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Planning Your Off-season Training

Planning your own training is a daunting task. There are as many approaches as there are books on the subject, and for off-season training (which starts with your foundation period) there are many tried-and-true methods.

One school of thought promotes strength training with free weights and machines. Another advocates "functional" workouts on the bike. Regardless of which you choose, understanding the concept of periodization will facilitate your off-season training.

Originally developed by Eastern European sports scientists and implemented across a wide range of sports, periodization is a common technique for scheduling training using a variety of training intensities, exercises and volume. Traditionally, you move from high- volume/low-intensity training to high-intensity/low-volume training to maximize your body's ability to adapt to exercise stress. For example, at the high-volume/low-intensity end, you would ride three hours in HR Zone 2-3; at the high-intensity/low-volume end, you would do sets of six-minute LT intervals. Periodization also takes you from general to specific work as the season or a goal race nears. In an off-season example, work in the weight room would give way to strength intervals on the bike. In-season, lactate threshold intervals would give way to climbing intervals.

The key components of road racing are aerobic endurance and muscular endurance. In the foundation period, you should work to maintain the aerobic endurance you developed over the previous season as well as work to improve your muscular endurance. In other words, you need to do both. The limiting factor is your available hours to train.

Through December, long, slow rides in HR Zones 2-3 for three hours are enough for master racers and racers below Cat 1 & 2 to maintain and develop aerobic endurance. (During those long miles in the saddle is a good time to re-visit fundamentals such as cadence, pedal stroke and body position, so break up the miles with some drills to help you regain lost mechanics.) That's the aerobic-endurance part of your training. Add to it on-bike training for muscular endurance, and there wouldn't be enough daylight hours and dependable weather for all the riding you'd need to do. Consequently, most of us do our muscular-endurance training indoors. Here is where a division occurs between those who hit the stationary trainers for on-bike strength training and those who hit the gym.

While there is debate about the efficacy of weight training vs. on-bike strength training, there is no doubt weight training is effective - and there are a variety of methods to use, including pilates, free weights and weight machines. Here are several key points to remember:

Lift like a cyclist, not like a football player. In other words, you are looking to develop muscular endurance, not size, so do more sets with lighter weights.

Weight-bearing exercises have a far different impact on your muscles, tendons and ligaments than does cycling. While your cycling legs can produce power for miles and miles on the bike, don't be surprised by how little you can initially lift with your legs. Also expect a lot of soreness your first week of lifting.

Perform multi-joint exercises as well as single-joint exercises. Multi-joint exercises such as squats utilize muscles other than just the quads, while single-joint exercises such as single-leg extensions isolate the muscle.

Alter your training in the gym just as you do on the bike. Use periodization for this component of your training as well: Start with higher volume/lower intensity and progress to lower volume/higher intensity with weights.

Make sure you're doing the exercises correctly. If you're new to the gym, spend some money on a personal trainer who can help you perfect your technique.

If you're planning to do on-bike strength training, there are a variety of intervals you can perform. While many coaches swear by a particular formula of strength and power intervals, the key is sticking to a plan and alternating various intervals. Drop me an e-mail, and I'll send you some from my tool box. One of the challenges is the repetitiveness of intervals after a long season on the bike. If you're indoors, utilize a variety of distractions (visual and audio), and use a fan to keep cool.

Finally, the foundation period is a time to renew your body and mind. The concentrated focus of strength training is a great way to do just that.

Jonathan Siegel, Director of Coaching
JDS Sportcoaching, LLC

Jonathan Siegel, CSCS, is an RRCA-certified running coach and certified cycling coach. If you have training questions or comments or are interested in a lactate test, contact JDS Sportcoaching,LLC.