time learning about your gears and getting in and out of your pedals. (We’ll talk about that some more below.)
- Bring a water bottle: Staying hydrated is important.
- Have a spare: Spend some time on YouTube learning how to change a tube.
The plan below gets you started with at least three rides a week, with options to add other sports and more cycling workouts to the mix for those looking for a more demanding plan. It also incorporates some strength training, which is a critical component of any training plan to help avoid muscle imbalances that can lead to injury and to promote overall fitness and health.
Suggested Training Week
Monday: Day off
Tuesday: Ride 1
Wednesday: Rider’s choice/strength work Thursday: Ride 2
Friday: Day off
Saturday: Rider’s choice/strength work
Sunday: Long ride
Getting comfortable on the bike
Before you go out for that first ride, spend some time working on your bike handling skills. Find yourself a parking lot with lots of room and take some time to work on braking and clipping in and out of your pedals, changing gears, reaching down to grab a water bottle while you’re moving, your balance and cornering.
Weekly schedule
Consistency is key when it comes to training. Three workouts a week for 12 weeks will take you much further than the occasional five-workout week followed by weeks with one or two efforts. The plan below aims to include three bike rides every week, with the option to add sessions on the bike or some other type of activity. We’re assuming you’re embarking on this plan heading into the summer, so hopefully you’ll be able to get outside for your rides.
Ride 1 and 2
The weekly schedule includes a couple of rides during the week. The idea here is to start with some time on the bike over a distance that you can complete comfortably. Start with a distance that you know you can cover, then try to build on that each week. You’ll probably want them to be half- to three-quarters the distance of your long ride, if you can.
Long Ride
The long ride is an important component to your training plan—the goal for MS Bike is to go the distance and make a difference, right? The key to your long ride is to start at a reasonable level and build gradually.
These rides should be done at a 60 to 80 per cent intensity level. The easiest way to gauge that level is to make sure you can keep a conversation going. Don’t sweat it if you have to push a bit beyond that on climbs but keep things easy the rest of the way.
Most people look to get their long rides done on the weekends when they have more time, but any day of the week is fine as long as you get it done. Here are some suggested long ride builds based on goal distances of 60 km, 100 km.
60 km ride goal
- Week 1: 10 km
- Week 2: 15 km
- Week 3: 20 km
- Week 4: 20 km
100 km ride goal
- Week 1: 20 km
- Week 2: 25 km
- Week 3: 30 km
- Week 4: 30 km
Strength work
Even though your legs are going to be doing the lion’s share of the work for your big cycling effort this summer, maintaining overall strength should be a critical component of your training plan. You don’t need to hit a weight room for hours and hours of strength training every week. In fact, that probably would hinder your bike goals as you would likely gain some unwanted muscle mass.
Your strength work should be focused on core strength and incorporate as many body-weight exercises as possible. Aim to complete a couple of strength sessions a week for about 20 minutes.
Other workouts
OK, so you have three bike rides and two strength workouts. What else should your training week include? For some riders, that workload will be more than enough. For those who want to add some more training to their weekly schedules, the weekly program includes a couple of “cyclist’s choice” days. These could be some easy bike rides, easy runs or even just some long, brisk walks to get you out of the house to enjoy some fresh air.
Day off
One of the most important things you’ll do as part of your training plan is to make sure you have a day off every week. Giving yourself a 24-hour break to let your body rest and recuperate will make all the difference in your performance and ability to build and maintain your fitness. The program above includes a couple of days off – Friday, so you can rest up before the weekend, and Monday, to allow you to recover from your longer ride.
Weeks five to eight: Stepping up your training
Week one to four’s goal was to get you comfortable on the bike and help you develop a consistent training plan – this month we want to build on that and up your training levels a bit.
Suggested training week
We still have a couple of days off in the program – feel free to put in some active rest (walk, easy bike, other activity) for one of those days, but make sure you have at least one full day off every week to ensure you’re getting some rest and letting your body recover.
