hshearer

For some of us, another winter of sitting on a trainer approaches. I'm starting to think about how much time I'll need to spend at it to stay in racing shape.

What proportion of your regular season regime do you find you need to maintain over the winter to be able to hold on to most of your fitness, so that you're ready to race stronger than you had been the previous spring?

UC223

Right now, it is transition for me (have fun and ride). Nov hours pick up and Jan intensity, both combined with weights for the winter. By April i am back in racing shape, but not too burnt out to carry thru the season. Most of my target races are july - sept.

Hermes

I am old and have to stay motivated, focused and work hard all the time. I go for an increase in strength in the fall with less riding. There is no real rest just a different focused way to improve fitness.

brian416

I can maintain and even increase my FTP during the winter, but I lose alot of endurance. The endurance seems to come back after a month or so outdoors. I do 2-3 days of FTP work per week, I shoot for 2+ hours of Z4 training each week.

What gets me in the spring is the big power variations. On rollers, if I do a ride where my target is 200w, I can spend 2 hours never going over 210w or below 190w.

Fat Boy

...and then my junk falls off onto the floor.

kensuf

I really feel sorry for you poor guys that get snow. There's only about one or two weeks a year where riding outside is something I have to think twice about, but those two weeks happen at the end of July.

Having been all smarmy like that, I'll probably see the first snow storm here this winter since 1989...

wacomme

Perhaps it'll be a blizzard!

The only time I've been to Florida was last December, and I froze my $&@$$ off on an airboat ride to see gators.

kensuf

The first winter I lived in Gainesville, it snowed 6" and the major roads between here and Georgia were shut down because we don't have ice/salt trucks. Coming up here straight from Miami, that wasn't the kind of snow I was used to seeing, and although my pop's a Canuckistani, and I had lived in Toronto until I was 7, I was ill prepared for it.

I was really glad to find out it was an aberration and not a normal winter..

caloso

Same amount of time exercising, but less time on the bike. I run, swim, workout with my son's soccer team. Also going to try to do a little more snowshoeing and skiing once there's snow in the Sierras.

rbart4506

Are you working with a coach, HS??

In years past, before I started racing winter was a time to maintain and not lose a lot....Things are different now...

When I was in California, meeting with my coach, he described things as being a spiral. You are always building on what you have. Hence now winter is a time to continue building, not a time to just maintain...

Currently I'm backing things off until the end of this month and just doing endurance type rides to keep things moving. This is being done instead of an extended break. My coach doesn't feel an extended break is necessary since winter training is limited due to weather. Couple that with my overall training load from the past year and the opportunity for burnout is low....

Once November comes this will change and more structured workouts will begin. We focus on strength, this is done on and off the bike. We will also work on my FTP, which needs to go up and improve my 1min power, which is truly my downfall...Proved that in California, cruising up mountains at sub-threshold was a joy.

If this winter is anything like last winter then my hours on the bike will steadily increase until they peak in January and then taper through February. Then it kicks back up in March when we head south for a 10day training camp...Well, more of a vacation where my wife and I ride ourselves silly

My typical month in the summer if around 50hrs of training and racing...Last year I was at 40hrs in January, all on the trainer...UGH!

Really I think I do way more focused training in the winter then I do in the summer, but that's primarily due to the trainer. I need a specific plan/workout to make my time on the trainer palatable. I have no problem getting on the bike and riding for 2hrs, but if I tried that on the trainer I would just go batty...I need a plan to pass the time and get a proper workout in...

shovelhd

The fall is my time to enjoy riding and maintain base fitness. My racing fitness is gone. I'm old and I need a lot of rest, so I don't care if I'm not in race shape now. Once January hits, I go on a program on the trainer, and I work damn hard at it. I'll commute to work and ride outside on the weekends whenever I can, but the bulk of the training is inside. Racing starts in March, and I'll continue the program until a week before my first A race at the end of April.

topflightpro

I spend my fall/winter doing base building. I am slowly ramping up my miles.

I took August off - it was earlier than normal for me, but it was just so damn hot, I wasn't enjoying riding. Instead, I was running, swimming, playing hockey and lifting weights.

I got back on the bike in September. I started easy, doing about 45 min. three times a week during the week and then 1.5 hours on Sat./Sun. Now, i'm up to about 1 hour 15 minutes three times a week and 2.5 hours Sat/Sun. By the end of November, I should be up to about 2 hour rides during the week and 3.5 to 4 hours Sat/Sun. All of this is done with my HR at about 75 percent of my max.

I'm also trying to get some weights in twice a week. The goal is to build some leg muscle - If I am sore two days later, I did too much weight - and keep the upper body toned.

Since I know I will spend a lot of time on the trainer, I try to ride outside as much as possible. I have a set of lights that I frequently use during the week. I'm also trying to go out on my mountain bike more on the weekends, and I am participating in cross racing this year. I say participating because I'm not trying to win anything, just get some different type of riding in.

Finally, to keep the trainer tolerable, I have a TV set up in my garage with cable and DVD player to keep me entertained.

hshearer

Thanks everyone... my training volume will probably drop to about 60% of what I'd do outdoors (10-14 hours a week, vs. about 8 indoors). I hope I'll find that to be enough to maintain most of what I achieved this year, but spring is a long way off. Last year I did 24 weeks involving a trainer

@rbart and wife, if you're ever sick of that trainer, a dedicated group of crazies in my neck of the woods does a Saturday morning ride on rolling gravel roads all winter (-10C is about the limit). We typically go for about 2 hours. Cyclocross bikes recommended, but if you really want to suffer, a mountain bike is possible. PM me if you're interested.

graphs

If I want to be in good shape for the early season races (which is like half the season), I should be doing the largest amount of volume in late February/early March (base 3 -> build 1). It's disgusting to think that I maybe spend more time on the bike on a trainer during the winter than I do outdoors during the summer but it's probably true.