Yes, You Can Do a 60 Minute Ride. Here’s How to Prepare.

Longer rides at Peloton are a great place to meet other challenge enthusiasts and put the skills you have built up during your workouts to the test. Showing up unprepared can result in you becoming a little unstuck half way through. Peloton Cycling instructor Ben Alldis breaks down everything you need to help you prepare to tackle a 60-minute ride.

Practice Makes Perfect

“Before attempting a 60-minute ride, I would recommend building up slowly,” says Ben, whose popular Climb Ride series has been taking precisely this approach to growing strength and stamina. “For Climb Rides specifically, I would repeat each of the 10, 15, 20, 30 & 45 minute climb rides, so that you can continually develop your climbing skills before hitting the final peak,” says Ben.

Stacking longer rides can also be a great way to do this, especially if you’re preparing for a 90-minute ride. Take 2-3 days and perform multiple longer rides than you normally would. This will help your body prepare for the cumulative stress of training for these longer rides, as well as build fatigue resistance.

Build Strength On & Off The Bike

“Whilst it’s no secret that it takes endurance to complete some of our longer rides at Peloton, strength is equally important,” says Ben. Weight training in order to help increase slow-twitch muscle capabilities is a great foundation builder for endurance athletes. “Slow-twitch muscles help enable long-endurance feats such as endurance rides, while fast-twitch muscles fatigue faster but are used in powerful bursts of movements like sprinting. Check out the Strength content on the platform focusing on the lower body and build this into your program going forward.”

Nutrition & Hydration

“If possible, top off your glycogen tanks with a carbohydrate-rich meal 3 to 4 hours before you ride,” says Ben. “If you plan to ride in the morning, carb up the night before and have something an hour before you ride, like a bowl of cereal. You’re aiming for 100 - 200 calories here before you ride. If that’s not possible, grab a 50 - 100 calorie snack, 10 minutes before you start. Juice and gels are great options. If you want to keep it natural, low-fiber fruit, such as bananas and dates are also good choices.”

Being properly hydrated can boost athletic performance and reduce risk of injury. While drinking enough water may seem like a simple action, it impacts virtually every aspect of sports performance. “A good guideline to use when preparing for a workout is to drink about two cups of fluid 1-2 hours before the ride,” says Ben. “Then, during the ride, try to sip small amounts of water every 15-20 minutes to keep your muscles hydrated. Fill a water bottle and have it with you on your ride. Be sure to also hydrate when you finish to replace what you’ve lost through sweat. For the 60 minute climb, either fruit juice diluted with water or a sports drink will provide carbohydrates for energy plus minerals to replace lost electrolytes in your sweat. If you sweat heavily, I would recommend using electrolyte tablets to make sure you don’t fall short. I’m a big fan!”

Enjoy The Process

“Before an intense ride, like a 60-minute climb, I would suggest minimising the intense rides a few days before to maximise the performance on the climb,” says Ben. But embracing the process is about more than just planning and preparation--it’s psychological, too. “If you had it all figured out today, where would the fun be in that? Enjoy the process of being a work in progress. Enjoy challenging yourself with something new and celebrate when you start to see your output soar and new PR’s achieved. This is a tough challenge, but is hugely accessible to any fitness level and all the skills you learn in these rides are going to make your a stronger rider across all rides on the platform. So what are you waiting for? I will see you on the leaderboard!”