With the weather turning colder and colder, and the off-season in full swing you'll want to tailor your winter training plan to make the most of any available time you have for cycling. Here are four tips to help you do just that.
Joe Hewitt, strength and conditioning coach with British Cycling and the English Institute for Sport, explains what you should target this winter.
1. Set your stall out
"First of all, you need a plan with a purpose. By working out a specific goal you give yourself a training target that will help motivate you on days when you don’t fancy it. Against this you have to factor in the time you can commit each week to training. Your goal doesn’t have to be a spring sportive or specific event – it could be weight loss or just maintaining sharpness over the winter. Ideally it needs to be something that challenges you but is realistic in the demands on your time and ability."
2. Tailor-made training
"If you’re looking to improve physically this winter then look at your steady endurance and interval training ratio – to go faster or get fitter, aim to do one or two quality interval sessions through the week, with steady endurance rides making up the rest. The winter is an ideal time to work on this on a turbo or Wattbike. If you’re building up to a long ride as your goal then the best way to build your stamina is with endurance sessions – possibly visiting a warm-weather training camp."
3. Build in blocks
"Avoid hitting a plateau. The key to achieving your goals is a programme that enables you to progressively overload the body. Increasing the intensity or duration of a session creates a greater challenge to the body. In many cases this is best done through four-week patterns. For three weeks, challenge yourself by increasing one or two training areas each week, for example duration or intensity. Make week four easier, before starting a new four-week block. That way you’re constantly moving on."
4. Use your down time
"Poor weather, long nights, your social life – there are loads of things that reduce riding time. I advise cyclists to use this time away from the bike to work on other areas of their performance. Evidence suggests that building your lower body strength with leg presses, Bulgarian squats and split squats can help your cycling. Using foam rollers to ease quad muscles and ITB can be useful – especially if you include resistance exercises. Developing core strength is also a great idea this time of year."
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