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First off-season training
Last Post 10/23/2009 11:40 PM by David Studner. 8 Replies.
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gsmola82
Posts:20
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| 10/09/2009 09:59 PM |
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Hello everyone,
I am just finishing up my 1st season of cycling, and I plan to train as hard as I can this off-season, so I can be in best form for next year. I just purchased the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer, with the new KK computer. I was wondering if anyone would have any advice or a simple weekly indoor (trainer or gym) training schedule for me to get started with ?
Thank you,
-Greg |
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miguelon
Posts:24
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| 10/10/2009 03:11 PM |
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Hi Greg,
sorry, I can't help you with the training plan. But don't forget to take some time off to regenerate both physically and mentally. Don't scrap your snowboarding this winter.
And start out gently when riding again. Work on your endurance first, by increasing mileage while not going too hard. When you have a good base you can start working on shorter, harder efforts and intervals.
The last thing you want to do is be in superb shape by February and then fizzle out (unless you target cyclocross or making the season opener your season's highlight, of course).
bjorn
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gsmola82
Posts:20
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| 10/10/2009 09:59 PM |
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Thanks Bjorn, those are good points. I still have a ton to learn, both mental and physical aspects. I just simply love to ride. I got my 2nd bike (09 Felt Z45) a month ago and it is the best $ I spent.
-Greg |
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steve
Posts:125
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| 10/11/2009 09:13 AM |
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Greg,
Your energy is great - Bjorn is right, you need to make sure to rest properly. Even if your newness to the sport means you won't burn out mentally, your body will break down without adequate recovery and your riding will begin to go downhill.
Steve |
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David Studner
Posts:11
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| 10/11/2009 11:18 AM |
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Hi Greg, I would add that once you resume riding on the indoor trainer and have a few weeks of medium intensity aerobic work, don't be afraid to do more intense intervals. Unless you are extremely motivated, you will not be riding the trainer the same kinds of hours that you would put in outdoors and when time is short, there is much more to be gained by doing focused higher intensity work. I use my trainer to do cruise intervals (TT type effort). You can do alot for your fitness in 6-7 hrs a week on a trainer and be ready to "put an edge" on your fitness when the weather turns warm again.
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gsmola82
Posts:20
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| 10/11/2009 09:56 PM |
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Thanks guys. I just bought Joe Friel's "The Cyclists Training Bible" 4th ed., so I have alot of reading to do.
Another Q I have is, can I leave my bike mounted on the trainer for the whole winter season? and also, is it ok to do fast sprint work on it without any damage ?
Thanks again,
-Greg |
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miguelon
Posts:24
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| 10/12/2009 11:11 AM |
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Hi Greg,
getting the book was a good move (I am not familiar with the contents, as I used a different book, but I am sure it's valuable advise).
To your first question, my entirely biased answer is "Absolutely not". But that's mainly because I'd still want to go out on rides as much as I can, even in the rain and the cold (I have done intervals when it was snowing, although the snow didn't stick, so conditions were still soft).
When there is snow on the ground I'll opt for an MTB, unless I am just going somewhere on my touring bike. After ten years in Calif I was actually glad to have spent the last couple of years in Belgium and Germany to ride in the snow again.
For you second question on the trainer I am not sure, maybe some techie can answer it. If you haven't purchased it yet you may consider rollers, which give you more of a riding feel (or so I think as I have only used a trainer for about a month one time when recovering from a knee injury)
I guess rollers are harder to learn, more expensive and more difficult to get to races. Other than that they are probably good 
I always warmed up riding, but it is a little more difficult to focus (what helped me was taking public transit to some races and then choosing the stop far enough away to have an incentive to ride (not difficult for many races in Calif, since they are far from public transit by default) or to ride from the hotel to the start)) |
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gsmola82
Posts:20
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| 10/12/2009 02:26 PM |
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Thanks Bjorn. So far I've ridden in windy/no-sun 55*F days, and I think that's my limit for outdoor riding. Anything colder and I don't enjoy it (I'll shop around for some more windbraking clothing). I would love to get into MTB, but for now I'll stick to the trainer and snowboarding. I'm also planning to buy a good bike luggage, and booking a nice 1 week vacation somewhere down south  . My uncle is still riding back in Poland, eventhough it's around 6*C.
Just picked up another book: Bicycling Magazine's Training Techniques. I'm doing some heavy studying this off-season  .
Thanks,
-Greg |
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David Studner
Posts:11
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| 10/23/2009 11:40 PM |
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You can do pretty vigorous work on a trainer, full on sprints might be a little risky, make sure you use a steel conventional skewer. I find it's better to use the trainer for long, steady efforts, the ones you can't easily do outside. Where in D.C. can you ride for 20 min at a constant effort and not get interrupted?
Don't worry about leaving your bike in the trainer, you won't hurt it. Do pump up your tires every week or so, they'll still bleed off air, just like they do in the summer. |
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