Fall and Winter Training Principles:

Let’s start by simplifying and clarifying.

You can not ride hard all the time.

You should not ride hard all the time.

Losing fat is simple (simple doesn’t mean easy)

            Eat a proper amount of healthy food.

            Get strong.

            Go long.

High intensity is a strong drug, best taken in careful and closely controlled moderation.

High intensity work = increased endurance

Long low intensity efforts = increased speed

Most of the time you are riding too hard to help the speed stuff, and too easy to improve endurance.  That’s called junk milage.

Cyclists need to do work off of the bike.

Strength and flexibility training are essential.  Especially for the maturing athlete.

Overtraining:  Any training load that the body can not accept and adapt to.  It is possible to overtrain in one workout.  There is also long term overtraining, where you just do too much over a longer period of time.

The body will only respond and adapt to the same kind of loading for about 12 weeks.

Rest and recovery are essential.

Okay.  Got all that?  Now here’s a little hint about what’s coming.  If you don’t already own them, go out and purchase some dumbells.  I’d suggest a pair of three pounders and a pair of five pounders to start.  More tomorrow.