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Dec 04 2018

How to BEAT those Winter blues – discover our top 5 tips.

 

We are embracing that period in the year where triathletes get a little stuck.

That blip when events are done for this year and we can begin planning out the next.

The problem is that the upcoming goals are just far enough away that we could afford to take our foot off the gas for a moment to relax knowing that really in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter too much.

We know those events next June or July won’t be hugely affected by taking a day off here or there in December.

But the thing that really can grind you down is when the odd day off becomes the odd week off. Maybe the whole month.

But maybe this isn’t a bad thing?

This made us think about the strategies we use to help get us through winter to boost motivation and ensure next year isn’t ruined by an overly relaxed winter.

So here are our five tips for you – if you have any others you think should be included – let us know via [email protected]

 

Take a month out.

I’m personally an advocate of taking a month off each year. It’s a rule as far as I am concerned.

Finish the last big event of my year and psychologically I find that break does the world of good for me.

I’ll bounce back with more enthusiasm, more passion and because I’ve spent that month off researching my goals for the following year, I feel more focused on them too.

Now there is a small caveat.

A “month off” for me isn’t a feet up on the sofa type month.

I’ll still ride my bike, I’ll ride off road or something fun. My runs will be easy, perhaps catching up with friends and I’ll still swim every now and then. But the important thing for me is that it isn’t structured. It’s ad hoc, unfocused and what some might call “junk” miles.

But it ticks the box of enjoyment for me, so I stick with it.

This month off might be different for each person

It might be that you only run. Maybe you focus on swimming technique solely for that month to boost your fitness in the pool. Perhaps a month of yoga to start your winter by integrating something new that will benefit your year ahead.

Whatever you might do – keep it interesting and don’t panic about losing fitness in four weeks… You will inevitably loose some, but at the sacrifice of renewed vigour at the 12 months that lye ahead.

 

Focus on FUN

We already mentioned the F word in the previous point. But fun really should be ranked the highest when it comes to winter focus.

We can all be too guilty of focusing on the numbers, we know the heart rate scores, the power data and pace we want to run at. But we can’t measure fun (not with a firm number).

We can quickly experience burnout if all we do all year round is focus on those numbers, we need to have a break from them every now and then. So another strategy we use is to ignore those pesky numbers.

Go for a ride without worrying about the speed. Perhaps ride off road and get muddy.

Switch your weekend long run on the road for a trail run and hunt out some hills.

Of course, this really does depend on what your view of fun really is.

I even know triathletes that choose to go rock climbing as part of their winter strength training. Some hit the gym more, some switch to doing all of their interval sessions on the treadmill (madness if you ask me..!)

There are no “rules”but when it comes to remaining fit and healthy over the winter, you don’t have to follow the same training you were doing in the summer to maintain your fitness.

 

Get Strong(er)

Hitting the gym is one option over the winter.

Firstly it’ll be dry and probably warmer than outside, secondly it’ll have the knock on effect of improved swim, bike and run performances too.

Adding in strength work to your winter (and year round) training is something all triathletes can benefit from. And it doesn’t necessarily mean hitting the gym either – many of the movements can be done at home as a starting point and with the addition of a set of home weights you can do most exercises you’ll ever need from your own house.

However, accountability at home when you have lost that mojo is the downfall. So often having a gym membership or a Personal Trainer is an ideal option.

Strength training isn’t just a way of becoming stronger, but a method of dropping a few excess lbs too – for many triathletes I have worked with, their bodies become used to the three sports and they struggle to shift any excess weight, finding that the scales stagnate. Adding strength training to their routine is one stimulus which can help.

 

Winter ≠ Slow and Steady.

There was a time when winter training meant a lot of base miles. Slow and steady in winter followed by more event specific training in the spring/summer when the events were getting closer.

But times are changing now, more so because the training advice is more mainstream.

Triathlon used to be the sport for individuals with 15-20 training hours per week available to them. In this scenario, you need to keep a lot of your training “easy” otherwise you’ll be doing more harm than good.

This made sense to keep winter “easy” then build the speed up as you got closer to event day.

But fast forward to today, and I know I personally work with 5-8 triathletes who have 5-8 hours available each week for training. And half of those hours are on a Saturday and a Sunday. Leaving just 2-3 hours during the week (and some I know have even less than this).

