How much intensity should I do over the winter?

Racing and fast group rides are coming to a close as the weather gets colder across Canada. For many of us, that means trainer rides, group rides on the weekend, or others may hit the velodrome in their area, if they are so lucky. When it’s cold out, intensity can be a challenge, which makes indoor trainers a nice choice. But the question is, how much should you do?

How much intensity per week?

Coach Peter Glassford of Consummate Athlete says that your results may vary, but a good guideline is that 1-2 intense rides per week is plenty, meaning all other riding is endurance-paced (zone 2 / under aerobic threshold). “During the winter or ‘general preparation phase,’ there is often a switch to lower intensity zones, spending more time doing endurance and tempo until the season is approaching and training becomes more specific,” he said.

What are the cycling training zones?

Times have changed when it comes to training, and Glassford’s opinion is that the older approach of doing only long, slow distance for months is outdated and not as applicable to time-limited adult cyclists.

Avoiding burning out

“However, there is also some wisdom in that general idea. We can include some intensity through the winter without burning out or jeopardizing the ‘height’ of our peak fitness,” he said. “The usual guideline is one to two intense days per week, which includes rides with effort over zone 2 / endurance.”

For serious racers, it’s a little different.

“With the ultra-racers I work with, we will do a bit higher intensity since so much of the specific build to their race is long riding. This wouldn’t mean more intensity, just that they might do harder intervals in winter than XC MTB riders do in the summer,” he said.

Canada’s winters are good for training, actually

One of the benefits of living in a country where it can get cold from coast to coast—some colder than others—is that it provides forced variation, he said.

“Embrace the seasons by cross-training and strength training, along with some trainer riding. Do not make the mistake of thinking intensity and volume are the only two things to manipulate in training,” he said. “Things like workout frequency, cadence drills, rollers, and actually riding a bike vs. a stable/upright trainer (track, far bike, indoor bike park, and riding outdoors on weekends!)”

On the trainer

Glassford also says to consider what type of training works well given where you are.

“The…