Track Cycling: Velodrome Racing and Training Area - What do you do off-season?

Curious what other trackies do during the off season.

I have always been a big skier, former ski patroller so it's only natural here in Colorado. I will have no bike training schedule from August to November. I am thinking of doing more fitness riding, and there are still races to be had on the track through Sept, some maintenance stuff in the gym, maybe some yoga, and even doing some boxing or jiu jitsu (just the workouts, no actual fighting). I think that sounds fun and a great way to lean up a bit (with a smart diet, of course)

I am looking forward to mixing it up a little after Nats!

Off season? There is no off season in socal.

Off season? There is no off season in socal.

In that case - what do you do outside of cycling? I guess. Or is cycling your whole life as far as athletics go?

Anything that keeps you fit, strong, keeps/makes you lean and doesn't emphasize much long sub max work...for sprinters of course.

For the Track offseason I race MTB, Road, and CX.

It all depends on your racing style, your next season goals, and your time availible.

It all depends on your racing style, your next season goals, and your time availible. haha hmmm I'm starting to think that most track racers don't see outside the bike. That's cool though, definitely no disrespect. I was just wondering if y'alls have any other athletic hobbies off the bike when you're not in training mode.

About the only thing I'm doing in the off-season that's athletic related is working out in the gym and racing my KX450 motocross bike in hare scrambles.

Just so y'all know, Giddeon Massie LOVES tennis. So I think it's OK to enjoy other things!

I USED to spend all my free time at the Indoor velodrome. :( :cry:
Now I have no idea what I'll do. Cx for sure, but that's still "season."
I'm assuming a mix of running, rollers, and road riding on weekends.

haha hmmm I'm starting to think that most track racers don't see outside the bike. That's cool though, definitely no disrespect. I was just wondering if y'alls have any other athletic hobbies off the bike when you're not in training mode.

Since I haven't raced in about a year and a half or so, I'm not in training mode. Even when I'm racing I'm never really in "training mode"-- I do different rides, but I ride because it's fun.

So I still ride a lot- a lot more riding in the mountains (because I live on the edge of them) than when I'm racing track. A little bit of hiking. I race(d) because I like to ride, not the other way around, so if I'm not racing, I'm still riding a lot. I did the furnace creek 508 as part of a 2x fixed gear team last year. It's billed as a race, but something that long is really better treated as JRA. Death Valley is pretty cool to ride through in the middle of the night. I also did a double century last year (with ~20K feet of climbing for my fat track ass). I still like to do intervals during the week, and I like to do madison practice on sundays. Madison is a ton of fun and it's sort of social, in a way. I do a 6-day long semi-supported ride the week after xmas most years, lots of miles, lots of fun, mostly the same people every year, and pretty cheap.

As far as other sports, my girlfriend did get me to do tumbling classes/adult open tumbling at a gymnastics gym a few years ago. It was pretty cool, and I think improved my crashing ability significantly. Things move a lot slower in a crash and I have a lot of time to plan how I'm going to hit the ground. It's especially entertaining in LA, because the gym is in Van Nuys, and when the gymnastic kids finish their sessions and adult tumbling starts, it's mostly stunt people (active and aspiring) and retired gymnasts there for fun. A little bit of inline skating, but that takes a ton of practice for it to not totally suck.

Since I haven't raced in about a year and a half or so, I'm not in training mode. Even when I'm racing I'm never really in "training mode"-- I do different rides, but I ride because it's fun.

So I still ride a lot- a lot more riding in the mountains (because I live on the edge of them) than when I'm racing track. A little bit of hiking. I race(d) because I like to ride, not the other way around, so if I'm not racing, I'm still riding a lot. I did the furnace creek 508 as part of a 2x fixed gear team last year. It's billed as a race, but something that long is really better treated as JRA. Death Valley is pretty cool to ride through in the middle of the night. I also did a double century last year (with ~20K feet of climbing for my fat track ass). I still like to do intervals during the week, and I like to do madison practice on sundays. Madison is a ton of fun and it's sort of social, in a way. I do a 6-day long semi-supported ride the week after xmas most years, lots of miles, lots of fun, mostly the same people every year, and pretty cheap.

