The cyclist’s winter

by | Nov 8, 2019 | Technique

How does a cyclist face winter?
Considering that many take part in the races from February to October, the month of November should take a proper break to recharge the batteries.

There are many philosophies about winter rest here.

Some stay a week, some fifteen days, some twenty days and some even (borderline cases) a month. It’s the athlete’s discretion. During this period you can do something completely different. Perhaps 10 days of complete relaxation and then insert an alternative sport to cycling.
Running, swimming, skiing, skating and mountain biking are the most popular sports I’ve seen over time. The important thing to know is that the gym will be integrated with the alternative sport.
The gym is useful for two things: muscle balance and targeted strengthening of certain muscle groups that we would like to strengthen.
Machines and free body exercises always accompanied by final stretching helps a lot. Then there are also those who don’t do it because they don’t think it’s important or beneficial. Some people even say it’s harmful, others can’t do without it because they consider it important.


Personally in my career I have faced both preparations, with and without Gym. Maybe one day I will tell you about this experience and the results obtained in the following months, here in my blog. Bike training will start roughly in December.
You need to work for about twenty days in a bland and flat way to create a solid base.
After that a test will be carried out in the laboratory to establish your heart values and the famous “Watts”. I strongly recommend to pay attention to Watts only after mid-February when you already have a solid condition.


Many people already start in December with the potentiometer under their eyes and push the potentiometer because they are and feel fresh.
The drawback will be that in February/March which would be a good time to refer to Watts, many are already tired (and maybe don’t understand why, but actually the problem is very clear!).
So I suggest in the winter period to consider only the heart and refer to the good old cardio frequency counter, or to evaluate the use of advanced rollers like the Jarvis ones of Magnetic Days (here the  link).


To get to May and June the road is very long. After the Test is the right time for specific work and table training.
Always hoping for a Winter at least dry and not rainy to give continuity to the bike outings. All December and January will be important to get some benefits later around March and April. In short, with these few notions you already have a pretty clear picture of the situation.

 

If you are interested and would like to be followed by me, do not hesitate to fill out the form on this site and contact me, we can prepare together a table customized according to your characteristics and needs.

Receive an email notification every time an article is published.
Loading

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This