Winter Training

Anyone got any good links to how cyclists can/should train in the
winter? I know a few extremists cycle all winter, but here in Sweden we
have two seasons - "Winter" and "July". I am more interested in other
forms of exercise. If one trains in a gym what one should focus on? Any
muscle groups to avoid?

What about long spinning sessions? A spinning session is normally fairly
intensive and lasts 45 to 60 minutes. Would three hour spinning sessions
at a lower steady pulse than traditional spinning be of any advantage?

Garry Jones
English Cyclist ResIDING in Sweden

In article , Garry Jones
wrote:

Anyone got any good links to how cyclists can/should train in the
winter? I know a few extremists cycle all winter, but here in Sweden we
have two seasons - "Winter" and "July". I am more interested in other
forms of exercise. If one trains in a gym what one should focus on? Any
muscle groups to avoid?

What about long spinning sessions? A spinning session is normally fairly
intensive and lasts 45 to 60 minutes. Would three hour spinning sessions
at a lower steady pulse than traditional spinning be of any advantage?

XC skiing is very good, especially the "freestyle" or skating technique.

-WG

"Garry Jones" wrote in message
...
Anyone got any good links to how cyclists can/should train in the
winter? I know a few extremists cycle all winter, but here in Sweden we
have two seasons - "Winter" and "July". I am more interested in other
forms of exercise.

Anything where you can do decent LSD work, as long as it's mainly legs.
You'll feel ****e on the bike for a week or two after a winter of doing
Something Else, but if you've been getting the distance in, then you'll get
back up to speed fairly fast (explanation I've been given for this is that
you lose some neural adaptation to the cycling motion - anyone know whether
that's valid?).

XC skiing seems the obvious choice, or ice skating.

If one trains in a gym what one should focus on? Any
muscle groups to avoid?

Try not to put on 10 kilos of muscle, you'll only have to drag it up hills,
and it's much harder to lose unwanted muscle than fat. If you want to do gym
work, concentrate on your legs, butt, lower back + core stability, do real
exercises (free weights) when possible, do at least 10 reps to a set (unless
you really want to work on limit strength). While doing weights, watch what
you're eating - more protein than normal, keep the total calories at or
below maintenance so you don't put on muscle much.

Peter

On Sat, 02 Oct 2004 14:27:00 +0200, Garry Jones
wrote:

Anyone got any good links to how cyclists can/should train in the
winter? I know a few extremists cycle all winter, but here in Sweden we
have two seasons - "Winter" and "July". I am more interested in other
forms of exercise. If one trains in a gym what one should focus on? Any
muscle groups to avoid?

If I lived in Sweden it would be a lot of nordic skiing with a little
indoor riding on the windtrainer just to keep in touch with bike.

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

What is Axelsson doing this winter for training? Do that.

"Garry Jones" wrote in message
...
Anyone got any good links to how cyclists can/should train in the
winter? I know a few extremists cycle all winter, but here in Sweden we
have two seasons - "Winter" and "July". I am more interested in other
forms of exercise. If one trains in a gym what one should focus on? Any
muscle groups to avoid?

What about long spinning sessions? A spinning session is normally fairly
intensive and lasts 45 to 60 minutes. Would three hour spinning sessions
at a lower steady pulse than traditional spinning be of any advantage?

Garry Jones
English Cyclist ResIDING in Sweden

Last year I was nursing a back injury that prevented my from walking many
days so riding outdoors was out of the question. I could just manage even on
the worst days to get on my stationary rig though and I was determined to
get in enough base work. What I found was that after working out a schedule
where 100% of the work would be inside, I was able to stay motivated after
just a few weeks. What happened was that I found for the first time that if
I spend enough time on the indoor rig, after a few weeks of no outdoor
rides, my mind gets used to spinning at a minimal rate just by getting on.
What has always made it so difficult before was the absence of the
stimulation from riding outside. After a while I just had a steady kind of
"cruising speed" and the workouts became just as easy to tolerate as riding
outdoors. I planned my schedule with 3 different ride types; steady, high
intensity intervals and medium intensity intervals. The steady rides would
be within a range that I could sustain indefinitely. Because I was indoors
and not having to accelerate my body weight I could use the same intensity
for recovery rides that I would for any other steady rides. The other 2
types were hi intensity where I did 1 minute on (high) and 4 minutes off. I
worked up from 3 reps to 6 and then gradually increased the load. The medium
intensity intervals were more varied where I would do 5 or 10 minutes on and
100% to 200% of that time in recovery. I counted total time "on" and worked
my way up in "on" time and intensity. You can use the variety to deal with
those stubborn phases when your body starts to plateau.

You don't even really have to change the workouts from what you did last
year (or any other time). You just need to figure out how to replicate it
indoors. Trust me, the more you ride indoors the easier it will be. You
might also try watching race tapes to keep you motivated especially at
first. It can feel like you are wasting your time but that is in your head.
You are getting stronger and once you believe that you will more easily get
in the mood to do the work. I just started my winter training and I plan to
do most work inside again even if it is clear outside. On clear days I do my
indoor workout and then go for a half an hour to an hour outside just for
pleasure.

I promise you if you find drive to get started, you will have your best
winter ever. Inside there is nothing to interupt your pace so every interval
can be finished, etc. Doing speed work outside can be harder because of all
the distractions, running out of road etc.

Good luck and have fun.

warren wrote:
XC skiing is very good, especially the "freestyle" or skating
technique.


Why skating?
Just curious.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

In article , Per Elmsäter
wrote:

warren wrote:
XC skiing is very good, especially the "freestyle" or skating
technique.


Why skating?
Just curious.

A little more work for the quads. Helps improve the ability to do
short-term relatively high power.

-WG

Peter Allen wrote:

You'll feel ****e on the bike for a week or two after a winter of doing
Something Else, but if you've been getting the distance in, then you'll get
back up to speed fairly fast (explanation I've been given for this is that
you lose some neural adaptation to the cycling motion - anyone know whether
that's valid?).

I thought that, no matter what you do, it wont exercise the same muscles
in exactly the same way that cycling does. Maybe a few minor muscles
get missed or underutilized.

I ocassionally do a bit of cross country mountain biking. I am certain
that exercises my leg muscles differently than road cycling does too.
At least it makes me sore in different ways.

--

--------------------

Remove CLOTHES to reply

In article dWL7d.403265$8_6.74155@attbi_s04, Tim Lines
wrote:

Peter Allen wrote:

You'll feel ****e on the bike for a week or two after a winter of doing
Something Else, but if you've been getting the distance in, then you'll get
back up to speed fairly fast (explanation I've been given for this is that
you lose some neural adaptation to the cycling motion - anyone know whether
that's valid?).

I thought that, no matter what you do, it wont exercise the same muscles
in exactly the same way that cycling does. Maybe a few minor muscles
get missed or underutilized.

I ocassionally do a bit of cross country mountain biking. I am certain
that exercises my leg muscles differently than road cycling does too.
At least it makes me sore in different ways.

Isn't the exercise very useful for your cardiovascular system?

-WG