The winter training program is soon ready for download. I know it is a little late, but before I publish it, I would like you to consider the following aspects of your winter training. This will help you understand how important it is to customize the upcoming winter training program. It also explains why it is impossible to make general training programs that suit everybody.
The winter training program should be 100% ready to use, and I think it is an excellent option for serious cyclists who haven’t got a personal coach. But to get the best out of the program, I will strongly recommend that you customize it to your fit. Therefore, if you consider downloading a free winter training program here on Training4cyclists.com, you shall have an opinion on the following aspects to get the best out of the program:
Planning: Which days are your favourite days for long training sessions? By default, I have chosen Sunday to be the day with the longest rides, but that is not sure your No. 1 choice.
Strength Training: Is it possible for you to visit a gym regularly? Does your gym have the necessary facilities for strength training with free weights? Does your gym have an instructor who can help you with the technical part, for example, squat, or do you already have considerable experience with all the exercises? Are there exercises that should be exchanged with other activities for some reason?
Bike Training: Will you ride alone, in a group or in a combination? How will you plan the prescribed intervals so you can both have fun with your friends and still follow the training protocol?
Monitoring: Heart rate monitors, watches and regular cycle computers are affordable for all cyclists. Power meters are expensive but can be extremely valuable for ambitious cyclists. You probably already use either a heart rate monitor or power meter, so it is natural to consider these tools when you plan your winter training.
Physical tests: Tracking your progress through physical tests is essential for a serious training program. Tests are not supposed to be expensive with blood samples, power output, heart rate data and oxygen consumption, but can be as simple as a time trial on standardized circumstances using a stopwatch (e.g. indoor cycling or outdoor hill climb). Test results shall be used to track progress and modify the training program.
Hi Jesper
How can I download the program?
Oh, I just read again… It is not available yet! Sorry and thanks!
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Hi
When you talk about high, low, very high intensity, what kind of levels would you expect, based on % of threshold power?
Many thanks
Ian,
Just to make clear, why there are no objective recommendations about target zones:
When I designed the program I decided to not use percentages for heart rate or power output but instead use the subjective terms low, high, very high etc. This decision makes the program more flexible because people have the option to make the program fit into their regular way of calculating power outputs (or heart rates). Percentage of threshold power is one way to calculate your power output, but other people use different methods. Also there is the possibility to ride the program without a heart rate monitor or power meter.
Thus, you are the one to decide how hard, hard should be. It doesn’t have to be maximum performance each and every interval day, but interval days should be the toughest days in the week.
Jesper
Hi, Can you be more specific about the physical tests? Do you mean go all out to detemine a max heart rate? Or, just a timed event to judge progress by?
Thanks in advance,
Mark
Hi, Can you expand a little bit more on on how to do the powersprints. More specifically, the program says to start from a slow speed and then accelerate to a full sprint, at this point how long should the full sprint be held for before starting recovery
Thanks
I am 42 and a newcomer to triathlon. I own a heart rate monitor but no power meter. As the weather has been really bad (in Portugal) i bought an indoor bike trainer with a gel roller and downloaded your free winter program. Can you help me costumizing the program? I don’t exactly know what “threshold power” and “VO2Max” really are… Anyway, I have been using my HR monitor for more than 2 years and are quite aware of my body and its capabilities…
Thanks in advance for any help!