Winter training plans?
 

So, what is your training plan for winter? Care to share?

I started my first actual thought out and written down training plan this week. I'm using a Sufferfest Novice training plan that I bought (already owned all the videos) and did an FTP measurment using my heart rate monitor. Now I can stay within the effort levels of the videos without just wildly guessing. This plan uses their videos along with outside riding but gives options for substituting the outside riding with indoor stuff. I'm more than likely going to be doing most of the riding indoors on a trainer if this cold keeps up. I'm looking forward to it and hopefully I can not only maintain whatever fitness I have from the season, but actually improve. The wife and I also joined a gym so we can get some weight training done. This winter we are going to be on it.

Ride my bike. On the trainer if necessary.

Well I just got into using trainerroad, after trying it and discovering that my trainer, despite it being probably 15 years old (traveltrac 3) seems to work with their virtual power feature (trainerroad has a traveltrac fluid trainer in their supported models, so the profile must be similar).

Anyhow, since I've got an established base from riding a bunch this year, I'm going to try their advanced build I plan, followed by new competitor high volume plan. Together, these are 20 weeks and should take me into April, when I think I'll do my first race for the season. Just curious to see how following one of these plans works. I can't imagine I won't improve as a result, interested to see by how much

Time to back off the harder training intervals and start riding for fun at a tempo pace. Fortunately in FL so riding will be outdoors. Need to switch a few riding days to working on the core with weights and floor exercises.

What is this "winter" thing you're talking about?

j/k I sorta let myself go in the last few months so I have an extensive program planned. Riding at least a couple of times a week + trainer in front of the TV, cross-training into running twice a week, upper body weights twice a week, abstinence (in a good sense of the word) and a food diary. Got from 157 to 145 in this manner (minus the running) last winter/spring, regained most of it back by now, and now I'm starting earlier with the objective to be in the 130's by March.
Next year I'll be diversifying into running, my preliminary plan is to get a good time at the 3 climby centuries in April & May and to run a marathon in late May, thus the extra priority on getting skinny.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenda...ix+AZ+USAZ0166

I did have to put arm warmers on the other night when it got down in the 50s.

Keep riding, work on keeping a good, steady pace. And if it's snow-free enough, ride up Bear Mountain and back a time or two again. Gotta be confident that I can avoid embarrassment there at the Gran Fondo in the spring.

I'll cut back to about 1000 miles a month, and try to do intervals a couple times a week.

Maybe I'll try to learn how to run properly and try some duathlons next year. One of my friends competes at the duathlon world championships every year, and I kill him on the bike. I wonder if he can get me running as well as he does.

Competitive group ride every Sunday until I croak. October through December, weekdays are on the rollers: base miles, pedaling drills, and tempo intervals (Z3). From Dec. 1 to May, add a Saturday ride but take it easier. Gradually increase length of Saturday and Sunday rides from ~40 miles in October/November to 60+ miles in the spring and keep increasing the climbing with the miles. Keep the weekday roller pedaling drills, gradually add outdoor weekday endurance rides.

October/November mostly upper body weights, hypertrophy. December-February whole body weights going from hypertrophy to endurance. March-May high rep endurance weights.

I don't do any formal program, HIIT, time-crunched, etc. BTW, now is not the season for hitting the intensity. Intensity is the quickest adaptation. Endurance is the slowest. That said, I try to get at least an hour/week of subthreshold/LT work year 'round.

1 episode of Breaking Bad every day (on Kurt Kinetic), keeping my average cadence above 95 for the whole episode. 9 days in so far.

p.s. It's currently -1F.

That's a damn good cadence for that period of time! I am in Wi as well, I still rode outside last week when it was 27 degrees, but have been stuck inside now for the last week watching movies and football.