As far as other sports, my girlfriend did get me to do tumbling classes/adult open tumbling at a gymnastics gym a few years ago. It was pretty cool, and I think improved my crashing ability significantly. Things move a lot slower in a crash and I have a lot of time to plan how I'm going to hit the ground. It's especially entertaining in LA, because the gym is in Van Nuys, and when the gymnastic kids finish their sessions and adult tumbling starts, it's mostly stunt people (active and aspiring) and retired gymnasts there for fun. A little bit of inline skating, but that takes a ton of practice for it to not totally suck.

Tumbling. That's so random, but I love it! Very cool

Tumbling. That's so random, but I love it! Very cool

One morning I woke up with terrible stomach pains. My first thought was "I felt ok last night, where did I get food poisoning". Then I realized I had been practicing back tucks for a couple hours, doing the first parts (jump up and tuck) and landing on my back on some mats stacked above my head. It's a way to practice that without the landing. Do about 50 or so of them like you mean it and your abs will be sore in the morning...

They also had a couple cool things that slow down the motion-- a "tumbletrak" that's a ~40 foot long trampoline so you can do what's effectively a slow motion tumbling run, and "ski floor" that's made from a lot of skis screwed down over a trench so that they act like springs (but not as springy as the tumbletrak) with some thin gym mats over them. The ski floor had a runout into a ~10 foot deep pit of foam chunks for a very soft landing. Lots of fun, and you get used to being in the air in strange orientations.

So it's been "off-season" for me (for the last 3 weeks). Had a really disappointing performance at Nationals and concluded two things: 1. I need to learn how to stay in the sprinters lane when sprinting and 2. I need to lose weight.

I'm a little bitter about #2 right now. All season long I was told, "now's not the time to worry about your caloric intake". Well I think the people telling me that were underestimating the kind of appetite that I have. My legs got super strong, yes. But I got fat! So, since Nationals I have been doing the following, despite all the negative comments I get from other sprinters:

Sunday: 2 hour trail run (up a trail that gains over 2,000 vertical feet)
Monday: Gym Day: sets of 12: Squats, Weighted Step-ups, Dead lifts, Power Cleans, Some calf stuff
Tuesday: 1 hour trail run, 800 vertical gain.
Wednesday: Same as Tuesday
Thursday: 2 hour bike ride up Lookout Mountain from my house in the AM and 1 hour of boxing in the PM. A 2200 calorie burn day. Love it.
Friday: Same as Monday
Saturday: Rest
Every day: commute to work. 30 minutes each way. I burn an extra 300-400 calories commuting.

Results: in 3 weeks I have lost 8 lbs. 12 more to go.

In November I will go back to training specifically for track racing again with the coach and all of that. And this year I am going to control my eating in a way that's best for me.

For #1, I am going to start adding 15-20 minutes of high rpm work on the rollers. That's about all I can do for now.

Looking forward to 2013. I'm sort of pissed off right now, but that's how I get motivated for improvement.

Anyone else in my boat, trying to lose weight or enjoying the off season? I know I'm not a typical sprinter - I enjoy cross-training and (gasp!) trail running. And skiing once ski season comes around!

I guess you are not going to LA for the second half of nationals then...

I guess you are not going to LA for the second half of nationals then...
Haha, no.

Like bitingduck, there is really no off season here either...

We do have a summer track season, but with an 250m indoor velodrome we have racing year round. Tuesday and Thursday nights, plus a mix of Friday, Saturday and Sunday racing too!

Winters are very mild so our road season is through the Winter months with crits during summer...

Personally to break up the year I focus on the track through Summer and road ITT's and road races through Winter. Even with this it can be hard to actually make time to have a break from the bike; as the seasons all overlap the Track season will still be going the road season already starts!

I also go out on the MTB once in a while, plus have just bought a CX bike as CX racing has only just made our shores and looks like fun!

Away from the bike -

A friend is trying to get me into Adventure racing given I raced Triathlons including IM in the past. Therefore since January I have been out quite a few times training on a Ocean ski. When I can manage it without getting injured again (reason I gave up tri's) I still enjoy getting out for a run which also helps keep the weight off.

Before all of this I used to climb professionally, so still would go for a climb every now and then. But with reoccuring injuries the reason I had to retire in the first place I haven't been out climbing for nearly a year!

Before all of this I used to climb professionally, so still would go for a climb every now and then. But with reoccuring injuries the reason I had to retire in the first place I haven't been out climbing for nearly a year! very cool. Interesting to see what people are doing outside of cycling.

very cool. Interesting to see what people are doing outside of cycling.

