cycling

Winter cyclist preparation

By Dr. Nicola Sacchi - Author of the book: Drugs and doping in sport -

At the beginning of autumn the cyclist's season is winding down. The last few days allow you to still enjoy some good time. But this does not mean that it is time to rest on our laurels, indeed, now it is important to consider how to prepare for the new year. A provident athlete knows that winter, if used appropriately with indoor activities, allows you to start the next season in a better physical condition than the one at the end of the previous season.

To do this, however, it is important to plan methodically a sequence of training protocols aimed at achieving this result.

At the base of an athletic preparation there is a careful analysis of the sport in question.

Indeed, cycling is part of long-term cyclic sports. These sports are characterized by a cyclical action that lasts for a long time, in this case pedaling.

The cyclist intensively engages the muscles of the lower limbs, which must push the pedals for times longer than an hour at speeds that average around 80/90 are pedaled per minute; therefore, we talk about an average of 80 contractions and muscle relaxations per minute, for the entire duration of the bike excursion. In particular, it is precisely the oxidative capacities of the muscles of the lower limbs that are involved in this sport; consequently, these capabilities must be more conditioned to improve performance.

The upper part of the body is instead subjected to almost isometric work to maintain the position on the bike, so it is also important to carry out strengthening work, especially of lumbar and deltoids, without going to stimulate muscular hypertrophy, which would involve a greater load during the performance.

Obviously, the most important job to do in the gym remains cardiovascular conditioning, cycling being an endurance sport.

In the light of this analysis it is possible to define a series of athletic qualities to be trained specifically during the winter preparation:

Cardiovascular training: serves to improve oxygen transport and use systems, through short, medium and long variable sessions (30, 60, 90 and more minutes); this training can also be done using tools other than bikes, such as a treadmill, a stepper or a rowing machine. Obviously the heart rate must be within the aerobic range, but it is possible and useful for the athlete to vary it in multiple ways.

Resistant force on the legs: it serves to improve the athletic gesture characteristic of this discipline, allowing to maintain the expression of strength for prolonged periods and improving the capacity of disposal of the metabolites produced during muscular work. Training with overloads for muscle strengthening is essential to achieve this goal; that's why training in a gym during the winter is certainly convenient for any cyclist who aims to get the most out of their body.

The resistant force trains with series that include from 20 repetitions upwards; eventually you can use supersets, circuits, giant sets and time working to train this athletic quality; obviously using specific exercises for the lower part of the body.

Bland strengthening of the upper part of the body: it serves to maintain the position on the bike, to be better cared for by those who practice mountain biking, given that dirt roads involve repercussions that are absorbed even with the help of the arms. It is however useful that this type of training is also carried out without seeking muscle hypertrophy, which would only be ballast for the cyclist; so it is obvious that the classic muscular training programs are not suitable for these athletes; rather, specific work is needed.

Specific training on bikes: it allows to transfer to the specific athletic gesture the conditionings obtained. This type of training is obtained by setting characteristic routes such as climbs on a cyclette or spin bike, using high resistance, lactate threshold training, free training, standing gaits and training at high speed with low resistance. Even a spinning lesson can be useful to achieve this and it is probably even more fun than a preset route.

The winter athletic preparation of the cyclist must be articulated on the improvement of these athletic qualities. All these physical abilities can be effectively trained in any fitness center; the important thing is that the work done is aimed at training the athlete in order to improve the aforementioned skills.

A good workout this season can allow the cyclist to resume outdoor activity in spring with a better physical condition than the previous year; therefore it is important to make the most of the cold months, enrolling in the gym and working specifically to achieve this result. An athlete is aware of the fact that he must make the most of his time to get results and therefore he will also devote himself to winter athletic training.

A rational planning should consider 3 or 4 different training steps, or 3 or 4 protocols with progressively increasing intensity, to be used during the months of training in the gym. Each protocol must have specific objectives and specific work methods, which must be evaluated based on the physical condition of the athlete, his greatest needs and his experience in indoor training.