I think the general rule is that this is the time to put in the hours, but not really the effort. I'm a total weekend warrior, sub 3k miles a year, kind of guy. Last winter, my goal was 60 hours before really ramping up to hard intervals. I had my best season ever with that plan. Some people will hit that in a few weeks, and others will take an entire season to hit it, but it was a good goal for me, given my work and family schedule. Most of that time was on the trainer, an hour or so at a time, but when I got outside on weekends, I loved just lumbering along with no worry about pace or effort. Once I increased the effort in February or so, I felt great, and with some HIIT in March and April, I crushed my spring 100k PR. By the summer, I was starting to burn out a bit, but I still was fit, and managed to top my 20k TT PR.

It is all about your overall goals, but this is the time of year that I enjoy doing easy trainer rides watching Netflix or ambling about on the weekends without a care.

Also, I plan on working on some deficiencies this winter. I can't corner to save my life, and I still haven't ever managed to ride without hands. I can focus on these goals if I'm not constantly trying to watch my HR for my interval value on every ride. Additionally, single leg squats tell you a lot about how misaligned your power might be, and flexibility and core strength are great aspects of your game to work on during these months.

Ride outdoors as much as possible, then ride the trainer on days when it is impossible/totally miserable. At this point it is only maintenance/fun, so I will start with the structured training again in early February.

I base my winter training on my goals for next season.

1. My 2015 season starts in March/April with short crits and club-races. [PEAK]
   These are short high-intensity races that really demand treshold and VO2 efforts.
2. During the summer I will participate in more endurance-type rides of over 2 hours and such. [BUILD]
3. At the end of the summer there will be some European Cyclo-Sportives (road races that look a little like the European Classics). [PEAK]

That means that my training should focus on:

1. Building Tempo, Treshold and VO2Max over the winter
2. Build Endurance over the spring and summer
3. Build Endurance, Tempo and Treshold towards the end of the summer.

This is convenient for me, because work and climate in the Netherlands doesn't allow me to do long rides in the winter. I can, however, get in 2 or 3 rides on the trainer and maybe one outdoor-ride in the weekend. This is fine because on the trainer I can do 90min sessions focussed on treshold and the like (I like Sufferfest films for this).
I also do strength training in the gym 2 or 3 times a week to increase power. And play soccer twice a week which is also interval stuff.

When the spring comes around I can do more longer rides outside and start putting the longer Z2, Endurance rides. There are many (non-competetive) organized tours around here in that period that are 120-150 km long that are perfect for building some endurance base for the late summer peak.

At the end of the summer there are a few (hilly) cyclo-sportives that I want to do. These are aprox. 130km and can be considered road races. They require a very good endurance base but also tempo and treshold work. That is the focuss of summer training.

Also at the end of summer/begin fall, there will be some crits again which I will just do for fun without specific trianing.

Riding fixed gear as conditions allow and running. If weather get's really bad for long stretches like last year-might have to buy a trainer. Join my building's gym.

I recommend this book for first timers in "block" training

http://thebaldbiker.files.wordpress....-crunched1.jpg

this plus a cheap powertap wheelset.

this......

Winter is long here. So the plan is long and changes month to month. November, December is base and leg strength. As soon as there is a good base of snow I'm out xc skiing.

I am doing a self modified trainerroad plan. Basically it is the 40k TT mid plan substituting one workout with a trainerroad/sufferfest workout every week. Also I am doing a 12 week weight lifting program for cyclist I am lifting twice a week with weights heavy enough to make my muscles very tired the next day (just short of being sore). Doing a little core as well.

3 weeks complete with a perfect attendance record, so far! My goal is to be lighter, stronger, and hopefully faster for my winter cycling vacation.

I've switched to running but I know I'm losing the strength in my legs. Any recommendations to make the trainer interesting- are rollers any more exciting?

Heading to Italy in a few weeks...









then I woke up to news reports of nearly EIGHT freakin' feet of snow just a couple hours up the road from my house and nearly a foot in my driveway...
I'll continue to ride the roads until I think they are too dangerous...icy, etc...then it's the trainer til spring.
Rode today...lots of snow on the back roads made for a slippery ride but that's what the cross bike is for and "relaxing" rather than tightening up when riding through the white slippery stuff.

I plan to ride as often as possible, there should be few days that weather could stop me.