How to Build Cycling Stamina

Cycling is a sport that generates strength and endurance. Depending on the terrain, the speed and the level of difficulty, it can be a workout that significantly challenges your body and builds stamina.

Stamina is different than endurance or speed. Endurance refers to the amount of time you can continue to exercise. Speed refers to the amount of distance you can cover in a certain period of time. Stamina refers to how well you can sustain your effort. For example, starting a bike ride at 20 mph and then dropping to 17 mph after the first two miles would indicate a lack of stamina.

Step 1

Build your base. Before beginning training, you must have a base of cardiovascular and muscular strength and endurance. This means at least six months of easy cycling three to four times a week. Your body needs time to adapt, otherwise you risk injury to your joints, muscles and tendons.

Build your base gradually. Your training should never increase more than 10 percent each week. Also, take at least one rest day each week so your muscles have adequate time to recover and get stronger from the stress of training.

Step 2

Incorporate specific cycling workouts into your schedule. This is the time to work on speed and stamina. Your cycling workouts should vary each day.

Once a week, complete an intense speed workout where the focus is on short sprints repeated during the middle portion of the ride. Be sure you are warmed up properly and then pedal as fast as possible for one- to three-minute intervals. When rating the level of difficulty, this workout should feel like an 8 or 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Step 3

Perform a tempo workout one day a week. This is where your average speed is at a faster, sustained pace, yet not as fast as a sprint. Some athletes refer to this as "race pace." The goal is to sustain a comfortably hard pace for several miles at a time. Your level of difficulty should feel like a 7 to 8 here.

Step 4

Complete one long ride a week. One of the best ways to build stamina is to increase your miles once a week. This should be a longer distance and slower pace than your other rides, but not greater than 10 percent of what you did the week before. The goal is to build endurance and condition your muscles to stay on the bike for a longer period of time. Your level of difficulty should feel like a 6 to 7 while you try to maintain a consistent speed throughout the workout.

Step 5

Consume proper fuel and nutrition during your workout. Aside from training properly, the other key to maintaining stamina during cycling is to hydrate enough and take in enough calories. Even though you may not feel as hot when riding a bike, proper hydration with water or sports drinks will help you function at a high level. For longer rides, consume enough calories to sustain your energy. Sports gels and nutrition bars are popular choices.