Twilight times - Training from October to Christmas

For many of us, the cycling season is over and sooner than we might like, autumn will fade into winter in the UK. Not only does the light disappear but it can be twilight period for riders struggling to know what to do on the bike. If you’ve had a long season of riding and racing, you’ll rightly feel like a rest to recharge the mental and physical batteries is in order, but when do you re-engage in training? Is the thought of aimless turbo sessions staring at the garage door or the washing machine filling you full of dread?  

Here are a few things that might help keep you going towards Christmas (I can’t believe I’ve invoked Christmas already…sorry)

Set some goals for 2020 now. Make it something you can commit to so, should your motivation wane a bit over the winter, you’ve got a target to look towards. Motivation comes and goes but commitment is the thing that will help pull you through those tough sessions.

Focus on strength. Now is a good time to get into the gym. There are some exercises that are specific to cycling and others that can help build a solid platform. And SSSTTREEETTTCCCCHHH!  Long, strong, lean muscles help pretty much every aspect of physical performance.

Engage your core. Cycling benefits from a strong core but does nothing to develop it. Again, there’s some straightforward exercises you can do at home or incorporate into your gym sessions.

Understand your technology. If you’re training with a power meter on your bike, or have a static trainer that calculates power, you can save a whole load of time and ensure you get maximum bang out of your training sessions by using it productively. Otherwise it just produces pretty pictures on Strava and Training Peaks.

Introduce some variety. Get the rollers out or learn to use them (I’ve got access to some good British Cycling instructions videos), dust off the mountain bike, book a track session (they all do ‘tasters’ where you can hire a track bike etc). If Zwift or Peloton work for you, great. Maybe cyclocross is your thing. I’ve even heard of some cyclists going for a run…

Keep an eye on your weight. My own progression from eating healthy raisins, to chocolate covered raisins, to just eating chocolate is both rapid and linear at this time of year. Everybody is different but maintaining a weight that is healthy for you is important. And, like it or not, weight is an important component in cycling.
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Have a plan. A framework, any framework, to keep your training focused may help. Finding ‘the’ framework – one that is individualised physiologically and psychologically for you – will ensure you exceed your 2020 goals. If I can help you with that, get in touch.  

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Rich Smith has coached the GB Transplant Cycling team for 10 years, is a British Cycling qualified Level 3 coach, a mature psychology student and has 30 years’ experience working in senior roles for Barclays, HSBC, British Waterways and National Grid Property. ​​​