Going “steady” in each of these sessions isn’t going to be too motivating for these people, nor will it help their performances into the next year.

There is one guarantee, if you always train slow, you won’t get any faster.

Recently the trend has moved towards keeping the intensity over the winter to avoid letting fitness drop too low. If you too are on a strict budget with the number of training hours you have available then following a plan with more intensity thrown in will likely benefit you as you training through the winter.

Winter does not mean slow and steady training, make sure you mix things up with different intensities, different focuses and perhaps different people too.

 

Set Winter Goals.

Seeing as most of us will have events in the summer or maybe as early as April, it leaves a big gap until we have that marker in our year.

It’s these markers which focus many of us into action and when they are so far away we can lose a little bit of motivation. It’s natural.

What works for myself and many triathletes I coach is to have a series of winter goals.

Goals such as:

– FTP (Functional Threshold Power) Benchmark every 6-8 weeks.

– Running event or parkrun targets, every 4-6 weeks.

– Swimming CSS Benchmark, every 4-6 weeks.

– Weekly yoga targets – can you do a certain yoga move after x weeks.

– Strength targets, either x number of times per week, of lifting x kgs.

I’ve listed some of these as Benchmarks too, as the word test suggests a pass or fail result, when really over the winter we just want to see where we are currently. The result doesn’t really matter at this point. It’s just there as a check up and to have a focal point 4-6 weeks away that you can work towards.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to winter goals – you just need to get a bit creative and work out what motivates you.

 

Dedicated to your success

The Triathlon Festival Team.

P.S. THIS WEEK we’ll be announcing the date and location of the Triathlon Festival coming to Southampton in March 2019.

To be in with a chance of winning a free ticket, pop your email address in the box at the top of this page and we’ll be announcing winners when we release the date.

Written by · Categorized: Winter Training · Tagged: cycling, ironman, running, southampton, SWIMMING, triathlete, triathlon, triathlon festival

Nov 19 2018

How to make the most of your winter turbo sessions. 

Winter is a tough time for cyclists. 

Yes, you can layer up. Whack on your waterproofs and strive to score some serious “man points” (whatever they are) through the harshest winter. 

Personally, that isn’t for me. 

Now, I love cycling. I’ve been riding for over 16 years. 

I love the outdoors. Exploring. Discovering.

I love it.

But I also do sensible. 

Riding in the winter does bring risk. Wet makes crashing more likely. Cold makes braking in an emergency more risky.

I’m certainly not anti outdoor riding either (I feel I have to make this point). 

For someone like me, who is time restricted, wants to see improvement in their riding and take part in events. I need to become more innovative with my training when winter hits. 

So today I’m going to share 7 tips on how I personally survive winter and how I use indoor training to my advantage. 

  1. Programming.

    Your program can quite literally make or break your winter.

    From experience, the number one reason for giving up is feeling like you aren’t getting anywhere. I have frequent conversations with riders about how they go out riding all the time. Clock up loads of miles, but still aren’t getting quicker.

    The reason – unfocused training.

    Now unfocused is fine if you are happy with where you are.

    Unfocused is NOT fine, if you are disappointed with yourself. If you are unhappy. Life is too short to be frustrated and angry with your progress.

    The problem with this part is for a lot of cyclists lack of knowledge on what to do. Do you focus more on short, hard intervals? Should you do longer rides? Is it about doing more hours than you did last week?

    Your starting point if you aren’t going to seek a coach for help is to get one of the following books:

     – Training and Racing with a Power Meter (Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan). This is a great book (with session ideas) for anyone who has a power meter, you don’t have to have one (but it would help) as you can just ride to your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), i.e when the book says ride above 100%, you want to be around a 7/10.

     – OR The Time Crunched Cyclist by Chris Carmichael. This book highlights how you CAN train well without adding loads of volume to your cycling plan. It’s just a case of making sure your training sessions count (this book also has various plans to get you started too).

  2. Netflix (or any other distraction)

    Indoor training can be dull on your own.

    I’ve tended to use something like Netflix for helping get me through a session. Something with a half decent storyline but not so engaging you have to concentrate too hard (as some of those tough intervals makes following stories quite tough).

