Interesting article about winter bicycle training.
Lots of good information on the RacerX Virtual Trainer website.
They offer both free comments and individualized premium programs.
http://www.racerxvt.com/
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This article comes to you from our friends at TrainingPeaks.com. Training Peaks provides the complete web, mobile and desktop solution for enabling smart and effective endurance training. Training Peaks solutions are used by Tour de France teams, Ironman World Champions, Olympians, and age group athletes and coaches around the world to track, analyze and plan their training. It is also what we use at Virtual Trainer to administer our premium training plans. They also have great articles. And while they are written specifically for endurance athletes they are easily adapted for the motocross athlete. This is one such article. - Virtual Trainer
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Author: Chris Carmichael, CEO/Head Coach of CTS
When it’s cold outside there’s always a question about whether to go out or stay in. Here are some tips to help you with your “in-or-out” decision, and a great and quick workout you can do outdoors on a cold day.
Cold Day Outdoor Workout
When it’s cold out and I still want to do an interval workout outside, I stay close to home and focus on short, hard uphill intervals. Why? Hill Sprints are slower than Power Intervals or sprints on flat ground, so you don’t get as chilled from the speed. They’re max-intensity efforts, so they generate plenty of lactate – the stimulus I’m after – and plenty of heat. And since the hill is short, the descent is quick so you don’t freeze (like you sometimes do descending from long Climbing Repeat intervals on a cold day).
The workout I like to do is 10x90 seconds Hill Sprints. Find a steep hill (6% grade or more, preferably) you can climb in about 90-seconds. Start accelerating about 100 meters before the pitch steepens and use your shifting to stay on top of the gear (don’t bog down). You can stand or sit; I like to start out standing and then sit about halfway through. The recovery should be at least 90 seconds, but can be longer if it takes longer to circle back to the base of the hill. For me, it takes about 3-minutes to get to the base of the hill, so I’m doing 10x90 seconds with 3-minute recovery between intervals.
Are you like these guys who has to make the best of a bad weather situation......
Inside or outside?
There are a few questions you need to ask yourself when deciding whether to venture out for a ride on a cold day:
How cold is it outside?
Temperature isn’t everything, but it’s a good place to start. There are some people who ride no matter what the temperature but I’m not one of them. My minimum is about 30-degrees; below that I feel like I’m going through the motions but that I could get more high-quality work done indoors. Your minimum temperature might be higher or lower than mine, but I’d encourage you to consider your effectiveness on the bike (as well as your safety) when establishing your minimum.
How are the conditions, aside from the temperature?
In Colorado, when it’s sunny and calm, you can ride comfortably at 30 degrees. However, 30 degrees, cloud cover, and a 20mph wind gets cold and miserable quickly. In areas where the humidity is higher (ours percentage is in the teens), like the East Coast, a 30-degree day feels colder – even if it’s sunny – than 30 degrees in a drier climate.
Will it get warmer or colder while you’re out there?
A cold start can turn into a nice ride if the air temperature increases as your working out. This is especially true if you’re going out for an interval workout, because you’ll work up a sweat during the intervals and be riding home at a lighter intensity level. Cruising home while the temperatures are plummeting (late afternoon, incoming cold front, etc.) isn’t the end of the world, but it’s not great either. If temperatures are going to fall, be sure you’re carrying additional layers (preferably wind resistant) to put on. Remember, too, that you get hot in a tailwind and cold in a headwind. Plan your route with this in mind. Going home in a tailwind as the air temperature is falling would be more comfortable than going home into a cold headwind as the sun is going down.
Do you have the right gear for the conditions?
If you don’t have the gear for cold rides, do yourself a favor and ride inside. You’ll be more effective on the bike, more comfortable, and you won’t get yourself in trouble with either hypothermia or frostbite. If you’re going to ride outdoors, invest in high-quality gear. It’s expensive, but you only wear it for a portion of the year so it lasts for several seasons at least and it makes winter training much easier.
.....or are you like these riders who get to enjoy nice weather year around.
Photo: Aldon Baker Instagram (
Aldon104)
What’s your goal for the day?
If your goal is to go out for a moderate-intensity endurance ride, then going out on a cold day can be great. You might not have as much “spring in your step” as you might on a warmer day, but you’ll stay warm and you don’t have to worry about the power or pace very much. If you have a very specific interval workout planned, I often recommend doing it indoors when it’s bitterly cold outside. The results are typically better. Now, if you’re racing cyclocross or preparing for an event that’s going to be cold, then you have to get out there and do race-pace efforts in the cold. But if you’re going to be racing in the summer, you’re better off completing higher-quality intervals indoors compared to mediocre ones outside on a 25-degree afternoon.
Keep Warm!
Chris Carmichael
CEO/Head Coach of CTS
That's it for now, until next time, good luck with your training and remember, if you have a question, log on to the Virtual Trainer Expert Forum and have your question answered by a panel of experts. In addition, be sure and check out the Racer X Virtual Trainer archive section. Your complete one-stop information zone for motocross fitness. 
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is how to improve speed and endurance on the bike and my answer is always "drop some body fat". When you carry around unwanted body fat, your muscles have to work harder to complete the same amount of work. Fat insulates your body which makes you over-heat, another energy robbing component to your riding and racing. When you decrease your body fat, you immediately improve your VO2 Max number (a sports science number that dictates your ability to utilize oxygen, the higher the number, the better). Here are four simple steps to decreasing your body fat.
