Cross training and recovery
Cross training and recovery
Winter also gives you the opportunity to add in some cross training in order to plug any gaps in your fitness and to maintain motivation when the prospect of riding is less than inviting.
Weight training is particularly beneficial to include in the winter when you have a bit more time on your hands and you’re doing less frequent, shorter outdoor rides. The aim isn’t to do heavy weights as that will build large, bulky muscles. Instead, just do muscle conditioning exercises which promote lean body mass and aid in injury prevention by loading the tendons and muscles with weights that they can cope with.
Recovery is still key in winter. To maximise physiological adaptations to the training that you’re doing you must recover properly, and the gains you make now will help you into the start of the new year. The first 30 minutes after training is the optimal time to replace key nutrients as your metabolic rate remains lifted. Carbohydrate is needed to replace muscle glycogen, and protein is needed to support the growth and repair of lean muscle mass. Whey protein in particular is useful in stimulating the production of lean muscle mass due to its high leucine content.
As you build towards the higher mileage months of the spring, paying attention to your ride nutrition now will maximise your chances of staying healthy and will keep you riding strongly into 2015.
Emma Barraclough is a sports nutritionist at SiS. She has worked with Great Britain Ice Hockey since 2006 and provided nutritional consultancy support to athletes in a range of sports including running, triathlon and rugby. She regularly represents Great Britain as an age group triathlete and has completed six Ironmans. www.scienceinsport.com
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