Came into cycling really only to find a sport after I destroyed my elbows through climbing. Triathlons was the next sport initially (did dabble in surfing and white water kayaking but both involved alot of driving) till I damaged my hips and knees running so just focus on the bike.

I tend to focus 110% in the sport I am doing at the time time and can push too hard, therefore I have to move onto the next sport... Hoping cycling has a little more longevity to it, as I'm not sure what I'd move on to if I had to...

I train and compete in Judo throughout the fall and winter. Sport Judo is perfect for someone that loves to sprint since it is explosive in nature.

Thoughts on resistance training for endurance racers?

Will improve overall performance, that's why top athletes do resistance training. That and they get paid to workout unlike us :(

Thoughts on resistance training for endurance racers?

This guy did it...and he used to climb mountains for a living:

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.353752!/img/httpImage/image.jpg

Not sure using a professional athlete is a great example carleton.

I would suggest for most of us enduro's with other "distractions" (work, family etc) and not having all day to train then it isn't the best use of limited time.

If you are time crunched, then I would expect that this time would be better spent on the bike.

Not sure using a professional athlete is a great example carleton.

I would suggest for most of us enduro's with other "distractions" (work, family etc) and not having all day to train then it isn't the best use of limited time.

If you are time crunched, then I would expect that this time would be better spent on the bike.

Do we not do other things that professional athletes do as well?

Further, a gym session takes significantly less time than a typical enduro road ride. Plus, there is far less prep time to go to the gym for plyo or weight training than there is for a road ride. There is also no need to take weather or time of day into consideration. Sounds like this is great for the time-crunched cyclist.

As bulldog2k mentions, and generally speaking, becoming stronger will improve track enduros. Yes, there are diminishing returns as strength increases, but stronger is stronger.

I firmly believe that if an endurance racer increases his/her base level of gym strength their on-the-bike strength will increase, too.

Many roadies avoid the gym like the plague for for fear of adding weight.

1) These are road racers climbing mountains.
2) If you saw the legs on the crit riders* that I watched during Speed Week, you'd know that they were in the gym.
3) Adding muscle mass is functional weight. Complaining about being heavier from larger muscles is like complaining that your car will be slower because you upgraded from a 2.0L turbo to a V8 engine.

*One racer stayed with me for a week. He made the podium in a few P/1/2 races. He lifts 1-2 times a week during the race season.

Not saying there aren't benefits to doing resistance training. But if you can only find 10 hours a week to train, then all that time IMO is best spent on the bike. Specificity is key...

As an enduro - I would rather fit in a 2*20 on the trainer or other interval session (any time or weather) than forego one of these quality on bike sessions for some other training.

Not saying there aren't benefits to doing resistance training. But if you can only find 10 hours a week to train, then all that time IMO is best spent on the bike. Specificity is key...

I've heard a similar argument that's why I asked in here. I guess maybe it comes down to your available training hours. In a couple of months I'll ease off the bike a little and do some trail running. I probably won't do anything further than some box jumps and squats...

So it's been "off-season" for me (for the last 3 weeks). Had a really disappointing performance at Nationals and concluded two things: 1. I need to learn how to stay in the sprinters lane when sprinting and 2. I need to lose weight.

I'm a little bitter about #2 right now. All season long I was told, "now's not the time to worry about your caloric intake". Well I think the people telling me that were underestimating the kind of appetite that I have. My legs got super strong, yes. But I got fat! So, since Nationals I have been doing the following, despite all the negative comments I get from other sprinters:

Anyone else in my boat, trying to lose weight or enjoying the off season? I know I'm not a typical sprinter - I enjoy cross-training and (gasp!) trail running. And skiing once ski season comes around!

Here are a few things I'd recommend, but I'm not a national level sprinter so YMMV. 1) Staying in sprinters lane, I see as a huge problem for people for a few reasons, but I'm 90% sure its because people are not looking far enough ahead. Now I could be completely off base but I have a long history of coaching other things that requires good distance and peripheral vision. While I realize you are working your legs 110% most sprinters are trying to stay in the lane at that point in time. Where as in reality you should be looking ~10 bike lengths in front and be working on being in the lane there. Where your eyes and mind go, your body WILL follow. Its not an easy skill to learn especially when you are working your legs to death. I can write a more lengthy explanation on this but I see it as more of a mental problem than a physical one 2) log into eatingwell.com, some of the recipes are amazing, low calorie, but high in protein and other good stuff. I've lost just around 20lbs in the last 4 months between working out more and eating right. Now my supermarket bills have risen as fruit aint cheap at the rate I tear though it. But that website is a great start and you can always substitute Qunioa for Rice and other things to make any dish better. That site also has a meal calendar and other useful tools if you are looking to slim down, but not go hungry.


