Testing times

Last month we spoke a little about fitness testing (https://www.cyclecoach.com/blog/2017/12/19/fitness-testing-for-powerful-power-zones) – discussing the two main types of testing we perform at RST Sport – the MAP test, and the TT test. The TT test as you can probably guess is ‘just’ a flat out, hard as you can go effort for about 20-minutes or so. The MAP test is a ‘ramp’ test that starts easy and gets continually harder and harder, until you can’t keep going. Both the tests are great for assessing your aerobic fitness and setting your training zones (https://www.cyclecoach.com/calculator/).  They both tell you how fit you are, but in slightly different ways. This is good because doing both gives really good pointers about what you should be working on in relation to your goals.

One question that often crops up with riders who don’t work with RST is: how often should I test? For some riders the answer, (thankfully for them), is not too often, but for others it can be quite frequent – maybe once every 4 to 6 weeks. The less often testers are riders who aren’t aiming or able to alter their fitness that frequently (e.g. due to wanting to take things quite easy). Here they may test just two to four times per year.

If you’d like to know how you stack up against other riders or want help determining your correct training zones, and your strengths and weaknesses, then now is an ideal time to test. Not only due to the time of year, but also because RST Sport is now offering testing in the UK. We don’t have a page up for testing on the website yet… and while we continue to decorate, if you shoot me an email, I’ll personally test you, and testing is at an absolute bargain price (MAP testing will be £150, but during this initial phase will be at 50% off - £75).