{"id":58768,"date":"2022-01-21T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/?p=58768"},"modified":"2022-01-31T13:28:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T21:28:44","slug":"the-top-10-guaranteed-ways-to-get-slower-at-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/the-top-10-guaranteed-ways-to-get-slower-at-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 10 Guaranteed Ways to Get Slower at Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TrainerRoad’s slogan Get Faster<\/em><\/strong> reflects our one and only mission: to make you a faster cyclist with science-backed training. But let\u2019s imagine things were different. Let\u2019s pretend that for some reason you didn\u2019t want to raise your FTP, increase your endurance, or reach your goals at your next event. Imagine your goal was instead to get slower<\/em>, and you wanted some proven methods to help you get worse at riding your bike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, look no further because you\u2019re in luck. We present to you TrainerRoad\u2019s top ten ways to become a slower cyclist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Try TrainerRoad<\/a><\/center>\n\n\n\n

Sign Up Risk-Free for 30 Days<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

10. Neglect Your Equipment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve probably heard the saying \u201cThere are no fast bikes, only fast riders.\u201d While this is certainly true in a general sense, there are times when equipment can make the difference. For this reason, a great way to get slower is to ignore regular maintenance of your bike. If you\u2019re looking to hold yourself back, definitely don\u2019t follow our Bike Maintenance Checklist for Indoor Training<\/a>. Also, be sure to save any maintenance you do attempt until the night before your big race, when you can most effectively discover problems you don\u2019t have time to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equipment neglect also includes how this equipment works with your body. Be careful not to get a professional bike fit for risk of being able to ride too efficiently and powerfully. Never train in the position you\u2019ll actually race in, and most of all, make sure to set your bike up in an intolerably uncomfortable position to look cool on Instagram. Slam that stem!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Pretend You\u2019re a Pro <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever looked at top pro riders\u2019 Strava accounts? Chances are, they train a lot more than you do. Tour De France winner Egan Bernal sometimes rides as much as 37 hours a week<\/a>. Try riding like a pro for a while and see what happens. Your body isn\u2019t accustomed to this type of workload, you aren\u2019t paid to train, and you probably have a job and family commitments, so get ready to run yourself into the ground. While you\u2019re at it, be sure to ignore the fact that TrainerRoad\u2019s low and mid-volume plans are effective ways to prepare for big events<\/a>. You\u2019ve got a Tour De France to win!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Overlook Diet and Nutrition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s impossible to get a good workout without fueling it properly. Good carbohydrate intake<\/a> is crucial, otherwise your muscles will lack the energy they need to perform. For athletes looking to get slower, not eating enough on the bike is low-hanging fruit for performance declines. Once you get off the bike, another great way to set yourself back is to eat poor quality foods loaded with sugar and fat<\/a>. If you\u2019re lucky, you might even trigger some serious metabolic problems that will hinder your performance into the future. That\u2019s what we call long-term planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Always Ride Hard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You may have noticed that all TrainerRoad training plans include rest weeks<\/a>, as well as occasional easier workouts and days off. This is because structured training depends on recovery. If you\u2019re looking to get slower, you\u2019d be well-advised to ignore this formula, and ride hard, all the time. Rest days? You don\u2019t need them. Moderate workouts? Not for you. Ride as hard as you can and do lots of all-out efforts<\/a> and before you know it, you\u2019ll burn out and get slower, guaranteed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Skip Base Training<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To use a tired analogy, fitness is like a tall building, and base training is the building\u2019s foundation: the durable, solid footing on which all future gains are situated. If poor performance is your goal, skipping base<\/a> is a fantastic place to begin. Missing out on the benefits of aerobic adaptation will almost definitely hamper your abilities, and your Vo2 max might even decline<\/a>, as well. This approach has the added benefit of a potentially delayed effect, as the more intensity you pile on over time, the more brittle your fitness will become until it cracks entirely. Nice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n <\/div>\n
\n

Adaptive Training<\/p>\n

Get the right workout, every time<\/strong>\n with training that adapts to you.<\/p>\n Check Out TrainerRoad<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n <\/div>\n
\n

