Keeping fitness during winter

Hi,

Got myself to a stage fitness wise where I am doing 50-60 mile road rides each week but know that I wont be able to get as much over the coming months which will inevitably lead to a drop in fitness. Last year I just did turbo sessions from about November through to April and struggled on 30 mile loops.

So, how do I keep that level of fitness up through the winter months – I’m not a big fan of riding in the rain (off road is not really going to happen due to distance from trails) but am happy to go out in chilly weather (not ice though – broken hip last time I did that) but not 50-60 miles. Any turbo recommendations?

Cheers.

It doesn’t actually rain properly that often, even in winter – and I live in Cardiff which is a pretty wet city. Just toughen up and get out there.

This is not a summer-only sport! I reckon if you planned a long ride every weekend, and agreed with yourself that you wouldn’t go out in the rain, you’d probably only miss one in five. That’d be plenty to be going on with.

Light showers don’t count as rain.

Yeah – use trainerroad as it offers a lot of structure and, for me at least, ensures I remain interested and motivated enough to continue to use it. I’ve got two young kids and it’s helped keep me ticking over as I’ve not been able to ride as much outside. There’s a big thread on here with all the info you need.

Put guards on, buy lights, make time.

It is well worth investing in some proper decent winter riding gear, although it does take a few years to get a collection that covers everything but the very worst, which is when the turbo comes out.

Trainerroad kept me occupied for one winter, but the boredom does still kick in if you use it too much IMO, I wish I had used it more sparingly.

When I used to cycle properly I found that I did a lot more miles in winter as there was less to do around the house, lawns to mow, socials to go to etc.

Get some decent cloths, overshoes (or winter boots) and some decent lights – and most of all a routine and a riding partner who will badger you to go out is useful!

A couple of fast 30 miles rides on a week night will keep your fitness up. And a long one at weekends when you get time.

Back roads, some winter clothing, weekend daytime rides. 60 miles is still less than 4 hrs and if done over midday its light throughout. If temp is below 4 degrees and there is ice risk I don’t road ride though. MTB is normally wed nights and sun morn throughout unless proper heavy rain. Velodrome is only a 25 min drive for me too, which is good for an hr on a wet Sat afternoon, but getting booked is like hens teeth..

Set yourself some targets, I’ve been using the monthly Strava climbing challenges this year to get me out riding.

off road is not really going to happen due to distance from trails

How far? Is there nothing close by?

I do less miles in winter as only ride Saturday and Sunday morning but enough to keep a good level of fitness so come March I am only very slightly lower than the previous September and by April/May back to same.

I am riding through winter because I like riding and the cold weather doesn’t stop me – the maintaining of fitness is secondary to me.
Also don’t ride when icy as the last two falls I have had have been because of ice.

Last year I used trainerroad doing a couple of 1 hour sessions during the week and a saturday morning 2 hour session if the weather was due to be bad over the weekend.

Buy a coat and some winter bib shorts

Rule 5?

Stop being so soft, get some winter kit and get out there. Once you’re out the door its fine and you get to brag about how hard you are. One big ride at the weekend and some turbo sessions through the week and you’ll end the winter fitter rather than losing it.

I cycle my 15-mile round trip to work, usually 3 times per week once national travel and WFH are thrown in. Having gone down to one family car, I just don’t allow myself to drive to work (unless I’m properly ill) – so that’s my way of maintaining a base fitness level all year round.

The n+1 way around this would be to “invest” in an all-round bike with mudguards, discs, rack etc. I use my Cotic Escapade to do all my riding apart from MTB’ing.

turbo, gym and trail when its not raining, same for road

I found once I had bought a pair of spesh defroster boots and single track trousers I was fine for wet trails. Boots come in handy on the road to keeping me warm and dry.

from Dec to march last year I only rarely went on the road and kept up 200km per week average

And rule #9 Spin

A weekly Zumba class at your local gym should keep you in shape.

OP, I use the Winter months as a good opportunity to get back into circuit training, Insanity and stuff like that a bit more. I find it gives the body a good wake up call after a lot of cycling. I’m toying with the idea of HIT as well this year by way of a change.

I’ve just rejoined the gym today, will be back on the rowing machine a bit for winter. Been pretty slack over the last year all-round really.. So a bit of a kick up the back-side.

Twice weekly interval classes should see you through. I used to do these but they ended up aggravating my knee injuries so am thinking of joining a spinning class with all the ladies that lunch.

Don’t hibernate with your turbo! Just try and keep riding through it, it’s often not as bad/wet/cold as you think. With the right clothing and prep’d bike it’s fine. I find I ride slightly more in winter because there’s more time due to fewer other commitments, and road riding more when trail conditions are poor. I find it quite enjoyable getting out in winter, and it’s a lot quieter on the roads too.

edit – also worth mixing in swimming sessions too, good bit of cross training and it’s warm!

Riding in winter is so much easier down the lanes cos you can see the headlights coming.

Just MTFU and keep getting out there, as long as you’re not cold it’ll be fine.

Like most things it’s a lot easier once you have a routine set up,then it just becomes part of your week.
Have the turbo set up for can’t be arsed bad weather back up.
It also helps if you have mates that will annoy you with txts if you miss a night ride.

Like most things it’s a lot easier once you have a routine set up,then it just becomes part of your week.
Have the turbo set up for can’t be arsed bad weather back up.

This. I find the hardest part is getting out of the house, but once I’ve ridden for 15 mins I’m good for the rest of the day.

