By Fred Matheny
The biggest danger in the off-season isn’t loss of fitness, it’s the risk of overtraining brought on by the fear of losing fitness. Riders who are upgrading their racing category are especially at risk. They imagine how hard the next level will be and overcompensate by training hard. They cook themselves before the season even starts. “Flying in February, fried in July” is a real danger.
It’s normal to worry about losing your edge during the fall and winter. That’s a long time to go without racing, doing hard group rides or completing centuries. Riders get obsessed with whether they’re losing anaerobic power, time trialing ability and punch in the sprint.But they also recognize the need for an aerobic base and increased strength from the weight room. And no matter how dedicated you are to the bike, cross-training provides a much-needed break from putting in the miles.
The best solution for adequate rest as well as training in winter? A long-range program designed both to take you to next spring with a solid base and also to put your mind at ease about your fitness. I outline such a plan in my RBR eBooks Off-Season Training for Roadies and Spring Training for Roadies.
Other coaches have approaches that differ a little or a lot from mine, but the important factor is whether you believe in the approach you’re undertaking. Once you make that leap of faith and commit to a schedule, follow it and relax. You’ll be flying next spring and summer when you want to be good on the bike.
For the vast majority of us (not those looking to upgrade racing categories but simply wanting to be able to enjoy long distances or hang with a local group ride) winter can be a great time to build part of that lifetime aerobic base that is a key part of being “a cyclist.” Add to this the FACT that a lot of us can stand to build the basic cycling skill of smooth, steady, straight riding and the obvious answer for a lot of people is to get a set of rollers. I’m always amazed at how many riders have the wibbly-wobblies as they ride down the road. If your pedaling style lacks soupless, the rollers will point that out right away.