"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - off season fitness?

what do you guys and gals do during your off season to maintain fitness. i've read that moderate weight training and an alternate form of aerobic activity is best, with some time on the bike just to keep the circles from becoming squares.


also, what do you consider to be the "off season"? for me it's end of october to beginning of january. that's when i tend to focus my attention off the bike...

thanks for your input...

I'd recommend the following reading. It has great insight into off-season training, routines and workouts:

Serious Cycling by Ed Burke
The Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel

- Peter

I skate ski for aerobic fitness. This year I am going to focus on core strength and yoga and probably some snow boarding. Also try to be on the trainer at least twice a week for an hour so the legs do not forget. Off season for me depends on snow depth but usually from Nov 1 too Mar 1. Hope this helps.

I try to get on the trainer about 3-5 days per week (closer to 5) for about an hour or so, just to keep the muscle memory going thoughout the December-January months. During September-February, I do a lot of trail running and snowshoe running, plus skiing, and climbing. Anything aerobic and to build strength. Also, I use the gym quite a bit during this time.
I don't really consider it an "off" season, but more of a transitional period - transitioning to the new season in 2006, but never forgetting about the base building, which is taking place ALL the time. You can never have enough base work IMO. This "off season" though, is a great time to continue to build your aerobic base with other activities to take away any boredom or staleness. :)

Race track.

oct to january is cyclo-cross season in the northern hemisphere, get in to that !

oct to january is cyclo-cross season in the northern hemisphere, get in to that !



oh yeah....cross. Forgot about that.

The sport for hard men who think road racing is for wimps.

Nothing like carrying a racing bike on your shoulders across a frozen paddock at 200bpm in a snow flurry...

This winter I'm doing:

- weight-training
- LSD
- salsa/tango dancing
- indoor rock-climbing
- auto-racing
- jumping out of perfectly good airplanes

still trying to figure out how to get into bull-fighting...

LSD?

Cool.....

oh yeah....cross. Forgot about that.

The sport for hard men who think road racing is for wimps.

Nothing like carrying a racing bike on your shoulders across a frozen paddock at 200bpm in a snow flurry...

mmmmmmmmmm :) :)

Some of my best winter exercise comes from shoveling snow.
X country skiing, mild weight training, spinning classes, time on the trainer (Spinervals this year).

For me offseason is from jan. to feb. I live in indiana where we usually dont have really bad winters so you can ride.

I go by the old adage: Winter is for fitness, Summer is for fun.
Therefore, my winter is more intense and disciplined.

XC skiing (skate ONLY, none of that boring diagonal crap.)
Weights.
Eliptical.
Rowing until the lakes freeze.
Volleyball for fast twitch muscles.

Only enough time on the bike/trainer to keep my butt in shape. Seriously, my butt.

Periodized weight training, base training, leading to endurance and tempo training. That takes me through the end of Jan, then I move on to more emphasis on the cardio.

I am thinking about the cross training. I'm not sure what I'm going to do this winter, since it's warm here in Virginia, and I will be able to extend my cycling season for the first time. That will be fun.

Koffee

well thank you all for the insight! here in so-cal the fall/winter conditions don't prohibit me from riding, but i do tend to stay off the road and head for the slightly dampened trails. alongside moderate weight training and swimming, this seems to at least maintain whatever fitness i managed to develop in the previous months.

LSD - Long Slow Distance

Not what you are thinking!

This winter I'm doing:

- weight-training
- LSD
- salsa/tango dancing
- indoor rock-climbing
- auto-racing
- jumping out of perfectly good airplanes

still trying to figure out how to get into bull-fighting...

You had me right up to the jumping out of airplanes thing! :eek:

As for me, i'll keep on bike commuting as much as possible to avoid the trainer and adding weight training. The only other non-cycling activity that i'll be doing is riding my new Ducati Monster as often as possible.

Hiking will reveal muscles you didn't know you had. If the terrain is up and down and rugged enough, you can build your core strength without thinking about it.

Pay attention to your feet however. Too many people ignore hot spots and loose fitting shoes and do some rather gnarly damage. Also do thorough tick check from time to time.

Bowling

i'm just shortening the distance and frequency of my rides from now until about march. i'll still ride during the winter. my off season started abruptly this year when i got hit by a car. after that i decided to take a few weeks off completely to recover. might actually try jogging this year as well. i like doing that in cold weather.

For a killer workout, try snowshoeing in fresh powder.

Tons of base miles, weight training (I do this in season also) and some cyclecross.