Winter is the hardest time of the year for my cycling training, especially during the holidays because #1 you can't ride, #2 too much food, and #3 you can't ride! So, it's the cruelest season for a cyclist. To survive it, it's time to spend time to do some cross-training and preparation. Cross-training provides a break from riding a bike while building cardiovascular fitness. Such as hiking, running, xc skiing, snowshoeing, swim, and weights. I always definitely do weight lifting but I should include an aerobic exercise. Strength training means greater endurance by strengthening slow-twitch muscles which may raise the lactate threshold. Also injury prevention is another reason. For a mountain biker, function, not form, is the goal so I do high repetitions with low weight. I especially do the legs by doing squats, step ups, and hamstring curls then do upper body workouts like lateral pulldown, standing row, seated row, and bench presses. Core workouts is a must for a cyclist because that's where you get most of your strength on pedaling a bike. Every year I start lifting weights in November by using really light weight for a month then December and January is reserved for heavier loads. I like to lift for the whole body workout twice a week then ride the indoor trainer once a week and xc ski on the weekend. On the indoor stationary trainer, I really ride because you can't really get as a good workout as you get outside on a real ride. So, I go hard that I constantly sweat hard like sweat pooring like Lance Armstrong climbing on the L'alpe De Huez climb in the Tour de France. To go that hard, I can get my heart rate up to 75-85% of max. During the weekend xc skiing is a lot of fun to get me some aerobic exercise(about 80-85% of max). I try to save all the anerobic exercise(90-95% of max) for the racing season. I spent the last two weeks xc skiing like 4 times a week and took a break from weight lifting. Then in January, I get back on weights for another month, then I will be ready to ride outside on the bike to train for the races in spring.My winter training: Monday: weights
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: indoor cycling
Thursday: weights
Friday: off
Saturday: xc skiing
Sunday: off
