After all these years on the bike, why can't you improve your speed? You've been cycling again and again, or with a group of friends, or finding time to practice hard on the bike. However, even though you ride your bike for a long time, your speed remains the same. What's keeping you from riding faster? Some training mistakes can prevent you from riding faster. Here, we look at the most common reasons cyclists miss out on speed gains. 1. You cycle a lot, but mostly long and slow cyclists often have the notion that cycling more miles should automatically make you go faster. It's true that when you're just starting out, any increase in mileage will make you ride faster as you get fitter and fitter. But once you reach a certain point, accumulating miles is just accumulating miles. In order to ride faster, you need to train at a higher end and raise your threshold so you can maintain a higher speed. How to do speed training once or twice a week, (such as Tabatas) (20 seconds full ride, 10 seconds rest, 8 times; 2 to 3 sets) mixed with longer rhythmic intervals (10 to 20 minutes). 85% Max heart rate, 5 minutes recovery, 2 to 3 sets. Note: tabata is a kind of high-intensity intermittent training, proposed by professor Tabata Izumi of Tokyo Sports Training University in Japan, this training advocates the use of more muscle groups as much as possible during exercise, and its main concept is high-intensity exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, lasting 8 cycles, a total of 4 minutes, which is recognized as one of the fastest and most effective training. At the same time, it can also improve the aerobic and anaerobic cardiopulmonary capacity of the body, the frequency of training is about 2 to 3 days a week, of course, it can also be adjusted according to personal circumstances, tabata generally selects one to several actions, full weight for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, lasting eight rounds for a total of four minutes. 2. You don't do core exercises But when I ride with cyclists who have lost speed due to back pain or general fatigue, they almost always neglect their core. (The core is the middle area of the body, including the lumbar spine, pelvis, hip and surrounding muscles.) Core training should be like pumping up a tire: do it a few times a week to prevent a flat tire! Because when your core is weak, you lose the power transfer from your upper body to your lower body. This makes you less stable on the seat, and you can't apply maximum power to the pedals to ride fast. How to do tired of the same old core workout moves? Don't stop. Switch it. Try a variation on this classic core exercise: lift it up by getting into a push-up plank position and extending your arms and legs. Keeping your torso still, alternate lifting opposite arms and legs 10 times on each side. 3. You don't respect your breaks. If you don't pay attention to your breaks, you can't get faster. When you are doing endurance training (i.e. riding for long periods of time), deep rest is less important. But when you pedal hard, you use up stored glycogen and break down muscle fibers. If you keep putting pressure on them, they can't be fully replenished and repaired. Extended reading: Only sleep well, can ride fast! Why is sleep so important for cycling? 4. Your primary focus on weight loss Let's do a simple math: Depending on your body type, your muscles and liver can store about 1,700 to 2,000 calories of glycogen. Strenuous cycling can burn up to 800 calories per hour (or more if you're working really hard). If glycogen is compared to gasoline, at this rate, the tank will soon empty, and you will slow down as you approach the "E". If your calculated carbs and calories are also not full at the beginning, you will most likely be affected when you start riding. How to time your carbohydrate intake to replenish energy before a hard ride and to replenish burned energy immediately after the ride is completed. When you know you're going to work really hard (think off-road training, interval training), fuel up with a carbohydrate-rich meal about 3 hours before. Something easy to digest, such as rice with a little chicken or oatmeal with nut butter are good choices. Then, about 15 minutes before departure, eat some energy chewable tablets to replenish your energy. For longer, faster paced rides, you can eat closer to your departure time. Afterwards drink some chocolate milk and a handful of mixed nuts to replenish carbohydrates and repair protein. 5. You neglect technique You can be fit and relatively fast, but still be beaten by an equally fit and faster rider with better bike handling and riding skills. How to do bike handling is something you can and should train on a regular basis. Practice turning, going cross-country, doing stampede exercises, etc.