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What are the Benefits of a Winter Training program for Cycling?

It’s a conundrum for many cyclists in the Happy Valley once the snow starts to fly. Should I hang up my bike until the ski season is over? Should I set it up on a trainer and vow to ride it twice a week all winter (knowing darn well this just is not going to happen)? Should I pay to take one of those cycling clinics to stay in cycling shape? Do they work?

The answer to that last question is a resounding “yes.”

Following are 10 reasons to consider taking a winter cycling training program:

Results

If you measure it, you can improve it.

Joy

Nothing makes a cyclist happier than cresting a local climb faster and without as much suffering as before. Do you want to make it up Vail Pass for the first time or finally break your record? You can achieve your goal earlier in the season by developing your climbing strength.

Ahhh, endurance

Alpine skiing is not an aerobic sport, while cycling relies heavily on your finely tuned aerobic system. Unless you continue working on this crucial element of your cycling fitness throughout the winter, you will lose it.

Power

Wouldn’t it be nice to jump on your bike next May and be smiling from ear to ear when you realize the power you’ve got in your legs?

Efficiency

Indoors is the best place to work on technique.

Mental Strength

Cycling is as much mental mastery as it is physical. Training indoors is a great place to develop the mind-body skills of visualization, breath control and finding the state known as “flow,” all of which will benefit you in every sport you love.

It’s more fun together

We’re willing to bet your bike on the trainer in your basement will become a clothes rack, no matter how many promises you make to ride on your own. Not so with a focused training program. Learning and training together as part of a group will keep you coming back.

Knowledge

You’ve heard that knowledge is power, now you’ll see why. You’ll learn so much about yourself and your training, allowing you to make wise decisions in the future so you can continue evolving your fitness.

Bucket List

Make 2017 the year to train for that special event you’ve been promising yourself. A cycling trip to Europe? Your first century? The Triple Bypass? Or maybe just riding up to the cul-de-sac on Vail Pass. Everyone’s goal is personal—a dedicated indoor training program can help you get there.

What should you eat?

You can’t out-ride or out-run a bad diet. If you want to get on the road to making 2017 your best year yet, adding nutrition to your cycling program can help make that happen.

The Vail Vitality Center offers a specialized winter training program for cyclists. This is a structured program based on science, designed to develop all elements of your cycling fitness, including aerobic and muscular endurance, climbing strength, threshold power, and aerobic and anaerobic capacity. If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it!

For more information on the program or to register, please call the Vitality Center at 970-476-7960.

 

Jennifer Sage has been leading and organizing bicycle tours for 25+ years and has taught Spinning® classes at numerous facilities around the Vail Valley since 1996. As one of the top indoor cycling coaches in the country, she has certified and trained thousands of instructors at conferences and workshops around the world. Sage also founded the Indoor Cycling Association, an online educational resource for cycling instructors to improve their knowledge of cycling training principles, exercise physiology, biomechanics, class design and inspirational coaching.

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