Autumn / Winter

[paxtergrant]

I have just completed my first year of road cycling. I did alot of the big leisure rides (lap the lough, Maracycle, Dromara sportive etc) I wondered does anyone have any conctructive advice on Autumn / Winter training? One of the guys I cycle with has said this is a winding down time where the average speed on rides becomes less important. Base miles, rather than average speed is now more important.

[johnb4]

as no one else has answered i will have a go ( this is a lot of do as i say and not as I do !!! )

firstly, no one can gave you specific details unless they know where you are at now in terms of fitness, how many hours you can devote to training, and what your goals are

assuming that you are like most of us, and dont have 20+ hours a week for training, then you are mostly likely to gain the most by keeping some higher intensity sessions even over the winter, you may even lose a lot of fitness, maybe too much, if you just do rides at low intensity

the old adage of Long Slow Distance over the winter has been relegated by most, unless they have a lot of time on their hands.

better to do the longer rides at a good brisk tempo, and do some intervals at higher intensities during shorter or indoor trainer rides ( google for Sweet Spot Training )

but to get the best specific training for you it would be better to do a lot of research and then come up with your own plan that suits you

each person should be doing what is best for them, for some they may need to work on improving their threshold or power, more experienced riders might just need enough work to keep them ticking over

oh, and very important, make sure you get enough rest and recovery, you dont get stronger while training, you get stronger when resting

if someone else drops by they might have more ( better ) advice, but really there are loads of cycling forums where this gets discussed over and over, and many top coaches take part in the discussions, so you should be able to get enough good information to come up with your own plan of attack

good luck....

[paxtergrant]

Thanks for your post John, I have been trawling forums and there certainly is alot of advice out there. The guys I cycle with always cycle at a good tempo so hopefully I will keep some semblance of fitness over the winter!!