Monday: Day off
Tuesday: Easy Ride 1
Wednesday: Rider’s Choice/Strength Work
Thursday: Ride: Intervals/Hills/Steady State
Friday: Day off
Saturday: Easy Ride 3
Sunday: Long Ride
Weekly schedule
The most important component to a successful training plan is consistency. We’re adding one more ride to the program. If that’s a stretch for your busy schedule, skip one of the easy rides.
Easy Ride
Ideally these rides are about half or three-quarters the distance of your long ride each week.
Long Ride
Same suggestions apply to your long ride as they did for week one to four on intensity, but the distances will change for these upcoming weeks based on your total km goal.
60 km ride goal
- Week 5: 25 km
- Week 6: 30 km
- Week 7: 40 km
- Week 8: 35 km
100 km ride goal
- Week 5: 40 km
- Week 6: 50 km
- Week 7: 60 km
- Week 8: 50 km
Intervals/Hills/Steady State
The goal with these sessions is to work on your speed and strength on the bike. The faster you can go, the easier a slower pace will feel when it comes to your big ride later this summer. This session should be anywhere from 45 to 75 minutes in length and should incorporate some efforts where you are pushing the pace. You could simply ride at a quicker tempo for 20 to 50 minutes, for example. Or you could find a hill close by and do some repeats up that. Another option is to do some intervals where you push the pace for either a set time (1 to 3 minutes) or a set distance (500 m to 1 km), with a similar length of time or distance as a recovery in between.
Rider’s Choice/Strength Work
See week one to four rider’s choice and strength work for suggestions here.
Weeks nine to twelve: Final preparation for your MS Bike ride
You are at the final month of training! Last month we were trying to build your training levels, now we’re going to do a final bout of training before tapering into your ride over the last week.
Suggested training week
We still have a couple of days off in the program – feel free to put in some active rest (walk, easy bike, other activity) for one of those days, but make sure you have at least one full day off every week to ensure you’re getting some rest and letting your body recover.
Monday: Day off
Tuesday: Easy Ride 1
Wednesday: Rider’s choice/ Strength work
Thursday: Ride: Intervals/ Hills/ Steady state
Friday: day off
Saturday: Easy Ride 3
Sunday: long ride
Weekly schedule
Again, the most important component to a successful training plan is consistency. For these final weeks we’re keeping the extra ride in the program. If that’s a stretch for your busy schedule, skip one of the easy rides.
Easy Ride
These rides should continue to be about half to three-quarters the distance of your long ride each week. Optimally, if you have time, you’ll go two-thirds to three-quarters the distance (30 to 35 km for the 50 km goal, 60 to 75 km for the 100 km rides).
Long Ride
The long ride remains an important part of your plan, with our final goal coming this month to take part in MS Bike, go the distance, and make a difference.
The long rides continue to be done at a 60 to 80 per cent intensity level – make sure you can keep up a conversation while you’re riding! It’s OK to push a bit harder on climbs, but make sure the rest of the rides feel pretty easy.
What becomes really important this week is to ensure that you are practicing your nutrition and hydration plan during these longer rides.
Here are some suggested long-ride builds for the final month of the training program based on goal distances of 60 km, 100 km.
60 km ride goal
- Week 1: 40 km
- Week 2: 50 km
- Week 3: 40 km
- Week 4: 60 km (Virtual MS Bike)
100 km ride goal
- Week 1: 60 km
- Week 2: 80 km
- Week 3: 50 km
- Week 4: 100 km (Virtual MS Bike)
Intervals/ Hills/ Steady State
You should still try to get one steady ride, or some intervals done every week. These workouts are a great way to get the most out of your available time, and can be a lot of fun, too. The faster you are, the easier your easy pace will be when it’s time to go long. Keep this session really short in the final week of the plan, though – a few pickups are great.
Rider’s Choice/ Strength work
Strength work should be continued until the last week of the plan – in that final week you can back off and give yourself some extra rest.
You are ready!
We hope this training guide has got you fired up and ready to take on the challenge of MS Bike this year! You will experience cycling excellence at MS Bike as we support you through every kilometre you ride. With training opportunities available as soon as you register, food and drinks when you start, finish and along the way, and roadside support, you are fully looked after.
Hit the roads with MS Bike this summer and experience event excellence!
Register now at msbike.ca.