Winter Training???

boylan1997

I have just started Mountain Biking and want to start
training...but its Winter and I have no idea where to
start so I am looking for an effective winter training
timetable like the one below as an example..........


MONDAY - spinning for 10 mins...plank for 5mins 2reps...sit ups 50 reps
TUESDAY- spinning for 20mins...plank for 5mins 5reps....etc

njee20

What do you want to achieve?

You can do much worse than just ride your bike. The season is fairly irrelevant.

There are no 'hard and fast' training plans that will work for you.

YeehaaMcgee

As above, but a bit simpler.
Just ride.
For god's sake just ride

t.m.h.n.e.t

What about the other 5 days? Do you actually ride a bike?

njee20

Do you know you're one of few posters on here who I think are really quite unpleasant. Every post seems to be a snide dig at someone. Does it make you feel better about yourself?

t.m.h.n.e.t

njee20 wrote:

Do you know you're one of few posters on here who I think are really quite unpleasant. Every post seems to be a snide dig at someone. Does it make you feel better about yourself?

I looked at the post, didn't see the answers so I asked questions.

Where precisely is the harm in doing that?

b45her

there's no substitute for just getting miles in your legs. just ride lots and forget about flashy training plans.

boylan1997

njee20 wrote:

What do you want to achieve?

You can do much worse than just ride your bike. The season is fairly irrelevant.

There are no 'hard and fast' training plans that will work for you.

as you are the only one that seems to be able to help me i will explain further....
I would like to achieve a good fitness level for the 2013 racing season as i am quite
unfit, yeh i know the season if fairly irrelevant but as it is very cold and miserable
i am unable to get out on the bike so i would like to do some indoor training as i have a home gym with an excersice bike a treadill ad some other equipment...I have a full sus mtb and am just after recovering
from an injury on the bike.....i started mtb about 3-4 months ago.

camerauk

Maybe some long steady miles on indoor bike to get some base fitness would help maybe 2/3hours at a steady pace, will be boring but from what I have heard thats good (although I am def no expert so could be complete rubbish )

Jimboliana

Quality book to buy that will help you in your winter training is 'The Mountain Biker's Training Bible' by Joe Friel if you can get yourself a heart rate monitor (power meter would be better but heart rate monitors are cheap) it will help you know what training zones you will be in

Don't get me wrong loads of people will say you 'don't need a heart rate monitor, if it feels hard then it is' but if you want to get the most out of the time you have and do some training that will make a difference for next season then that would be my advice. You have to mix it up with long rides at lower heart rate, intervals, high and low cadance.

I have only been riding a year, I started racing and was coming more or less last in (142nd out of 146 last year in the Thetford Winter Series!!!) I had a couple of months out when I shattered my wrist but I have a turbo trainer and was on that as i couldn't get out, my fitness has improved 10 fold and is getting better all the time

Good luck

boylan1997

Thank you camerauk and Jimboliana for the great advice...will defo take it onboard

grawp

I've got a really good system that works great for winter training.
Have a bike ready and loads of good quality technical clothing. If you've got some new waterproof shoes then you're going to want to try them right? Also fit some decent lights so night rides with your mates become an option.

I enjoy turbo sesions. Plan a treat like a film or some tv episodes or even better make a music playlist. Then dim the lights and start off for half an hour of really easy peddling. After that the endorphins will start to kick in and then you can embark in a longer easy session or up the resitance and envisage future glory.
If you are not in the mood after half an hour then grab a shower and a glass of wine and don't beat yourself up about it.

YeehaaMcgee

I don't understand why anyone would go on a turbo trainer. You're got a bike, go outside and play.

Psychotext

Time (and enjoyment). I could do two hours on a TT and watch a film at the same time. Get off the bike, get in the shower, job done.

By comparison, I'd be looking at a half an hour drive to my nearest trail, getting the gear together / cleaned, getting soaked when out there, bike covered in mud, freezing cold... All told I'd probably lose four hours (or more depending on what I need to do the bike afterwards) for a two hour ride. That's not time I have to spare.

Don't get me wrong, I get out at least once a week without fail, but if it's about fitness then sometimes time on the TT makes much more sense.

YeehaaMcgee

So go for a road blast on your bike. Instead of messing about indoors for an hour, go and play outside for an hour.

pilch

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

So go for a road blast on your bike. Instead of messing about indoors for an hour, go and play outside for an hour.

I do both, but the turbo is more controllable for specific efforts, i.e. targeting specific heart rate zones especially if you have limited time.

YeehaaMcgee

Are you saying that the turbo trainer doesn't represent riding a bike?

pilch

In terms of dodging traffic, stopping and starting, steering input, road surface, rain, snow, ice, mud, changing gradients then yes - I would say that it doesn't represent riding a bike.

As a fitness and training aid however, there are times when you may wish to ride consistently in specific heart rate and/or power zones, cadences etc then i's a great tool for the job as the only thing you need to worry about is hitting the numbers, depends how seriously you take your training I guess.

Psychotext

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

So go for a road blast on your bike. Instead of messing about indoors for an hour, go and play outside for an hour.

I don't do road riding any more. The drivers near me seem to be a special brand of c*nt and in the past I've been clipped, sworn at, had things thrown at me and had passengers attempt to push me when going past.

Under similar situations these days I'd be likely to kill someone. Not my idea of fun, though even aside from that I don't really see the appeal of road riding generally anyway. I really would rather be indoors watching a film than doing that, even without the arsehole drivers.

