A good winter training programme tailored to your next seasons goals, lays the foundation for improvement and success. Your programme will integrate winter riding with, training on a turbo and important off the bike strength, core and flexibility training. You will learn how use your available time to achieve the best training effect.

What you get:

Agreement and understanding of your goal – During a introductory discussion your goal(s) will be identified. Then just as important the profile for your event will be considered against your existing cycling profile. This will mean looking at your cycling strengths and weakness and looking at how these can be worked on during those dark winter months.

Assessment – Functional Threshold Test (FTP) on wattbike with Lactic Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR). This is 2-3 hour session during which you complete a structured warm-up, a 30 minute test and warm down.

The results from the assessment provide your FTP and LTHR and from these your training and race zones are calculated. Time is taken to explain how you can use these zones.

Using Training Peaks – Training Peaks is the athlete and coaching software used to plan, set, evaluate training and measure performance improvements. Your performance data is retained on a secure and confidential server and can be accesses after any coaching agreement has ended as it remains your data and you control access. Even if you change coaches they will be able to use your historical data.

Training peaks offers cyclists the chance to see specific improvements in given power zones from 5 secs to 1 min through to 120 mins. It also measures fitness and fatigue levels which are important as races or key events approach. You will be able to measure your improvements in fitness and performances.

Concepts such Normalised Power (NP), Efficiency Factor (EF), Variability Index (VI), Training Stress Score (TSS) and Intensity Factor (IF)will be explained relevant to your own goal and indeed to your age. Older cyclists need to use these metrics to ensure sufficient recovery between hard training sessions to maximise benefits.

Help will be provided to ensure your training data can be loaded automatically from your bike computer.

Core, Strength and Flexibility

Most cyclists these days incorporate core, strength and flexibility exercises into their training programmes. Again these have to be specific to the targeted event. For instance, in time trialling there is a need to adapt your leg and glute muscles to deliver power when in a low aero position.

Such off the bike programmes need to be progressive so you can make the desired improvements. For as little as 40 mins twice a week this is possible with the right exercises.

Making best use of your Indoor Trainer

Indoor trainers and static bikes like Wattbikes, can be an excellent way to supplement your winter training. Like other training though, you need to get this right to gain the maximum benefits from it your event. Simply putting in time or doing your favourite set each week or racing on  will not achieve this.  A progressive indoor programme can be integrated with your road riding a strength work.

 

 

Training Plan – A training plan will be discussed and agreed with you that reflects your training time available, your events, current level of fitness, other commitments and key event dates. The plan will be progressive but will include sufficient recovery to ensure increases in fitness and performance are sustainable. The initial plan will cover 12 weeks and include a variety of sessions tailored towards your needs, using the assessment. Your long term well-being is of the utmost importance to us, which means we will ensure you have the foundation for long term enjoyment of your sport and maybe continue your journey with us into the future.

 

Contact with Coach – You are not on your own, during the first 4 weeks, contact will be weekly via phone calls. Time will be taken to talk through key individual sessions, the overall plan and any events. There will be a focus on how you are feeling and are responding to the changes in your training. Making sure you are progressing your training efforts. After the first 4 weeks, contact will normally reduce to every 2 weeks by phone. It will remain available at other times through Training Peaks, where feedback and clarification should be available on a day to day basis as required. You will get the support you need to learn how to train effectively.

 

Other benefits – receive guidance not only on preparing for events but how to ride or race them, whether road races, Gran Fondos or time trialling. You will be working with coaches experienced at local regional and national level.

At the end of the winter programme you should have laid the foundations for increasing your intensity in the build period towards your event.

To find out more information contact mark@qncoaching.co.uk