Go out still and mix it up with some core work and TrainerRoad for when its really sh!tty weather.

If you really look and see how often it is THAT wet you will see its not that often.

Get some decent winter gear and you will love it. Its the motivation to get out that people seem to lack. Once you’re out you will love it.

Another option is to go running. Try XC running or fell running. An hour of that is probably similar to a 2-3 ride.

Last winter i had a ‘Puffer entry which was motivation enough to get out in the evenings and ride up the highest hills locally. With a pregnant missus i rode on new year’s eve to the top of a hill where i watched fireworks all over Edinburgh , fife and lothians. You can make it interesting for yourself.

EDIT: i didn’t ride with the missus, she was in bed by 10 which gave me an excuse to go ride.

Like most things it’s a lot easier once you have a routine set up,then it just becomes part of your week.

This +1, join a cycling club, they’ll do 40-60miles most Sundays over winter. And it’s usually at 9am so you’ll be back for lunch.

This. I find the hardest part is getting out of the house, but once I’ve ridden for 15 mins I’m good for the rest of the day.

I make a deal with myself. If I don’t want to go out for a ride I’ll only force myself to ride to a cafe about 5 miles away, if I still want to stop by that point I can have a pot of coffee, some food and read the paper, then ride back again and have a good morning out of it. If I’m in the mood by the time I get there then I can crack on for the next couple of hours.

Surprising how rarely I stopped. The important bit is to not have bad rides. If you don’t enjoy it you won’t go out next time, 10 miles a pot of coffee and the paper is still more than a lot of people manage on a Sunday morning!

Also be organised, have a pile of cycling kit ready to go in the cupboard which removes the prep time from the equation. If you can get ready easily then it seems like less of a chore than hunting round the house for a specific jersey you like, or those merino socks or your favorite gloves. If I can get dressed quickly, then that’s half the motivational battle done and I’m in the right frame of mind.

Have you thought about track cycling? There are indoor velodromes in Derby, Glasgow, Manchester, Newport and London. Failing that one of the outdoor ones are also great fun, but the racing tends to happen more in the summer and it’s not always possible to ride them in the wet (!)

I think the thing that a lot of people can find difficult at first, is moving things to accommodate your cycling rather than moving your cycling times to suit everything else.
It’s like this evening (Tuesdays) is set aside for night riding.
All the family and friends now know and accept that this is what happens,so things get organized to suit.
It’s not set in stone, but I rarely book up ,or agree to do anything on a Tuesday night.
The same goes for commuting miles,once you fit it in,it becomes a habit and a lot easier.

The last few years I’ve refused to acknowledge the onset of winter and after a good summer/autumn I’ve ridden at full speed into November and December. Just tell yourself nothing has changed and carry on. Psychologically I think a lot of it is refusing to kit up like an astronaut or a polar explorer and just use your favourite kit with some decent base layers/insulation. Ride like it’s still summer and avoid any bike accessories that are winter-specfic e.g fricken mudguards.

This momentum from this approach usually carries me through to late January/early February when I have a 2/3 week break from bikes and riding, then I’m hungry to start again with the worst of winter behind me.

I very much of the get some guards and specific kit and just get out and ride. As Molgrips said early it actually does not rain that much over the winter really (I mean proper rain that would make the ride unbearable).

Having said that I rode/swam in today in pretty heavy rain and loved it so I might be biased!

Fitness is massively overrated. Just find a local pub with a nice selection of ale and crisps, and a log burner, and that the winter sorted. See you in spring! 😀

Here’s a photo of Binners getting his heating ready for Winter 😛

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
😆 😆 😆

November and December are usually fine (2010 was a horror though) – late January and February are the proper winter months, sometimes

did a 30km either way commute at 5am/9pm 2/3 times a week last winter, with riding in between,

just get on with it 😀

Monday – Rest
Tuesday- Run 5k 30m
Wednesday – Rest
Thu – Turbo Intervals 1h
Fri- Strength Exercises 1h
Sat – Club ride 3h
Sun – Social ride. 2h

Drop one of the weekend rides if toyr not feeling the love .

The last few years I’ve refused to acknowledge the onset of winter and after a good summer/autumn I’ve ridden at full speed into November and December. Just tell yourself nothing has changed and carry on. Psychologically I think a lot of it is refusing to kit up like an astronaut or a polar explorer and just use your favourite kit with some decent base layers/insulation. Ride like it’s still summer and avoid any bike accessories that are winter-specfic e.g fricken mudguards.

This momentum from this approach usually carries me through to late January/early February when I have a 2/3 week break from bikes and riding, then I’m hungry to start again with the worst of winter behind me.

I agree, although:
Base layer
Roubaix tights
Winter jersey
Winter gloves
Buff
Winter boots
Winter tyres

Is hardly overdoing it. And makes sub zero night rides almost pleasant.

Just moved house, now the twice-weekly night ride is a good 35min drive away, and that’s tipped it past the 1:1 ride time to drive/faff time ratio 🙁 Thinking that I might try and get fit and join the fast group, it wouldn’t seem so bad if I was at least getting a 20mile ride in for 20miles driving but for a 10-12mile bumble it’s too far however good the trails/company .

There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing!

Think about what the barrier is to going out and do something about it if you actually want to ride. Cold, wet hands? Get the right gloves. Bike gets mucky and you live in a flat? Buy/ make a portable washer to have it done in seconds. No motivation? Join a group.

Winter riding is awesome and there’s lots of ways to make it fun if you really want to. Binners offer is tempting though 😉