26/10/22
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Let’s see how to organise training during the winter months and with which supplements to support the effort
The arrival of the winter season brings with it shorter and darker days, as well as cold, rain, hail and snow. Very often, if you don’t have the right mental motivation, you are tempted to give up the bike momentarily and stay under the blankets, compromising all the athletic preparation and fitness of the previous season. In this article we will talk about winter cycling training, how best to plan it with the right nutritional support and supplement.
Despite adverse weather conditions and little light, the winter season is crucial for recovering from the one that has just ended in which you rode hard and laying the foundations that will enable you to withstand the efforts and races of the spring season. It is at this stage, in fact, that one must work hard to improve general physical condition through long, light unloading rides to recover from summer stress, followed by specific high tempo rides to improve lung capacity.
Winter cycling training: the basics
No training is effective if it is not well planned, assessing your physical situation and the goals you want to achieve. As far as winter cycling training is concerned, the main goals are:
- retrieve, both physically and mentally, from the stress and strain of the previous season
- maintain good physical and aerobic fitness combining cycling with gym sessions when the weather conditions are particularly bad
Cycling, as we know, is an endurance sport and on each outing, especially in winter, athletes put themselves through a great deal of muscular work and fatigue endurance and, aiming to exceed their limits, several hours of solo cycling in complete concentration. Stress and fatigue are high, because of this, to maintain a high level of performance throughout training, adequate supplementation of specific nutrients is essential.
How to train in winter
Good winter cycling training can be developed through long sessions with a moderate but slower speed than usual outings and around 55-65% of maximum heart rate, that will help the body recover from the period just ended. Considered as a break from the previous competitive season, these long rides, cycled at a higher frequency, guarantee excellent oxygenation of the tissues.
These ‘base training’ sessions must soon be replaced by specific outings, still long but at a higher pace, around 70-75% of maximum heart rate to work on the aerobic threshold and improve lung capacity, laying the foundations for the following season.
Extremely useful, then, are gym sessions with low-load weightlifting and a high number of repetitions to tone muscles and increase muscular endurance during cyclic exertion over a long period of time.
Supporting winter cycling training with the right supplementation
The nutritional requirement during intensity training for a 70 kg cyclist is approximately 400-800 kcal per hour of cycling. Sports supplements are a pure source of energy, formulated to provide the athlete with the right amount of basic nutrients for physical activity, at the exact time they are needed. Precisely dosed to provide only what is needed without burdening the athlete’s stomach, they can be either quick-release (immediately assimilated) or slow-release (providing energy for a longer time).
Among the nutrients to focus on are:
- Maltodextrins, useful for providing immediate energy, staving off fatigue and prolonging endurance capacity;
- Cyclodextrins, slow-release energy source, support energy performance during training;
- Fructose 1,6-diphosphate, quickly metabolised and highly energetic;
- L-Arginine, improves vasodilation and tissue oxygenation;
- Carnitine, accelerates energy-producing lipid metabolism.
Sprintade® alongside cyclists even in winter
The nutritional requirement during intensity training for a 70 kg cyclist is approximately 400-800 kcal per hour of cycling. Sports supplements are a pure source of energy, formulated to provide the athlete with the right amount of basic nutrients for physical activity, at the exact time they are needed. Precisely dosed to provide only what is needed without burdening the athlete’s stomach, they can be either quick-release (immediately assimilated) or slow-release (providing energy for a longer time).
Born from long research processes, the entire Sprintade® product line supports the metabolic cycle of athletes with high ATP and Nitrate availability, ensuring greater energy availability also in the long term.
Among the best supplements to accompany good winter cycling training are:
- ISOTONIC GEL, based on maltodextrins and complex carbohydrates, a gel supplement capable of providing energy in a progressive manner, responding to fatigue when needed;
- ATP BOOSTER 3.0, a supplement in liquid form that provides immediate energy.
- ENERGY GUM PLUS, fresh chewing gum that aids cellular oxygenation during physical activity.
One should never cycle because one is forced to and ‘must’ but out of true passion; by planning a good winter cycling training, covering oneself well and supplementing with the right kind of supplementation, even a season as adverse as winter can give great satisfaction.
