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Winter training thread

ProRaceMechanic

Maximum Pace
Dec 31, 2009
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I am curious what everyone is doing during the winter months to strengthen the body for the coming cycling season.

Today I worked on my core. I went straight from the "Weight Training for Cyclist" book by Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz. I also used my Christmas gift from several years ago, Leg Magic. It feels good to work in the opposite plain of motion as cycling some times. Did full body SMFR and a yoga/stretching session topped off by roller work watching my favorite race in July.

If I can do this 3 times a week and add in some swimming, running and gym work I hope I can win a race or two this year.
 
I drank heavily Friday and Saturday so I would look and feel my best for an 80km ride on Sunday, it is not quite giving me the results I have hoped for...
 
Chuck how much snow do you have? I really recommend snow shoeing. Endurance and strength work in one. On the flats you can mimic the pushing and pulling to make it cycling specific. On the climbs it's a full body workout.

I swim and run too.

For strength I'll do low weights / high reps at home. If I get chance to visit the gym, I'll do leg work with heavier weights on the machines.

The 100 push up, sit ups etc challenge series is also good fun.

The icing on the cake is the rollers. 2 or 3 times a week. About 45 mins in HR zone 3. Raise the HR to lactate threshold once a week just to remind myself that I'm a racing cyclist...

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
Push ups, I revisited those today. It was quite pathetic. Do you just do 100 push-ups in this challenge? Our snow is very light. No need for shoes. I could ride outside but it is very cold. There is allot of ice patches but generally all major roads are rideable.
 
The most important thing is to do your weight training in your summer cycling kit. Like this guy

http://coach.dancoy.com/archive/Strength_Training_for_Cyclist.pdf



I am curious to see what your best looks like.

I train at home with my shorts on. It allows me to warm up and finish the workout with a spin and not use multiple sets of cloths. It is hard to perform SMFR with regular shorts on too. Also pleases the sponsors when you take awesome self portraits for Facebook.
 
1) Free weights 3x a week - core development.
2) End of Feb will bring the Gun Training - quads, hams, calves.
3) 2x Week of intervals (6x5min)
4) 1x Week of 100km+ 'base ride' consist mainly of transit + longish hill
5) 1x Week fixed gear mixed ride. Usually Tire Hiki and then just higher cadence spin (46x19 is what I'm on now) 2x15km transits and 2x2km (down and back) work sections
 
Halfway through doing one of the plans on TrainerRoad. Intermediate Base 1 and am seeing good gains so far. Don't have a "A" race until July, so am just doing base work for now.

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/plans

Plus I subscribed to Hulu for entertainment while I do trainer rides. Works seamlessly with TR.

http://www2.hulu.jp/

I have no affiliation to either company.
 
I don`t know if I should post, as my winter training this year is not what I would do under normal circumstances. I *think* the fatigue has passed, but to make sure, I will mainly just focus on avoiding anything hard or intense, so just 5/6 x week L2/L3 with the odd L7 thrown in (I don`t find it taxing). Kinda base training. Depending on how that goes, I will start building it up and add some low-end L4 in, but shall steer clear of anything approaching threshold or L5 or L6.

Will do a lot of it on the mama chariot as that is easier to keep the level up when commuting, and does all the core strengthening I need..did 3 weeks solid on the mama chariot up to Christmas - did my rib-cage not like that. Good for leg definition as well!
 
Do you mean you watch the HULU shows on TR? Or they have some videos specially prepped for TR? I'm using some of the Sufferfest Vids that 'drop' onto TR - the only issue is you need a pretty beefy PC to play them smoothly. Even my Dell Inspiron 15R w/GPU has trouble... I guess I need the SE version ????


Halfway through doing one of the plans on TrainerRoad. Intermediate Base 1 and am seeing good gains so far. Don't have a "A" race until July, so am just doing base work for now.

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/plans

Plus I subscribed to Hulu for entertainment while I do trainer rides. Works seamlessly with TR.

http://www2.hulu.jp/

I have no affiliation to either company.
 
Hulu on my PC with the TR bar horizontally on the bottom of the screen for TV shows and movies. Used to watch TV shows that I had download off the interwebs, but this is easier. And you can queue up the shows that you want to watch if doing a longer ride.

Hulu have a free two week trial on now if you want to give it a go. I am still on the trial for a few more days but will be keeping the subscription going. Just pure entertainment during trainer rides, even hard ones, but I also drop in SF rides to TR if I want to trash myself good and proper.
 
I do stairs sometimes. Really good for aerobic fitness and strength too. Use the time in the elevator to stretch - particularly the calfs which aren't used so much in cycling or swimming.

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
Anything that works your aerobic system will have crossover effect, but if you are just climbing 5 sets of stairs and then having a long rest (esp. if the lift is busy), what energy system are you targetting? Like the others said, up and down continuously or up, round the top, down, round the bottom and repeat. As you asked for thoughts, then personally, I would consider it if it was raining, but if it was a nice day, a brisk walk outside with change of scenery has far more benefits IMHO.

PS: You`d be destroying your university`s ECO rating ;)
 
I have one building at work where I could do five floors and the elevator it back down for another go.

Regardless of the cardiovascular benefits, for mountain hikes I have found that long descents are the real fitness challenge.

I'll do pretty well climbing from my cycling fitness, but descending a lot of altitude on foot challenges muscles you won't really be using for much else. The only way you can prepare is by descending a lot of altitude in the weeks and months before.

I have a general policy of avoiding elevators and escalators in favour of stairs when it's just a couple of floors (and I'm not carrying heavy objects such as a bicycle). A conscious effort not to become lazy again :)
 
Got myself an indoor trainer and doing a few km's everyday indoors. nothing too crazy but it gets sweat running after an hour or so.
 
As for going down the stairs, while I'm not at all a knee expert, I'd guess that there'd to be more impact descending stairs than in normal jogging. If that's correct, or even a possibility, I'd like to avoid going down.

I've also considered buying an elliptical for my office (or home). My weight's creeping up, and I need to be burning more calories than I am now.
 
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