1. Planning your winter training for Success! Presented by: Nigel Fletcher British Cycling Level 2 Road & TT Coach

2. Review Objectives & Goals Now is the time to sit down and reflect on 2013. – Celebrate your successes – Analyse your goals and achievements for the year Did you achieve or exceed your goals? Were your goals realistic? – Remember there will always be ups and downs during the year as you cannot maintain peak fitness all the time!

3. Set out your goals for next season Map out your goals for 2014. Be Realistic – Take 2 minutes of your 25mile TT time – Go up a category in road racing – Achieve Gold standard in Sportive – Ride my first 100 – Ride my first TT This will help to set out your training programme

4. Set you new Goals Set out a series of targets and Milestones so that you can monitor your progress. These will enable you to review and amend your goals and objectives if you’re ahead or behind. JanFeb Ridden 1000 miles Mar 25m 10TT Ride 100m AprMay 23m 10TT Jun Jul Alpine Tour Aug Gold in NF Sportive SepOct Win Club 25tt NovDec

5. Vary your training A change is as good as a rest! Introduce different fitness routines to replace your evening rides. – Stretching – Weight training (light) – Running Improve your suppleness and core strength to help maintain your weight and overall fitness.

6. Get out the winter Hack Bike Put the best bike away Get out the old winter bike with fat tyres, mudguards and lower gears! Ride a Fixed gear for improved pedalling and efficiency

7. Eat Fit It’s easy to put on weight over the winter! Maintaining your weight will also help to maintain your fitness. Drink plenty of fluids (water) Maintain a balanced diet, avoid snacking and highly calorific foods and snacks. Avoid caffeine drinks in the evening and after meals

8. Get in the base miles! You will hear cyclists say that you need to get in loads of base miles over the winter. True you need to have a base level of fitness to work from. But simply riding the same level every week won’t see you improve! You need to stress the body to improve!

9. Training Zones Invest in a Heart rate monitor Work out your max Heart rate Search Heart rate zone Calculator http://www.machinehead- software.co.uk/bike/heart_rate/heart_rate_zone_calcu lator_abcc_bcf.html http://www.machinehead- software.co.uk/bike/heart_rate/heart_rate_zone_calcu lator_abcc_bcf.html

10. Training Zones The Aerobic Zone - 70% to 80% Training in this zone will develop your cardiovascular system. The body's ability to transport oxygen to, and carbon dioxide away from, the working muscles can be developed and improved. As you become fitter and stronger from training in this zone it will be possible to run some of your long weekend runs at up to 75%, so getting the benefits of some fat burning and improved aerobic capacity. The Anaerobic Zone - 80% to 90% Training in this zone will develop your lactic acid system. In this zone, your individual anaerobic threshold (AT) is found - sometimes referred to the point of deflection (POD). During these heart rates, the amount of fat being utilised as the main source of energy is greatly reduced and glycogen stored in the muscle is predominantly used. One of the by-products of burning this glycogen is lactic acid. There is a point at which the body can no longer remove the lactic acid from the working muscles quickly enough. This is your anaerobic threshold (AT). Through the correct training, it is possible to delay the AT by being able to increase your ability to deal with the lactic acid for a longer period of time or by pushing the AT higher. The Red Line Zone 90% to 100% Training in this zone will only be possible for short periods. It effectively trains your fast twitch muscle fibres and helps to develop speed.

11. Layout your training Lay out a monthly plan MonTueWedThuFriSatSun CoreChain Gang RunTurbo 45 Zone 2/3 WeightsRide 35m Cub Run 50m CoreChain Gang RunTurbo 45 Zone 2/3 WeightsRide 35m Club Run 50m CoreChain Gang RunTurbo 50 Zone 3/4 WeightsRide 35m Clun Run 65m CoreChain Gang RunTurbo 50 Zone 2/3 WeightsRide 35m Club Run 55m

12. Ramp it up MonTueWedThuFriSatSun Test MonTueWedThuFriSatSun Test

13. Test Yourself Find a circuit 10 to 15 miles and time yourself. Keep a record – Time, conditions, etc – Garmin/Bryton. Once a month test yourself – Compare and look at improvements! – (What about using club TTs for testing?

14. Summary Set out a plan for the season – There’s no point be racing fit in February when your first first target event is in April Set out a plan that enables you to build Remember – No Pain no Gain! Watch your diet Stay healthy and enjoy the Winter