Ready? Set, GO!

Of course, we would prefer to maintain our daily routine and be able to go to the gym and group activities. Yet, people now have extra time to spare due to the lack of travel time to work or social activities/obligations. Let's make good use of this time and try to become as fit & healthy as possible! But how? BYE will help you with that with some additional workout schedules!

As a cyclist or runner we are a little less affected by the closed gyms, but unfortunately we will now have to train mostly alone. Now these workouts can get a little monotonous, so to stay motivated it's nice to make the workouts a little more playful. Starting this week, we will write a new blog each week about workouts you can do to make cycling or running even more fun! In the previous blog of Bart Cooymans you can read about certain types of training on the bike or while running. If you missed these blogs, read them again via the link.

For this week, we're going to talk about workouts you can do indoors or in conjunction with running. We're going to talk about home workouts specifically for the endurance athlete!

These workouts are designed to increase cardio strength and load certain muscle groups differently than you would normally do on a bike or while running.

As a cyclist or runner you do a lot of the same workouts and train the same muscle groups. This monotonous way of training can cause imbalance in the body and injuries. To create more balance in your body, we have come up with different home workouts for you. For a more in-depth explanation of why these workouts are good for running and cycling, scroll to the last paragraphs of this blog.

We'll start with a sports nutrition tip:

Take isotonic sports drink during this training. A lack of fluids not only reduces performance, but also reduces resistance. And especially in these times we want to build as strong an immune system as possible! Because of the minerals in the Isotonic sports drink, it is absorbed faster and better than water alone. In addition, the carbohydrates in the isotonic sport drink provide an energy boost during your workout!

Workout 1: For the general endurance athlete (including cyclists & runners).

We start with the warm up.

3 sets

• 10 air squats
• 2 push ups
• 30 sec knee lift
• Hamstring stretch (stand up straight with legs extended and slowly bend your upper body towards the ground while keeping your legs extended. Try to touch the ground and hold this for 15 sec)

Are you not familiar with the exercises? Each exercise has a YouTube link where you can see how to perform it.

Home workout 1

4 sets

• 400 m. running
• 30 air squats
• 20 sit ups
• 10 push ups.

Don't go full speed ahead but try to distribute your energy so that each set lasts as long as the next. Are the push ups too heavy? Then put your knees on the floor and try to push up from there. See the link here for the example.

And we finish with a core workout to get the heart rate down a bit and give the core muscles an extra workout.

• 1 min plank
• 30 sec. side shelf left
• 30 sec. side shelf right
• 1 min. rest

Home workout 2: for the athlete who is used to running.

We start with the same warm up as the previous workout, or do your own regular warm up.

Workout 2

• Running 2 km.
• 100 burpees
• Running 2km.

Coolingdown

• Walk or run slowly
• Stretch your hamstrings and quads (upper leg muscles)

Home workout 3: For the general endurance athlete who wants to stay indoors.

For this workout you don't have to go out the door and can stay at home. Do the warm up as mentioned earlier.

Workout 3

10 sets

• 20 lunges. Change legs halfway through and make sure your knee touches the ground (if necessary, you can put a cushion where your knee touches the ground)
• 10 air squats
• 5 push ups

Haven't had enough yet? Then you can do the following core workout as a finale.

3 sets

• 20 sit ups
• 20 bicycle crunches
• 10 supermans per side
• 10 half bridges
• 20 twisted crunches per side.

Below you will find more explanation of the different workouts.

Why this warm up?

• Air squats, to warm up the legs and promote blood circulation for the workout that will follow. In addition, in this way you create strength for the leg muscles.
• Push ups, this is to make the upper body stronger and as a counterbalance to the trained back muscles. If opposing muscles become too strong, as in the case of the chest and upper back muscles, an imbalance can occur in the body. Because of imbalance in the body, you increase the risk of injury. Trained chest muscles also help when cycling for corner power or sprinting.
• Knee lift for further warming up of the legs, improves running technique while running and provides more explosiveness.
• Stretching the hamstrings helps in cycling to maintain a deeper position while cycling. In running, it helps for better running technique.

Why do the workouts consist of sets?

This is to give yourself less rest and more acidification in the muscles, thus creating more muscle endurance .

Workout 1 is structured in such a way as to tackle different muscle groups in succession. This allows the muscle groups to rest, but keeps your heart rate high.

Core training: it is important to have a good core when cycling and running. This ensures a better position on the bike and while running. A strong core helps with a better performance on the bike or while running.

Workout 2 is structured to take you out of your rhythm halfway through your run. By collapsing and standing up with the burpees you train the core and chest muscles. The jump at the end of each burpee improves the explosiveness in the leg muscles. To go running after the sets of burpees with acidified muscles, you provide more muscle endurance. This is useful for long runs or at the end of a race.

Workout 3:

• With the lunges you create a one-legged pushing force. This is roughly the same movement as with cycling and running. Only with the lunges you are sinking further in, training the hamstring and buttock muscle, which helps with running and cycling.
• By doing the air squats right after this, you create acidification in the legs and that will improve the strength and muscle endurance.
• Then we tackle the chest muscles again, as explained in the warm up.

Good luck in training and see you next week!