YeehaaMcgee

If you'd rather be indoors in the warm watching a film, then I have to question what attracts you to cycling anyway.

Psychotext

Scenery, nature and technical challenge. None of which I get on the roads, especially not the roads near me.

Unless you count avoiding drivers as technical challenge.

njee20

as it is very cold and miserable
i am unable to get out on the bike

Then I'm afraid you need to MTFU, frankly! Turbo training and intervals is a great way to build fitness, but I'd be wary of doing that when you're just starting to ride. If you're looking to compete and you can't face a slightly damp November day you'll be in for a horrible shock I fear! Get yourself outside, do lots of pedalling and have some fun! Come February think about specific intervals to build your now stellar fitness!

Scenery, nature and technical challenge. None of which I get on a road bike.

Err... you're doing it wrong.

Psychotext

Maybe, but that doesn't change my experience of cycling on the road. Horses for courses.

If you find pleasure from it, good for you, many of us don't.

YeehaaMcgee

Psychotext wrote:

Maybe, but that doesn't change my experience of cycling on the road. Horses for courses.

If you find pleasure from it, good for you, many of us don't.

yeah, god forbid we get some fresh air instead of pedalling an excercise bike indoors.

Psychotext

Ok... bit of a strawman there. I never said that one was better than the other, but if you want to play it like that you're more than welcome to. For me it makes more sense because I don't like riding on the road (for the stated reasons). Is that ok with you? I hope my personal opinion of what I like and dislike doesn't offend your delicate sensibilities.

Sure, I'd rather be on the trail but (again previously explained) sometimes when time is an issue it doesn't make sense vs spending a couple of hours on the trainer. Plus of course there are things I can do on the trainer far easier like staying in certain heart rate zones.

itguy2

Psychotext wrote:

Ok... bit of a strawman there. I never said that one was better than the other, but if you want to play it like that you're more than welcome to. For me it makes more sense because I don't like riding on the road (for the stated reasons). Is that ok with you? I hope my personal opinion of what I like and dislike doesn't offend your delicate sensibilities.

Sure, I'd rather be on the trail but (again previously explained) sometimes when time is an issue it doesn't make sense vs spending a couple of hours on the trainer. Plus of course there are things I can do on the trainer far easier like staying in certain heart rate zones.

I totally get this - I use my TT frequently this time of year for a few reasons. One, I have quite severe Raynaulds in my hands which makes them go numb in anything less than 5 or 6 degrees (inc windchill) and two, time. I work hard and go to the gym frequently after work, but on the days where I don't have enough time to divert to the gym and it's too cold outside to ride, I hit the TT.

put it this way, I ride more by having a TT than if I didn't have it. Stick on a sufferfest video and don't cheat and it's a great workout.

grawp

I ride often and love it, but it is a faff and a continual cleaning and maintenance chore. Definately ride all winter, through mud and snow and wind and rain. Ride at night and at dawn and even on a sunny day from time to time! Too often you hear people moaning about lack of traction with tyre brand x and chuckle to yourself remembering riding through miles of thick mud with inappropriate tyres at midnight, midweek with a couple of mates, then look at the mildly moist patch they are complaining about and tell them to buck up.

In addition to this I love to spend time on the turbo. I often listen to music and find the endorphins produced through excercise really highlights the tunes. Mentally I can find a couple of hours base training more relaxing than sitting on the sofa being bored by the tv. Other times the ability to get a beast of a workout in then get straight into the shower and fed is a real bonus. Road riding is lush on a summers evening but in winter when it's dark and wet i'll give it a miss.

Graham K

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

I don't understand why anyone would go on a turbo trainer. You're got a bike, go outside and play.

An ankle bracelet supplied by Her Majesty may say your not allowed

Jimboliana

Psychotext wrote:

Ok... bit of a strawman there. I never said that one was better than the other, but if you want to play it like that you're more than welcome to. For me it makes more sense because I don't like riding on the road (for the stated reasons). Is that ok with you? I hope my personal opinion of what I like and dislike doesn't offend your delicate sensibilities.

Sure, I'd rather be on the trail but (again previously explained) sometimes when time is an issue it doesn't make sense vs spending a couple of hours on the trainer. Plus of course there are things I can do on the trainer far easier like staying in certain heart rate zones.

I also agree with this, I work hard and sometimes don't have the time to get out so I can pop in the garage, slap on a film a away I go. I have a second hand road bike on my Fortius and this cost me less in money and time, money from all that mud that gets everywhere, then to save money you need to know how to service your pride and joy as you need to spend the time to clean it!

I can control my training alot better on my TT and being a white van man I drive all over the country and see alot of stupid drivers on the roads that I would like to avoid. If it's crisp and dry I will ride at night no problem off-road. Racing in the mud and rain can cost lots of £££ and I would rather try to avoid that.

tugger

get good clothes, ride as long as possible, sprint up the hills, active recover (ie dont just stop at the top of the hills, keep pedallig slowly till you recover your breath and HR). Think about what you eat, eat before, dont over eat after wards, snack during, not so many simple sugars unless in an emergency, concentrate on slow release carbs.

its easier said than done, I didnt ride today cos I had a sniffle and didnt want to get the bike dirty before i out new brakes on it, and I just ate a bag of strawberry bon bons

danlightbulb

I also hate riding on the road especially in the dark. I live in lovely urban midlands (dudley) and its just horrible on the roads. Definitely noticed my fitness declining now that i'm only riding every couple of weeks or so. In the granny gear for sections of trail I could previously do in the middle ring. Winter sucks.