Lockdown has narrowed our focus in ways that are not altogether pleasant but which can be turned to your advantage. Without the distraction of racing and group rides, you have a chance to create a truly individualised and effective training plan. One of the key components of individualised training is working to carefully prescribed and calculated training zones.
Now that most of us have power meters and/or heart rate monitors, we can really pinpoint our effort level and ensure our riding remains in the correct zones for making maximum fitness gains – specificity that doesn’t work as well in a group setting. Cycling Weekly’s Michael Hutchinson, as a former national time trial champion, spent a lot of his career racing and riding alone, through choice, because of its benefits.
“Using a power meter, you quickly realise group riding doesn’t work,” says Hutchinson, “even if the speed of the group remains constant, your power can be wildly different depending if you are on the front or sat in at the back.”
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