Training for bicycling and the Tour de France can involve cross-training. A helpful tip from your personal trainer might be to do exercises involving your core muscles. If your core muscles are fit, then it will help you to ride faster and longer.

In addition to your legs doing the work when you are bicycling, your abdominal muscles play a role in your progress as well. Abdominal muscles keep a bicyclist balanced, upright, and provide a foundation support for the bicyclist’s legs. Crunches and sit-ups tend to engage primarily the outer layers of the abdominal muscles, but the core muscles need to be engaged and strong also.

One method your personal trainer may tell you about for you to engage your core muscles before doing exercises that work your abs, is squeezing, zipping, and bracing. Squeeze your pelvic muscles while lying on your back with your knees bent. Zip your belly button toward your spine. Brace your stomach tightly. Then do all abdominal exercises with your core engaged as described. Your abdominal muscle workout will be more effective when your core abdominal muscles are engaged. Having strong core muscles contributes to being a better bicyclist. And your personal trainer knows what cross-training tips will be helpful for you to become a successful bicyclist in the Tour de France.

You and your personal trainer might talk about the history of the Tour de France, the Great Bicycle race that has a 100-year history.

The idea for the Tour de France race was conceived during a business lunch in France in 1902 between two old-world Paris men: Geo Lefevre and Henri Desgrange. The race was modeled after a six-day track race where the cyclists would leave a velodrome and cycle across the whole country of France. In the next year, the first Tour de France was a marketing event for their sports paper L’Auto, and it was a 2,428-kilometer bike race made up of six stages. Yet with the passage of time, more than 100 years later, the Tour de France still is part of French heritage and is thought by many to be the world’s greatest annual cycling race. Your personal trainer knows the ambiance and excitement that the Tour de France race gathers. Bicycling is a fun yet rigorous sport, so it is advantageous to get the help of a personal trainer when preparing for an event such as the Tour de France.

Because your personal trainer knows that winning the Tour de France race is a prestigious honor, your personal trainer will give you the best bicycling training. Back in history, the Tour de France attracted many fans and competitors. A painter from the late 1800’s, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a special fan of the Tour de France, and the painter Maurice DeVlaemink rode the Paris-Robaix race. The cycling magazine L’Auto had average sales of about 25,000 copies sold, which was a large sales volume considering the date back then in history. Each Tour de France race as time went on grew and was an improvement over previous years, and the bicyclists now attain speeds of up to 30mph which is impressive compared to the early auto speeds when the race was first conceived of in 1902.

The early bicyclists back in 1903 who signed up for the race were exhibitionists who could be described as a cross between a circus person and horseracing jockey. The early bicyclists wore skin-tight outfits with bright colors, and some early cyclists exhibited two-wheeled acrobatics.

Regarding modern day training for the Tour de France, your personal trainer may have you prepare for the event by doing running or swimming, as endurance training to prepare you for the cycling. Different types of sports can provide positive benefits that will carry over to the sport of cycling. Your personal trainer knows that you need to build stamina and strength to get in great shape for bicycling in such an event as the Tour de France.

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