TRAINING PLAN GUIDE

INTRODUCTION
‘At Spokes we have assembled an international team of some of the finest cycling coaches
available to help you successfully complete your chosen Spokes Personal Training Plan and
meet your desired cycling goals…
As qualified and licensed cycling coaches our aim is to raise the performance standards of our
cyclists harnessing the coaching knowledge and expertise we have acquired over many years.
Whether you are a seasoned rider aiming to reach new peaks for the forthcoming season or a
sportive / recreational rider looking to complete a single event, our fulfilment comes from
inspiring you to progress, achieve and then surpass your goals to the fullest potential. Whilst
it is important that you can commit to the Personal Training Plan that we develop for you, we
understand there are often distractions in life and should you need any help with tackling
challenges off the bike then please feel free to join our support groups or contact us directly
[email protected]
Good Luck and train safely’
Pav Bryan – Spokes Performance Director

(British Cycling Level 3 / RGT Master Coach)

OUR COMMITMENT

• We will respond to all questions and any issues in a timely and professional manner.

• We will provide you with access to our Spokes training and nutrition support groups.

• We will not provide any personal medical advice, this will need to be sought from
professional medical advisors and this should be done before undertaking any
training.

• We will not prescribe any sessions to be completed on the open highway and if you
chose to complete sessions on open roads this decision must be taken at your own
risk.

• We will not physically be able to support you at your events, however we will
endeavor to ensure you are ready for an event and advised on recovery after the
event.
GETTING STARTED

• Please read this section before starting to ensure you get the most out of Your
Spokes Training Plan.

• Starting a Training Plan will engage a range of emotions including: excitement,

expectation, enthusiasm and possibly trepidation…however before undertaking any
training & exercise please seek professional medical advice before starting.

• This plan can be personalised to you based on your personal profile, time available
for training and your goals - for information on making your plan truly personal.
Email [email protected] and a Spokes Coach will be in contact to begin this process.

TRAINING

• Cautionary Points:

- If at any point you feel unwell or suffer an injury then stop the session. If
problems persist, please consult a doctor. Do not train while injured.
- Completion of any session is at your own risk and Spokes cannot be held
accountable for any consequences of your actions. Please exercise extreme
caution and follow the rules of the road when training outside.
- Do not train if it is unsafe to do so.

• Training Sessions

- All sessions are designed to be completed indoors.

- The Plan may prescribe sessions based on training zones. If you are unsure what
your zones are please click on your profile in TrainingPeaks and then “Zones”. It
is important that you keep these zones up-to-date.
- If you are using a power meter, please follow the power training zones or the
specific power as detailed in the workout builder. If you are using heart rate,
please follow the HR training zones described in the workout description. Please
always be aware of the RPE (Rate of Perceived Effort/Exertion) scale, where 1 is
very easy & 10 is extremely hard. Almost all sessions will include an RPE scale for
you to use should your power or HR monitors not be working.

- In some sessions there will be a requirement to have a certain cadence

(revolutions per minute you spin your legs). If there is no specific value here but
a generalization, then please follow this principle:
High = faster than you sit when riding comfortably.
 Normal = your normal, comfortable rate when riding.
Slow = slower than you sit when riding comfortably.
TT/Race = what you would race at, typically this is slightly higher than when
you are riding comfortably.

• Training Peaks

- Please ensure both your TrainingPeaks and RGT Cycling accounts are up-to-date;
including having the correct FTP set at all times.
- Remember to record all changes and deviations to your training on your
TrainingPeaks account.

- You can set your Garmin to auto-upload to TrainingPeaks via this link:
home.trainingpeaks.com/garminconnect
- You can synchronize your sessions with RGT Cycling. You can do this in the
platform settings. If you are having problems, unlink and then relink
TrainingPeaks with RGT. Contact the platforms helpdesk if problems persist.
- It is good practice to keep a record of your training in the form of a diary.
TrainingPeaks has space for this in each session. The notes should include
information regarding how you felt the session went, how you felt before, during
& after the session, what could be improved and anything you feel relevant.
Under no circumstance should you guess or lie. Your coach (where applicable), or
a coach in your future, cannot tailor your plan to you if they do not have the right
information. It is good practice to ensure you enter as much body metric info
into TrainingPeaks as possible, you can do this by clicking on the “+” sign under
the date in the calendar.
- Your resting heart rate (HRH), weight, sleep and feel good factor (FGF): If you are
inputting into TrainingPeaks you should be inputting your resting heart rate (the
BPM of your pulse when you first wake – or an hour prior if you have a monitor
on), your weight (simple enough), the amount of sleep you had (in hours), and
your feel good factor (how you feel in general out of 10).
- We strongly recommend you use something like HRV4Training to track your HRV
(Heart Rate Variability). You can set this to auto sync with TrainingPeaks.

- If you track your food intake using an app like MyFitnessPal then this can also be
set to auto sync with TrainingPeaks.
- If you have to miss a session, please note the reasons why. In most cases you
should just skip this session and move onto the next on the day stated on the
plan. Consult the training plan notes for more info specific to your plan.

• Training Session Preparation

- One of the key factors for development will be an effective warm-up routine. If
you do not already have one, please follow this:
5 minutes cadence 90,

2 minutes cadence 95,

2 minutes cadence 100,
2 minutes cadence 105,
1 ½ minutes cadence 110,

30 seconds cadence 120,

2 minutes’ cadence 90,
6 seconds sprint,
1 minute cadence 90,

6 seconds sprint,
1 minute cadence 90,
6 seconds sprint,
2 minutes 42 seconds cadence 90.
- You should look to make small adjustments to this until you feel you have a
routine that works 100% of the time. You may also want to add some
mobilization or activation stretches into your warmup. You may want to shorten
this routine for easier sessions, but always ensure you do an adequate warmup
for the given session. If you have a target event that starts easier, for example a
sportive, you may want to tailor the 20-minute warmup to this event, factor all
the elements into a shorter 10-minute version.
- Your cool-down could be a reverse of the warm-up but listen to your body, you
should be starting to feel normal again by the end of it. At least 10 minutes of
easy spinning of legs (easy pedaling with little resistance), followed by stretching
and recovery shake or meal.
- The set up and position on your bike (whether road or TT) will be crucial to your
training performance. You should consider having a professional bike fit prior to
starting the plan and Spokes can advise you of an accredited local bike fit
professional. However you can setup a mirror for your indoor training to ensure
you can hold the desired position. You can also get a friend to video you on the
road or while racing to check you're racing in a similar position to your training.
KEEP IN CONTACT

• Throughout your training we would love to hear how you are getting on! Please find
us on all our social media platforms:
o twitter.com/spokesfit
o facebook.com/spokesfit
o instagram.com/spokesfit

• You can access the support groups here:

o Nutritionally Fit -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/SpokesNF/

o Spokes Training Support -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/SpokesFit/

• Of course you can always reach us on [email protected] and we will happily provide
you with advice on a whole range of additional equipment you may require,
including turbo trainers, power meters, heart monitors, hydration meters, etc.

• Once you have completed this Training Plan we would love you to continue your
performance development with Spokes and we invite you to have a free consultation
with one of our coaches.

• If you haven’t done so already then please sign up here: https://spokes.fit/newsletter-

sign-up/ to receive regular advice from our Performance Director – Pav Bryan and his
team of expert specialist coaches that include nutritionists, physios, yoga + Pilates /
strength + conditioning instructors, mental fitness advisors, lifestyle and wellbeing
coaches