Fitness Elements

Bicycle Training Series Articles: [ All ABC Handouts ] [ 12 Beginners' Questions About Exercise ] [ ACE Tips ] [ Altitude Tents: How High the Risk? ] [ Aerobic Training ] [ Altitude Training for Sea-Level Competition ] [ Balance Training for Bicyclists ] [ Century Training ] [ Climbing & Descending ] [ Dealing With High Altitude ] [ Death Ride: Just-Made-It Schedule ] [ Economy & Efficiency ] [ Fitness Elements ] [ Heart-Rate-Based Training ] [ HIT Tips ] [ How to Perform VO2 Intervals ] [ How to Push Riders Uphill ] [ Isolated Leg Training ] [ Measuring Training Stress ] [ Overtraining ] [ Pacing ] [ Power-Based Training ] [ Recovery ] [ Road Racing Basics ] [ Six Climbing Positions ] [ Skills Training Principles ] [ Small Gears ] [ Sprint Weak? ] [ Stationary Training ] [ Stretching ] [ Tapering for Events ] [ Thresholds ] [ Time Trialing ] [ Torque-Based Training ] [ Training & Fitness Standards for Excellence ] [ Training Myths ] [ Warm Ups for Racing ] [ Weight Training ] [ Work of Breathing ] [ Workout Too Hard ]

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This article is incorporated into the ebooks Altitude, Climbing, Endurance and HIT (High-Intensity Training) for Cyclists.
 

Fitness Elements (Introduction)

Fitness means different things to different people. Some aspects of fitness are very specific to specific sports. Weight lifters think of fitness differently than curlers or chess players.

It’s valuable to know about the elements of cycling fitness, because knowing what elements are important helps us know how to train.

The elements of bicycling fitness follow. Racer success may be limited by any of the major eight fitness elements outlined below. The performance of most non-racer cycling enthusiasts—century riders, all-day riders, randonneurs, tourists—depends chiefly on the first three.