Winter is Over, Did You Train?

Perhaps you are fortunate enough to live in a warm, dry climate that allows you to train all winter long.  Or maybe you are a spin class junkie who dedicates several hours a week to the spin.  If so, good for you.  However, chances are, you're like the majority of riders who get lethargic throughout the winter, put off any real solid training and look towards the spring to get them back into racing form.

Regardless of your personal training habits, these few quick tips could take you from Sally Sidelines to the Peter Peloton by racing season.

FREQUENCY - When it comes to frequency of training, more is not always better.  In the Cyclist's Training Bible, author Joe Friels comments that training twice a day is better than only once due to an additional release of growth hormone during the day.  This can work well for the people who do a daily commute to and from work where they can more effectively train in smaller, more frequent increments due to a limited schedule.  We'll call that the "Two birds, one stone" training method.  However, the increase of benefits in splitting the workout is not supported by any other literature we've found.

INTENSITY - Again, more is not always better.  It has been stated many times that your maximum aerobic improvement will occur at approximately 90% of your maximum heart rate.  However, if you regularly go above this level, you will seriously increase your risk of injury without increasing your cardiovascular benefit.  Keeping yourself at a 60% max heart rate for 45 minutes to an hour during your workout will take you to higher levels without hurting you, especially if you've been a couch potato since Thanksgiving.

STRUCTURE - The key is to have enough structure in the training to advance your endurance and speed while not alienating your family, friends or finances.  We prefer the "Day on, Day off" method, which allows for recovery days and a social life.  For mid-level riders (if you JUST started riding, start slower) we suggest a 12-hour per week workout with an increase of two hours after about 12 weeks.

The key to getting back into the routine is to start slow.  Do what you can at first without over exerting yourself as you don't want to end up in the emergency room with heart palpitations just because you're trying to pick up where you left off before the weather turned.  Start with 30 minute rides every other day and increase it according to your personal endurance level.  Eventually, if you are training for racing, you should work up to the following:

Day One - Train for 2.5 hours.  This is basic endurance ride, sprint if you'd like but not too much.

Day Two - Train for two hours with four 200-meter sprints included.

Day Three - Train for 2.5 hours, adding in some additional aerobic workout when you feel you are ready.

Day Four - A day of rest.  Spend time with the family.

Day Five - Take a two-hour easy, breezy ride.  Enjoy the scenery.  Keep your heart rate at 60% of your max.

Day Six - Do a three-hour ride; feel the burn of your body stretching its endurance.

Day Seven - Rest up because you start again tomorrow with a 2.5-hour workout and sprints.

You can certainly increase the workout times after a few weeks, but get yourself used to the ride/recover schedule before you start kicking out four-hour rides with multiple sprints several days in a row.  This is assuming you aren't Lance or Alberto.  (If you are Lance Armstrong or Alberto Contador, thanks for reading guys, call us!)

When you are ready to increase the workload for your training, you can do so by changing up the frequency, intensity and/or duration but you need to keep a ride/rest schedule to benefit the most because your body will need to rest in order to recover.  As a beginner, or someone in winter recovery, it is a good idea to start slower and work up to the higher levels.

Above all, be consistent!  Keep your schedule.  When you're ready, increase slowly and steadily.Ride On!