January Ride of the Month: Indoor Training

The Perfect Winter Training Plan

By Chris Mayhew, BikePGH Volunteer & Associate Coach at JBV Training

It’s a new year – a time when many of us set goals for the months ahead. Maybe your fitness goal is to take part in a bike race, a triathlon, or a marathon for the first time. Maybe you’re looking to improve your time from last year’s races? These goals can be daunting – especially with frigid weather and limited sunlight. But don’t wait till the weather gets warm to train! There are plenty of things you can do right now to lay the groundwork for a successful outing later in the year.

Have a Plan

Before you decide where you want to go, you have to figure out where you are and how you got there. If you have training logs from last year, sit down and have a solid look at them now. Figure out what worked for you (and what didn’t), so you can come up with training plan. If you don’t have records to look back on or are unsure of what to look for, bring in an extra set of eyes. Maybe that’s a coach for a consultation or a professional evaluation of your training. On a tight budget? Grab lunch or a drink with a more experience rider and hear what they have to say.

Rain or Shine

Pittsburgh weather can make it difficult to train outdoors in the winter, so it’s up to you to find exercise you enjoy doing indoors! Yoga is a great counterpoint to strenuous activity and provides range of motion to overworked muscles. The best part of yoga is the mindfulness it cultivates over time – a mindset that’s key to athletic success. This is also a great time to adopt a gym routine of some sort. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. A few simple moves that strengthen major muscles and joints are a perfect way to use an hour of your time. Think squats, lunges, and anything to help strengthen your core.

Small goals, big picture

Before implementing any training plans think about the big picture first. What’s your goal this year? Spend some time figuring out where you are right now and where you want to be. Divide up the distance between the two into small manageable chunks. Then figure out what sort of work you can commit to each day to reach those small goals. Keep in mind the weather is not going to be fantastic for the next few months, so be sure to have some good options both indoors and out.