Out of Season
Winter is coming. Suddenly, the 10, 12, or 15 hours per week you spent on your bike are reduced to 3 or 4 hours of intense exercise.
This is obviously an excellent way to stay in shape. But in order to maintain balance, you should also plan some sports activities that replicate your rides a lower intensity or complement your training with more intense intervals.
Volume on the roller
In terms of specialization, adding saddle time in zone 2 can pay off, provided you put in the hours. Because to reap the benefits of rides , it's important to go the distance in order to improve your fitness. To get real benefits, you ideally need to put in long hours. If you have iron willpower, you can do it on the roller. But you also risk getting discouraged and neglecting your important training sessions.
Cross-country skiing
To add variety, go on long rides, enjoy the fresh air, work other muscle groups, and improve your core strength,cross-country skiing is the perfect choice. Be careful not to overdo it so you don't tire yourself out before your specific cycling workouts. But it's often more enjoyable to swap three hours of low-intensity roller training for a Ride in the fresh air. You'll add volume to your overall training, work on your proprioception, and find a reason to rejoice when it snows.
Running and walking
Be careful. Running is indeed a very good winter sport. But if you do it too intensely, especially the day before a bike training session, you could affect your fitness and therefore your ability to give your all on the bike. It all depends on your goals (maintaining your overall fitness or achieving specific performance gains). On the other hand, a Ride over a long period of time is an excellent recovery activity. What's more, for cyclists, it's an impact sport that's beneficial for bone density. Finally, don't neglect walking. Running errands on foot or walking to work are excellent ways to increase your calorie expenditure while getting some fresh air and without overexerting yourself.
Strength training and toning
Deadlifts, lunges, Pilates, plyometrics: these are just a few more ways to take advantage of winter to step up your game. Once considered harmful, weight training is now part of most pros' winter training regimen. It increases power and resistance to muscle fatigue, while also toning neglected parts of the body. Plyometrics adds explosive movements (such as jumps) to simple weight training. Pilates (or yoga) improves core strength and a series of muscles that are essential for posture during long and grueling rides . Just don't overdo it and make sure to tailor these activities to your training plan.