Winter training regime advice

[fraz101]

So I started road cycling this year.

I‘ve done just short of 6k miles this year and joined my local club in April.

I am riding in the fastest group in the club and have done well.

However I want to keep improving and one area I feel I can improve is adding strength to my legs, I’ve struggled slightly in the faster groups doing chain gang, to maintain the power and endurance needed to keep up. I can climb fairly well.

I’ve recently joined my local gym which has spin classes as well, i ve been doing these over the past month

I have been doing cycling specific leg weight exercises at the gym 3 times per week in the hopes of building some muscle to my legs.

I am 5’9” and 70kg.

I live in Scotland and the weather over the past 2 months has been abysmal and I’ve hardly been able to get any miles in at all lately.

Should I keep going with the leg weights or is it not really necessary

 

[13 rider]

If you enjoy it carry on ,strength training will aid sprinting more than endurance
Have you considered an indoor cycling set up and you can follow training plans indoor or just ride around for fun or race

 

[fraz101]

If you enjoy it carry on ,strength training will aid sprinting more than endurance
Have you considered an indoor cycling set up and you can follow training plans indoor or just ride around for fun or race

Thanks for reply.

I have a basic turbo trainer set up in my garage but I don’t enjoy it at all, the spin classes are slightly better and more motivating to me.

I realise i am losing my endurance fitness as I cannot get out as often, hopefully in spring I can start again.

 

[13 rider]

I had a basic turbo rode it twice hated it .
You can use a basic turbo with speed and cadence sensers and link that to zwift ,but for a more realistic feel you need a smart trainer . Initial set up is quite high but I started zwifting this year and love it it will never replace outdoor riding but when the weather bad it's been the best thing I bought

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If you can’t stand the turbo, don’t want to buy a smart trainer then you’ll just have to get out in the poor weather. If snowy and icy you’ll need to stick to gritted roads. Most council publish an online map of their gritting routes , get familiar with them and work out some routes. Rest for riding outdoors in poor weather is about good clothing that’ll keep you warm for the durations you plan to be out, and lights you can turn on if visibility is poor.

 

[fraz101]

If you can’t stand the turbo, don’t want to buy a smart trainer then you’ll just have to get out in the poor weather. If snowy and icy you’ll need to stick to gritted roads. Most council publish an online map of their gritting routes , get familiar with them and work out some routes. Rest for riding outdoors in poor weather is about good clothing that’ll keep you warm for the durations you plan to be out, and lights you can turn on if visibility is poor.

I’m doing 3-5 spin classes per week just now

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I’m doing 3-5 spin classes per week just now

Whilst that’s okay for top end, you need to be working your base this time of year. Without a balance of enough duration of low intensity you’ll just stagnate. Think of spin classes as icing on the cake, whilst the low intensity is the cake you’re baking. The more time you spend on base now, the higher your peak will be in the summer.

 

[Peter Salt]

How did you use the turbo? Just sat on it and stared at the wall? Go on Zwift and try a race - a lot of folks get hooked and most races require exactly what (it sounds) you want to improve in - punchy climbs, sprints, etc. Based on riding with the fast group you're probably a decent category C rider.

As for strength training, 3 times per week sounds excessive - you shouldn't have the strength to do it that many times if you do it properly. What's your squatting routine?

 

[davidphilips]

Best advice i can offer is to get a training programme and stick to it, consistence is most important, followed by recovery and diet.

Even basic turbo trainers can be very good if used right, theres 2 ways i use a basic turbo, first zone 1/2 just sit on it and spin i even read a book at the same time for about an hour, second and very different no book but a few towels and lots of fluids cycle easy for 5 minutes and flat out for 1 minute and that goes on until i can no longer keep it up , if i did not have a towel the ground around me would be soaking from the sweat running of me.

Last look up and watch Veloharmony on Utube great guy and lots of very sound advice.

 

[fraz101]

How did you use the turbo? Just sat on it and stared at the wall? Go on Zwift and try a race - a lot of folks get hooked and most races require exactly what (it sounds) you want to improve in - punchy climbs, sprints, etc. Based on riding with the fast group you're probably a decent category C rider.

As for strength training, 3 times per week sounds excessive - you shouldn't have the strength to do it that many times if you do it properly. What's your squatting routine?

