Brrrrr, it's cold outside

BRRRRRRRRHHHH. It’s getting to that dreaded time of year when the days get shorter and the weather gets more miserable than it has been all year.

Most cyclists will take a few weeks off to let their bodies recover from a season packed full of intense training and even more strenuous racing.

But others will use the following months to begin preparations for next season and tailoring this period to achieve their new goals for the forthcoming year.

Winter does not have to be a training purgatory – a lot can be accomplished that will make you fitter and faster for the season ahead.

If this time is wasted with non-productive activities, you will be off the back in early races and spend the spring trying to catch up.

The smart rider takes advantage of this time to get a jump on the upcoming season by planning ahead.

Before turning a crank the first time, give some thought to what you actually want to accomplish in 2008.

Maybe you want to ride that sportive you have read so much about, take part in a charity ride, set a new record in your local time-trial, complete your first century or simply keep up with everyone else during the clubrun?

Well, the truth is, you will still need to put in some winter training if you want to get the times that will impress your friends and family.

We are not talking about Tour de France type efforts between now and March, but for each goal you definitely need a tailored programme to help guide you towards that finish line.

Seven time winner of the Tour de France Lance Armstrong had a big difference compared with other previous greats from past Tours – he trained solely for one race and tailored his year-round programme towards the Tour de France.

Armstrong lived mostly in France when he was competing and early in the year. He trained in the very same mountains that he knew would be racing in during the Tour de France.

Was he a ‘one-trick pony’, as some of his critics would call him? No, he was something that some riders are not – smart.

Armstrong knew that if you wanted to be good at something like the Tour de France, the best thing to do was to focus solely on that goal and steer all his training towards it.

Now I am not trying to compare a clubrun to a Grand Tour, but everyone can learn something from the focused determination of Armstrong.

Make sure that your goals are outcome-related and measurable. Write them down. Training without goals is like working a jigsaw puzzle without a picture.

Also decide your most important races for the coming year. These are priority events – the ones that you will build race fitness towards and then taper and peak.

You will need five or six months of training for the first of these, including two to three months of base development; two months of intensity building; and a couple of weeks to peak.

Figuring out all of this now and posting it with your training log will keep you on track to your goals throughout the winter and spring.

If you have not got a training log, most cycling websites have them to download for free. Alternatively, you can just buy a large A4 book with plenty of pages in or a diary and start planning you training regime out.

Winter training is a perfect time to start building as base for the following season – one of them being strength.

Riders who do not lift weights in the winter usually spend the race season talking about how weak their sprinting and climbing are.

On the other hand, cyclists who use the winter for solid strength building can go from wimps to winners.

Two or three one-hour sessions a week fortifying the basic movements of cycling can do wonders for your racing.

The basic cycling movements and their related strength exercises are hip extensions such as squat, step-up, leg press and deadlift; and upper-body pulling exercises such as seated row and lat pull to chest.

Another winter training regime also includes building your cardiovascular endurance. When it comes to improving the fitness of your heart, blood and lungs, it does not matter too much what you do.

Pound the pavement a few nights during the week, join the classes being held in your local gym, go swimming or try you hand at a few other winter sports, but more importantly stay active.

Variety is the spice of life. Not only will it keep your interest from waning, but it will also be good for your burnout quotient later on.

Cross-training will keep you from grumbling through so many miserable rides in the basement or the drizzle.

Next up on your winter training regime should be improving you leg speed, so there is no need to forsake your bike altogether.

When you stop an activity completely, the muscles begin to lose what’s called ‘muscle memory’ – the intricate movement patterns of recruitment, contraction and relaxation that take years to refine.

Like the other old saying ‘practise makes perfect’, riding two or three times each week in the small chainring while working on your spinning will improve these muscle-firing patterns.

Understandably, it is going to be impossible sometimes to get out of the door on your bike, so keep it inside instead.

Most local bike stores will sell turbo trainers or rollers. Turbos attach to the back wheel and add resistance to simulate riding on the road, while rollers allow the whole of the bike to sit on them like a conveyer belt in a factory and the bike ‘roll’ along.

Personally, I would steer clear of turbos unless you have got a few sets of old tyres, as they tend to wear them down a bit.

Most seasoned cyclists prefer turbos, but they tend to stick an old bike on them to save ruining their good tyres or race bikes.

Me, I have got an old exercise bike that I bought out of my local paper’s classified ads. It is an OK model and does the job well enough, but I have not got a great deal of space in my house and doubt it would be looked upon too kindly if I kept bringing my bike indoors.

Anyway, here are a couple of drills you can do on an indoor trainer while watching the TV, listening to you iPod, but the general idea is to become more comfortable at higher cadences than you are accustomed to.

First of all do some ‘Spin-Ups’. In a low gear, gradually increase your cadence for 20 to 30 seconds until you max out and begin bouncing on the saddle.

Then back off a bit and hold it for as long as you can. Relax your toes and fingers while doing this. Recover completely and repeat several times.

Another exercise to try is ‘Isolated Leg’. Place a stool or chair on either side of your trainer. Put one foot on the chair and pedal with only one leg in a low gear. Maintain your normal cadence while concentrating on eliminating the dead spot.

When the leg fatigues, switch legs. After one cycle, spin for a few minutes with both legs employing what you have just learned. Repeat several times.

Right, next up is probably the most important tip for cycling, not just winter training – ‘Lose Weight’.

Carrying a bit of extra weight is extremely noticeable when you are climbing hills. Leaner riders will be able to whizz up, while you feel as though you are carrying a sack of spuds on you back.

Winter is the perfect time to bust that blubber. There is a lot you could do to slim down, but the easiest I have found is to lower the glycaemic index of your foods.

Without going into a lot of detail, this essentially means greatly reducing your intake of sugar and starchy foods.

The average person eats about a cup of refined sugar a day. Hard-working and always-hungry athletes probably eat more than that.

Endurance athletes also eat more than their share of starches such as bread, bagels, cereal, pasta, rice, crackers, pastries and potatoes.

All of these high glycaemic carbohydrates play havoc with the body, putting you into a fat-storage mode.

Replace them with fruits, vegetables and lean meats. You will lose weight without going hungry, but remember to drink plenty of water. Sometimes thirst can mask itself as hunger, so make sure you drink at least one or two litres of water every day.

Finally, be positive. If last season you did not get the time you wanted, take a step back and examine what you did right, how you can improve on it next time.

There is no such thing as mistakes, only lessons learned. Try to turn every negative into a positive; every obstacle into a challenge and you will not go far wrong.

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