I’m currently looking at how I want to train this winter during my off-season for cycling.
During the season, I do 4 structured cycling sessions (intervals or endurance) and 2 gym strength-training sessions. I always keep one rest day per week.
For the winter, I want to keep doing indoor cycling to maintain my gains, but it’s a bit more complicated because I also enjoy classic cross-country skiing.
I’m wondering if I should do something like this each week:
2 cross-country ski sessions
2 indoor cycling sessions
2 strength-training sessions
I’m unsure because I want to keep progressing on the bike. I’ve seen solid improvement in my FTP and I want to continue increasing it. That’s why I hesitate to do 3 cross-country ski sessions and only 1 indoor cycling session, since I don’t want to lose my gains.
I’d love to get your opinion on this, and if I keep 2 indoor cycling sessions, what type of training should I prioritize (endurance, sweet spot, threshold, VO2max, anaerobic) to get the most benefit?
If you do relatively hard ski sessions, you will keep your vo2max up, and then rebuilding FTP shouldn’t take too long. So I wouldn’t worry too much about losing cycling-specific fitness. It might be better to enjoy the snow, get a mental break from cycling, and re-start cycling training once the weather gets too bad for skiing. (Depending on where you live, there is probably a time of 4-6 weeks where it’s not cold enough anymore to ski, but too wet and miserable to ride bikes outside. Ideal for just training indoors!)
Assuming you are using TR, I would create a program that has 2 hard workouts per week, and I would follow those. Then add in 2 endurance type XC ski sessions and your gym sessions. Make sure you adequately space so you are freshest for your TR bike workouts. I imagine you will be fine come spring.
I’d definitely prioritize skiing this time of year. Enjoy it while you can!
Some of the fittest athletes in the world are XC skiers, so you can most definitely use skiing as cross-training during the winter.
I think @KonaSS’s idea of two hard TR workouts, two or three easy/endurance ski sessions, and a couple of strength sessions each week could work really well. If you upload everything to your TR calendar, we’ll let you know if we think you’re overdoing it.
Just remember to keep your easy days easy, so you might want to put those strength sessions on the same days as your hard workouts.
I love to XC ski, like really really love it. I also have access to a beautiful facility nearby.
I stick with the TR plan builder and do the endurance days as classic. I have two interval days a week; when the snow is better, I will try to do at least 1 of those intervals on the indoor bike. Sweet spot works well for a tempo skate ski and sometimes I like to swap out the VO2 workouts for skate too (sometimes the heart just wants to go fast). Sometimes the snow is too good to sweat inside.
I have worked with a few cycling and ski coaches over the years and they have always seemed positive about cross training with skiing. I heard recently from one that you can transition quickly between the two with about two weeks. This has been my personal experience as I usually plan a big warmer climate race at the end of May and my time on the bike is limited because of ski racing.
I do a tun of Nordic skiing in the winter with very little riding(like once a week). Nordic is the superfood of endurance sports so I usually start the season in really good shape. I think you can get away with one ride a week and then add some intensity on the bike 2 to 4 weeks before you are ready to get outside. I skied over 50 days last winter and came back to the bike in great shape.
I usually do easier sessions on the bike during the winter because good skate sessions usually provide all of the intensity I need.
Do what you enjoy, I would love to be able to do XC after work in the winter, but sadly I live just too far from the snow. I tend to have 1-2 weeks in the winter working from the snow and 1 week over xmas. Then I do just XC, always come back stronger. So do what you want. If you fancy a 3 hour XC session, go for it, then don’t do both cycling ones zone 2. If you do just hard XC one week then do the cycling just zone 2. Or even do all 4 days XC and no cycling. That’s what I would do more often than not lol.
I’d just do whatever you’re not doing on skis since that’s likely the priority when the snow is good.
If you’re out enjoying the sights and skiing easily, then do your hard workouts on the bike.
If you’re going fast, getting your heart rate up, and feeling sore after skiing, then do your easy rides on the bike.
You can change this up from one day/week to the next. The key is not to take on too many hard days, though. For instance, if you’ve already done a few hard ski sessions this week, don’t do your scheduled hard bike workouts, even if you’re feeling good. It’s likely not going to be productive long-term.
Have a training budget (usually 2-3 hard workouts a week max) and stick to it. Endurance training is all about stacking bricks week after week, month after month, year after year. Taking on too much at once will set you back at some point, so there’s no real benefit from that.
