Fat Loss

Pedal To The Medal

This year’s Commonwealth Games saw the England cycling team make a clean sweep of medals in the 4km track pursuit events. Two golds went to Paul Manning, individual and team pursuit champion.

The 4km event is about endurance, pacing and staying cool under pressure. ‘The hardest bit is controlling your effort and riding at an even pace,’ Manning says. ‘If you start too quickly you lose more than you gain because you tire and the last five laps are horrible. You don’t really feel the first four laps, then it starts to bite. You feel as if you’re putting more effort in but all you’re doing is holding the pace.’ This race is won in training as that’s where you improve your powers of endurance and your ability to hold a fast race pace.

At 76kg and 189cm, Manning is built for endurance racing. But to maintain over 60kmph in the team pursuit event his power-to-weight ratio has to be massive. ‘The aim is to increase the strength of the muscles you’ve already got without making them too much bigger because we’ve got to drag ourselves up hills as well when road racing,’ he says.

This workout will train your muscles for cycling, increasing your speed and endurance, while protecting them against injury. Oh, and unless you really enjoy chafing your bits, a pair of padded shorts is a must.