The 10 steps not to be missed to get the body moving again and get ready with the maximum profit for the first big company of the year
With the end of February the temperatures begin to rise. He begins to feel the end of winter but also the call of the competition because the time of the first marathon of the season is approaching. Every fanatic prepares to leave the short competitive “lethargy” and try again with long distance races.
During the winter it is always advisable to stop training and even the most daring cyclists have a rest period. Even if you are equipped with a good basic preparation, you cannot approach such long and demanding races in an improvised way, but you need to carefully plan the recovery of the best shape.
Here are 10 useful steps to arrive with the right preparation for the first marathon of the season:
1- Set the goal:
The first thing to do is to find the right race to try out. It is not possible to choose only based on the beauty of the track and the charm of the race. Their abilities, training status and course difficulties must be assessed.
2 – Carefully consider your physical state:
If winter has made training difficult, perhaps for work reasons or for really prohibitive weather conditions, it can be difficult to imagine doing well at the beginning of the season. It may be wise to approach the first race after the winter break with less performance expectations.
3 – Taking care of the equipment, clothing and bicycle:
The winter break period can be a good time to take care of renewing the equipment.
It is important to have enough winter clothing (better if personalized) that is insulating enough to allow you to start training when conditions are still difficult. Likewise, some changes to the bicycle must be considered to be safe during the winter.
As the races approach, it is then necessary to check the mechanical parts and replace the damaged or worn parts.
Even the clothing for the race should not be overlooked. It is good to avoid bringing for the first time in uniformed competitions or accessories that have not been tested in training. On the other hand, it may be useful to check that you do not have clothes or accessories that are too worn out that could risk causing problems precisely in times of difficulty and maximum effort.
4 – Prepare a training plan:
It is very important to prepare a training plan that takes into consideration the time available before the race. Proper training for such competitions can hardly take less than 8 weeks of work. Aerobic endurance, work on the lactic threshold or strengthening should not be neglected. The type of training must then be parameterized on the type of course.
5 – Training in the gym and strengthening:
Dedicating at least one weekly training to the gym upgrade is always recommended. Both to increase strength and to train the parts of the body that are not stressed during pedaling, such as the abdominal and lumbar areas, the upper limbs and the trunk, but which are very important for feeling good on the bicycle.
During the winter it can be very useful to dedicate a more substantial part of the training to the strengthening in the gym in preparation for the resumption of cycling activity. However, it is always necessary to select or indicate exercises that tend to maximize the increase in strength without affecting the muscle volume.
6 – The exits, cycling training:
Obviously the one in the bicycle is the central part of the training and to find the form you will have to recover a good frequency of training. At least two or three weekly outings should be considered, the duration of which will vary depending on the specific type of training.
It will be necessary to start from the outputs on the long, to be carried out at low intensity, which serve to recreate a good base of general resistance. then you will go to speed by entering the shorter and more intense repetitions to work on the anaerobic threshold and other types of specific training.
7 – Take care of the feeding:
Paying attention to food is essential to make your training effective. The diet must also be balanced according to the different phases of the training itself. For example, during a period in which you work more intensively on strengthening it is useful to have a diet with a greater protein base. While in the periods of prolonged exits a greater quantity of complex carbohydrates is necessary.
It must then be considered what to provide for the tender itself. Counting the distance to be traveled and the duration of the ride, it is not only essential to continuously rehydrate, but also small-sized products must be selected to help reintegrate the athlete’s energy such as maltodextrin bars and gels.
8 – Bring good performance assessment tools:
It is important to monitor the performance to evaluate your improvements and understand if you need to change your workouts. To this end it is essential to equip oneself with the right tools, a heart rate monitor that serves to assess the work thresholds both during training and during the tests on the race track cannot be missing.
9 – Race simulations:
To improve performance it is very useful to understand what can be expected in the race. Understand how the physicist will react to stress and how to dose strength. For this reason it is good to carry out race simulations on the track that will host our granfondo. It is also a good idea to use the same equipment that you will take to the race to become aware of any problems.
10 – The importance of rest:
After each workout, especially if intense, the body needs a period of time to recover and to make the improvements stable. Therefore, the right pauses should be observed between one training session and another. Tend to consider at least one day of rest, which can be devoted to stretching.
It is also very important not to overdo the training loads in the period immediately before the race because they could prove harmful and negatively affect performance. It is indeed a good idea to give yourself at least a week of rest before the race.
Also this year we will support many competitions and initiatives. Here is where you can find us:
03/04 March Gran fondo CITTA ‘DI CERVETERI and Gran fondo ANDORA
10/11 March CHRONOSQUADRE OF VERSILIA
17/18 March Gran fondo SANREMO-SANREMO
24/25 March Gran fondo MURETTO DI ALASSIO (ALASSIO SAVONA)
07/08 April Great fund of ITALIAN and YOUTH VELODROMOCAMPIONATI DUATHLON CUNEO
14/15 April URBAN DOWNHILL TOSCOLANO MADERNO and Gran fondo PERINI
April 25 1st GRAN PREMIO LIBERAZIONE RORETO DI CHERASCO (CN)
28/29 April Great fund LA GARIBALDINA and BRA-BRA SPECIALIZED (POLLENZO CUNEO)
We hope many of you will come