    You can also use something like Zwift, I’ve used this in the past, but find with other people riding at the same time, if you aren’t following a structured workout it can get a bit too competitive following other groups on the ride! I find it hard to switch off my competitive spirit.

    Another recent discover is FulGaz, it does need a smart turbo to get the full effect, but in this app you can literally ride anywhere in the world (providing someone has filmed a route and uploaded it).

    Want to take on Alpe D’Huez, it’s in there.

    Want to ride the Ironman Kona course, that’s in there too!

    Taking your mind away from the pain, or at least looking at anything other than your wall is a great way to boost your motivation.

  3. Comfort

    Being comfortable is high on my list. I hear riders talk about buying cheap shorts to ride in. This is one way to fail straight off the bat.

    You want to be the most comfortable you can be. Sitting indoors on a trainer is static, there’s barely any movement laterally as you pedal, unlike riding outside where the bike (and your bum) will move a little.

    Prioritising comfort is key, a good saddle, a good pair of shorts, in fact, ensuring your bike set up is the same (or as close as possible) to the bike you ride outside is an overlooked area to ensure comfort.

    Do this and you’re well on the way to a comfortable session.

    Meaning you’ll do it more.

    Trust me, I used to take spin classes in awful cycling shorts. The useless saddles they come with were enough to make me numb “down there” within minutes.

    Get comfy, get a good saddle, good pair of shorts and the winter won’t seem so bad.

    Theres another area you simply can’t skimp on either, and thats a good fan. Spend well in this department and it’ll make your rides a breeze…

    I’ll get my coat…

  4. Progress

    If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it is one famous saying.

    Measurements are just one way to track progress and boost motivation.

    Indoors I’d recommend starting with an FTP (Functional Threshold Power) Test. Usually a 20 minute effort to gain the best average power or if you don’t ride with a power meter then you can use the same test to work out your threshold Heart Rate (HR).

    Simply warm up for 5-10 minutes.
    Then ride for 20 minutes hard, recording your heart rate, power or speed (or you can record them all). Note down your averages and every 8-12 weeks repeat the same test and monitor progress.

    As I say to a lot of riders, these tests aren’t make or break. They are merely benchmarks for the coming weeks. Whether you go up or down, it doesn’t matter.

  5. Rewards

    I love a reward.

    A goody bag at the end of an event. A coffee on a long ride. A good slice of cake.

    Rewards are perfect for boosting your motivation riding indoors too. Just because it’s wet and cold outside and you are on the turbo doesn’t mean you should miss out on your coffee and cake. Just save it for the end but only if you hit your target duration.

    Obviously the biggest reward will be after sticking to your plan for 6-8 weeks when you’ll feel stronger and faster out on the road.

    This falls into your long term reward, but of course if you are creative you can create your own short term rewards too.

  6. Social/Accountable

    Do you have a core cycling group that you ride with?

    Perhaps a spouse that rides too?

    Someone who you can either work closely with or discuss your weekly routine to help keep you on track.

    I know when I’m dreading a certain session I’ll let someone else know that I am doing it.

    Just verbalising it is enough to start to cement it in my mind. But I also think about what I’d say if I didn’t do it when I spoke to them next. I would hate it, and this goes a long way to ensuring that I complete it!

  7. Fuelling/Hydration.

    Treating your indoor sessions as hard indoor training sessions sounds obvious, but when it comes to it, so many riders I talk to just fuel their tough efforts on just water and oxygen.

    Before my intense sessions on the turbo trainer I’ll make sure I take on a gel or energy drink to ensure I am

    a) testing that my stomach can handle taking that product on board when I am working hard and

    b) giving myself some fuel to make sure that I don’t fall off the bike and unable to function for the rest of the day (especially important if you are going to work or spending quality time with the family after your session).

    Just think, if you’ve done a morning session and heading to work afterwards but you are in a huge calorie negative before you start, you probably aren’t going to function that well and the boss might have something to say. Taking on some energy during that session might not give you Stephen Hawkins level of intelligence, but it might stop you falling asleep at the desk by midday.

Have you got any other tips you’d like to add to get the most out of your indoor rides over the winter?

Comment below to let us know.  

Written by · Categorized: Training Tips - Cycling · Tagged: cycling, indoor cycling, triathlete, triathlon festival

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