Bike Training, Why it’s not all about the bike!

  It is the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are in lockdown, and depending on where you are, the majority of us are limited to the amount of sport and the type of sport we can do. Here in France we are currently limited to running as a form of exercise and can travel no further that 1km from our house while training. In the UK at the time of writing this, as I understand it, you are able to cycle and run Continue reading →

What is my core and where can I find It?

Is this you? You may have heard us discuss our ‘core’ a number of times in many of our articles and fitness apps. Perhaps with your physiotherapist, in Pilates, your Yoga class, or at your local running club. It is a hot topic, with good reason. But what is it? We all know that it is good for our balance and stability but what actually is it? Classically in the past when people used to refer to your ‘core’ they were referring to your rectus Continue reading →

The spring transition from ski boots to trainers

What do we need to be thinking about and doing to stay injury free this summer? Well what an unusual time this is! It has to be said, we did not expect to be writing this article so early in the year, but here we are. While a lot of us are stuck at home and are limited to running as our means of exercise, it seems to be the perfect time. Personally, here at BeFit Apps, we are still hopeful for some late spring Continue reading →

Lessons from my first Etape du Tour

9 pieces of advice for Etape du Tour riders learned the hard way! Well it certainly was an experience! Having now ridden a number of European cyclo sportives and Gran Fondos I thought I would be prepared for anything… but just as they say about the Tour de France, the Etape du Tour really does take the amateur cycle event experience to a whole new level. The enormous numbers of participants, the wide range in abilities, the mix of abilities on the road, the level Continue reading →

Improve your cycling performance by knowing the science

Nothing beats a bit of science for making those marginal gains to performance.  We can often easily get this information from the media that summarise scientific findings into methods that we can easily apply at home to our bike and activity.  Sometimes however it’s fun to have a read of the research and find the science that relates to our own specific performance requirements.  So if you like delving into the research in search of performance improvement you might be interested in a few of these. Continue reading →

Our top 10 gifts for a ‘Le Tour de France’ super fan

As avid supporters of Le Tour de France we’ve all been very lucky to experience first hand stage starts, time trials, climbs and stage finishes. We love it, the atmosphere, meeting fellow supporters, awaiting the arrival of La Caravane du Tour to catch some free samples to then waiting a few further hours to hear the sound of media helicopters as they follow the leader overhead. We’ve seen some great merchandise over the years, so we’ve put together a list of our top 10 gifts for a Le Tour de France super fan! Continue reading →

Taking your cycling strength and conditioning seriously

It’s biking season here in the Alps and with the Tour De France spending four days in our locality we’re getting ready to sample those epic stages and put down our times on Strava before the pros get there! There are many ways to improve your cycling performance, some more widely appreciated than others. The much debated prohibited options that include the use of hidden motors, drugs and blood transfusions continue to grab all the attention. In the meantime under the radar, the elite level Continue reading →

3 simple but important exercises for cyclists

The main goals of any strength and conditioning programme for cyclists should be to improve performance and prevent injury.  For this you need to establish good form, increase power and develop endurance.  These three but simple exercises are a good place to start. Thread the needle As cyclists we spend a lot of time in flexion, hunched over our bike for hours on end.  This can cause problems with and stiffness in the thoracic spine and shoulders.  Threading the needle is a great flexibility exercise to undo Continue reading →

Play the Zwift game to overcome cycle training pain!

Get serious about your cycle training and have fun at the same time with Zwift! As most committed cyclists must now know, the most efficient way to build fitness for performance on the bike, particularly during the winter is to use an indoor turbo trainer and follow a power based structured training plan. However like many others the tedious and painful reality of suffering for hours, going nowhere has prevented me following this path to progress. In any one winter I probably would use my Continue reading →

Strength and conditioning to improve your cycling

If you’re serious about your cycling you’ll integrate a couple of interval sessions into your training week, but have you ever thought about strength and conditioning?  Common in most other sports and the secret tool of the pros, this approach to training doesn’t get much attention in cycling, but it’s set to explode!  Be ahead of the game and learn how to use strength and conditioning exercises to improve you cycling. A year-round strength and conditioning program for a cyclist is an essential aspect of training for every level of rider Continue reading →