 

[Peter Salt]

@fraz101, you're really unlucky. I'm off work during the holidays, Little Salty is at the swimming pool and there's still a few hours before my Z2 ride. I've got time to put together a very long response Just my twopence - do with it what you may.

First, some general points:

• You seem to think that improving your sprinting and punching power will be detrimental to your endurance. This is bollocks. I don't mean to cut you down - but you're likely not good enough to have to sacrifice one for the other. At your level you can improve both.
• Speaking of level. Have you measured your baseline numbers in a controlled environment before starting your exercise plan? Do you know what your 1s, 5s, 15s, 30s, 60s, 5 min. & 20 min. numbers are? Ideally on the turbo. If not - how will you know if the plan worked?
• You didn't mention any other details so I have to fill in some gaps - you posted a list of 7 numbered exercises and previously said you're going to they gym 3 times per week. I'm therefore assuming that you do all of these exercises every time you're there in chronological order from 1 to 7.

Now, about your routine:

• It's too complicated and you do it too often. Rather than doing everything every time you're at the gym, split your 3 days into specific muscle groups and target them properly. If you're going there purely to improve your cycling, I'd suggest 1. Leg day. 2. Back day. 3. Mixed upper body day (optional).
• 1. Leg day.
  • It appears (on your list) that you're leaving squats till the end. If so, that's absolute madness - it's by far the most beneficial of all exercises so you want to do it fresh and be able to lift as much as you can. Start with squats.
  • I can see you're trying to mix things up with stuff like lunges or box jumps. I personally think this is unnecessary. Firstly, you're wasting energy that you could use to do more squats. Secondly, you're hitting muscles that play a tertiary role in cycling - like hamstrings or calves - no need for that.
  • Double the number of sets for squats (6x). Reps and rest look alright.
  • You may reach a point in your squatting where legs will feel OK but the back will start to struggle with holding the barbell (in my case this happened with approx. 2xbodyweight barbell). If that's the case - drop the weight a bit and increase reps to 12. If the back still feels wonky - use a leg press instead of the squat rack, if your gym has one. I'm assuming you're already using a weightlifting belt.
  • Second exercise - trap bar deadlift. Same number of sets, reps and rest as for your squats. Use the belt as well.
  • If you somehow still have strength left - you may want to finish off with a few Bulgarian split squats, until failure.
  • Leg day should be followed by a complete rest day - no gym, no riding, not too much walking.
• 2. Back day.
  • Standard barbell deadlifts. 6x10. Use belt.
  • Dumbbell rows. I find these very beneficial as it vastly increases handlebar-shoulder stability, increasing efficiency of your power transfer lower down the kinetic chain. 6x10.
  • Probably the most underrated core strength exercise of all time - the elbow plank. People will rarely recommend it in gyms as it doesn't require a gym. Three times with a minute rest - start with 60s and try progression to 120s. If you have a morning bodyweight routine - that's a really good one to add to it (1x120s).
• 3. Mixed upper body day. If you find yourself skipping this day - don't worry too much. These are all very secondary - will help with upper body stability but I wouldn't call them essential. 4x10 of everything below.
  • Bicep curls.
  • Upright rows.
  • Shrugs.
  • Face pulls.

As for riding - do 1-2 intense sessions a week and rest Z2. 3-5 spin classes is too much hard work - it will be detrimental to your fitness and likely cause a burnout.

Good luck.

 

[Sharky]

Keep it simple, to regain the fitness you achieved this summer, all you need to do is the same as you did last winter /spring. If you can get a few extra rides or start earlier in the year, you will achieve more in 2023.

For improving group riding, it's probably more to do with experience and craft, rather than pure fitness.

Good luck

 

[CXRAndy]

KISS

This time of year dont sweat it for slight drop in form. Choose something that you enjoy that keeps your base fitness there abouts. I like to race(Zwift) twice, maybe three times a week, I might do a couple of hours endurance ride in Z2 every few weeks.

The well served training routine is polarised training. 80% is done in Z2, the rest in Z5.

Lets say 10 hours per week, which by the way is quite alot unless you're budding amateur 8 hrs in Z2. Most folk 4-6 hours free training time, so 4 hours Z2.

 

[fraz101]

Some great replies. Thanks @Peter Salt For the detailed answer. I will reply fully in due course. Link to my strava for details

https://www.strava.com/athletes/97647646