How To

Five essential items for your winter training plan

Goal setting, endurance vs. intervals, increasing training load, off-the-bike workouts, beating boredom

Summoning the motivation to get out and ride is often the hardest part (Pic: Deborah Malin/Media 24)
Write down your goals and remind yourself of them on a frequent basis
Even if you’re training for speed, never underestimate the importance of a solid endurance base. pic: ©Deborah Malin
You can use a polarized training programme to improve your VO2 Max (pic: Media24)
It’s not all about the bike. Many cyclists vary their training programme through winter (Pic: Winning Health Solutions)
A training diary will help bring some consistency to your preparation (Pic: Media24)

As the nights draw in, and with fewer events on the calendar during the winter months, it’s easy to lose focus without a solid and well thought out plan to keep you on the right track.

If you’ve had a full summer of cycling then after a short rest to refresh both body and mind winter plays an important part in laying the foundations to build on your fitness for an even better following year. Here are RCUK’s tips on creating a winter training plan.