As for me, I just moved to socal so seasons will start to get relative to me (in fact i was just informed it was "fall" now due to Dogfish Heads Punkin hitting the local beer distributor). But I LOVE skiing, so I'm going to make time to hit up a few slopes this season ( would you happen to be anywhere near any of the good slopes in CO?) but I also intend to be at the track on a weekly basis, and start hitting up the gym. My wife and I did core workouts this last weekend and she completely owned my ass :lol:.

Here are a few things I'd recommend, but I'm not a national level sprinter so YMMV. 1) Staying in sprinters lane, I see as a huge problem for people for a few reasons, but I'm 90% sure its because people are not looking far enough ahead. Now I could be completely off base but I have a long history of coaching other things that requires good distance and peripheral vision. While I realize you are working your legs 110% most sprinters are trying to stay in the lane at that point in time. Where as in reality you should be looking ~10 bike lengths in front and be working on being in the lane there. Where your eyes and mind go, your body WILL follow. Its not an easy skill to learn especially when you are working your legs to death. I can write a more lengthy explanation on this but I see it as more of a mental problem than a physical one 2) log into eatingwell.com, some of the recipes are amazing, low calorie, but high in protein and other good stuff. I've lost just around 20lbs in the last 4 months between working out more and eating right. Now my supermarket bills have risen as fruit aint cheap at the rate I tear though it. But that website is a great start and you can always substitute Qunioa for Rice and other things to make any dish better. That site also has a meal calendar and other useful tools if you are looking to slim down, but not go hungry.


As for me, I just moved to socal so seasons will start to get relative to me (in fact i was just informed it was "fall" now due to Dogfish Heads Punkin hitting the local beer distributor). But I LOVE skiing, so I'm going to make time to hit up a few slopes this season ( would you happen to be anywhere near any of the good slopes in CO?) but I also intend to be at the track on a weekly basis, and start hitting up the gym. My wife and I did core workouts this last weekend and she completely owned my ass :lol:.

THIS is great. Thanks for the tip, especially #1. I will definitely be thinking about that. You are right about #2 as well. I actually hired a nutritionist and gave him my workout routine, which is the same each week. Since Nationals I have lost 12 lbs and will be 13 down by the end of the week. Should be 20 down mid October (7 to go). It's been going great and my fiance laughs as I have been strutting around the house shirtless lately. I've noticed a huge difference in my physique already. 25 lbs down (November 1) I should be what is called "cut". haha Then I can go back into the muscle building phase of my training and maybe gain back 5-10 lbs and will be racing at Nat's next season 15lbs lighter than the last. So far it's going as planned, and actually I am ahead of plan.

I'm in Denver, but I am always skiing. Let me know if you make it out and we'll hit A-Basin, the best spot for some exciting lines and a local crowd.

3) Adding muscle mass is functional weight. Complaining about being heavier from larger muscles is like complaining that your car will be slower because you upgraded from a 2.0L turbo to a V8 engine.



I love this. One of my favorite quotes to come out of Wichita Falls Athletic Club (Mark Rippetoe's gym) was, "A bigger engine doesn't slow the car down." Also, I happen to think that enduro track guys can benefit from a bit of weight training, though obviously longer events mean less time should be spent in the gym, and more on the bike. Resistance training can be very effective for training muscular endurance though, and since muscular endurance is somewhat directly tied to strength, spending some time to get strong, then training endurance would only give you another tool to use against the competition. Being able to squat 200 lbs for a set of 20 obviously makes you much more resistant to fatigue than being able to squat 100 for a set of 20.

To stay on track, so to speak, I'm back in the gym, on the rollers, and have been on my mountain bike a bit. I also picked up a new bmx bike to sprint and play on. I got hurt earlier and am behind in the gym time I originally hoped to get but am happy to be back in. Wife is excited to take more trips to DLV to do a few races.