Your best ever pre-season training plan.

[raf_gti]

Although I don't race or compete I treat a lot of rides as my own individual TT and as such want to be as fit as possible.

This year for a variety of reasons I've had a crappy summer season, mainly due to almost no training through-out the winter.

What have you found to be your most successful winter training regimes? For me personally I found that concentrating on 30 mins interval style enabled me to hit the ground fast, for me endurance doesn't take long to build up but getting fast does.

[mcelliott]

For me a fundamental part of my winter training involves turbo training sessions. Used to use them when I raced, still do them now. My programme lasts from the 1st week in January to the 1st week in March - roughly 10 sessions (one a week). Nearly all of it is interval based and I found transferring the speed (and endurance also) gained from these sessions easily to the road. I also do lots of steady miles through the winter as well as competitive sportives in the winter months and then in March if finances allow I spend a week in the Alps. But I would say the turbo sessions give me far more strength.

Here's an example of the session I did in the winter:

Time: 00:54:23
Distance: 25.76 mi
Calories: 1,451 C
Avg Speed: 28.4 mph
Max Speed: 47.9 mph
Avg HR: 170 bpm
Max HR: 191 bpm

Edited by mcelliott on Monday 8th August 20:37

[anonymous-user]

some thigns to consider:

varying routes - dont let your body get used to a route

varying distances - the solution is ALWAYS more miles

go mountain biking - different style of energy burning and aids reflexes etc

cyclocross racing - 1 hour of hell on toast but you maintain that comeptitive element throughout the year

twitter - follow all the pros, find out what they do, ask questions, they are first and foremost cyclists and have good advice

stretches - swop a ride for an hour stretching, put on a podcast or the radio (for some reason i always find conversation better than music for this) and spend half an hour or so just going through the basics

join a club - its not to everyones taste and it could be a tri club or a cycle club but you do need motivation when its cold and wet.

[HundredthIdiot]

Turbo, turbo, turbo. Tempo with the odd threshold interval thrown in.

That and structural fitness stuff.

[dubbs]

Tempo rides, build up a strong base, don't worry about speed and intervals until later in the plan is what I've been lead to believe.

This year I'll hopefully be turbo-ing through winter and getting good legs ready for a good 2012...

[okgo]

Can you not just ride through the winter? Why the turbo suggestions?

[HundredthIdiot]

okgo said:

Why the turbo suggestions?

That's fine for longer weekend rides (when it's not snowing or too icy), but riding in the dark in the middle of winter is even less fun that sitting on the turbo.

[raf_gti]

okgo said:

Can you not just ride through the winter? Why the turbo suggestions?

I haven't got a suitable winter (road) hack and TBH whilst I enjoy being on on the MTB in the winter being on the road bike doesn't appeal to me nearly as much.

[IroningMan]

I've set myself a rubbish example over the past couple of years, but two one-hour turbo sessions in the evenings - one in four technique/cadence and the other three aerobic base, plus a 35 - 50 mile group ride on a Sunday morning.