Adaptive Training<\/p>\n

Get the right workout, every time<\/strong>\n with training that adapts to you.<\/p>\n Check Out TrainerRoad<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n <\/div>\n
\n

Adaptive Training<\/p>\n

Get the right workout, every time<\/strong>\n with training that adapts to you.<\/p>\n Check Out TrainerRoad<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n <\/div>\n
\n

Adaptive Training<\/p>\n

Get the right workout, every time<\/strong>\n with training that adapts to you.<\/p>\n Check Out TrainerRoad<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

5. Avoid Training Specificity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

TrainerRoad uses a proven Base-Build-Specialty cycle<\/a> in all of our Plans<\/a>. These plans use training specificity to match your event\u2019s demands and maximize your abilities. If you want to get worse at cycling, try abandoning this formula in the name of getting slower. Your season will stagnate, and with any luck your fitness will plateau<\/a> and gradually decline as your event approaches. Try keeping your goals vague and your training nonspecific to avoid getting better at anything in particular. You won\u2019t be a jack of all trades, but you\u2019ll certainly be a master of none. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Train Inconsistently<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Structured training is all about sticking with a plan, and consistent training makes you faster<\/a>, so the easiest way to derail your training plan is to ignore it. Ride hard on rest days, take random weeks off, and chase as many Strava segments as you can. For extra effect, follow a higher-volume training plan than you can handle and skip lots of workouts. If you\u2019re pressed for time it\u2019s normally better to follow a low-volume plan and add extra rides<\/a>, but since you don\u2019t want to get better at cycling, we don\u2019t recommend that approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Train at the Wrong Intensity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fitness is constantly in flux, and every athlete has unique strengths and weaknesses that change throughout the season. Matching your training intensity to your abilities keeps things effective and sustainable, while training at the wrong intensity is a surefire way to ride too easy or too hard, and to get slower as a result. But getting the wrong training isn’t as easy to do as it sounds\u2014Adaptive Training’s Progression Levels track your changing fitness with every workout and ensure your training always lines up with your needs. Athletes who use Adaptive Training are more likely to improve their power to weight ratio than athletes who don’t, so if your goal is getting slower, steer clear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Don\u2019t Listen to Your body<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, your body simply doesn\u2019t respond to training the way you expect. Your workouts might seem harder, your FTP might decline<\/a>, and the results of your efforts feel harder-won. In this case, normal advice would be to take some time off and rest, but this isn\u2019t the time for normal advice. If you\u2019re looking to ruin your training, ignore those warning signs and tell your legs to deal with it. Continue doing what isn\u2019t working, and consider training even harder to pour some salt in the proverbial wound. Do this long enough and you might reach a point of overtraining<\/a>, requiring months or years to recover. Hey, you said your goal was to get slower, didn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Expect it to be Easy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no way around it- training is tough. It doesn\u2019t matter how much experience, external motivation, or fancy equipment you have, at some point you\u2019ll push up against the limitations of your mental and physical abilities. There are lots of strategies to find motivation for hard workouts<\/a>, and the mental strength to surmount challenges can differentiate a champion<\/a> from the bunch. So if you\u2019re really looking to get slower, do the opposite and expect the process to be easy. Assume every workout will feel good, every improvement will be dramatic, and every race will be a success. When it all boils down to it, if you\u2019re not ready to push yourself, you won\u2019t succeed. If failure is your goal, fortune favors the timid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Conclusion: <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We know TrainerRoad <\/strong>is the best way to get faster, but there are any number of easy ways to ruin your training and get slower. Let me know what I missed in the comments and let’s all learn from our mistakes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

For more cycling training knowledge, listen to Ask a Cycling Coach \u2014 the only podcast dedicated to making you a faster cyclist<\/a>. New episodes are released weekly.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TrainerRoad’s one and only mission is to make you a faster cyclist. But what if, for some reason, you wanted to get slower? Here are our top tips for getting worse at cycling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":58904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3095,3199,248,1662,3311,629,3379,720,3380],"class_list":["post-58768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-training","tag-bike-maintenance","tag-ftp-decline","tag-ftp-test","tag-pro-tips","tag-specificity","tag-structured-training","tag-training-advice","tag-training-plan","tag-what-not-to-do"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}