How to take a season break to improve your cycling
Ben Delaney
This is the fourth podcast in an eight-pod how-to series. Last episode we talked about how to map out your 2024 season for maximum results and fun, and on this podcast we discuss how to take a proper season break. Spoiler alert - You can still ride your bike and have fun!
As athletes, we need recovery to rebuild and come back stronger. This applies at the micro and macro levels, and applies to our mental health as well as our physical health.
As most athletes have wrapped up their season, the fall can be a wonderful time to get out and enjoy being on the bike without any structure.
And, yes, we all should take a week or two completely off the bike before ramping it up again. But when? Give this pod a listen.
Related reading:
- The 3 Components of a Proper Post-Season
- What to Do During Your Two-Week Break
- The 5 Pillars of Off-Season Training
Other podcasts in the 8-Podcast How-To Series:
Upcoming podcasts in the series:
- How to train in the off season
- Cross training and muscle tension interval
- Weight lifting for cycling
- Alternative movements to squat, leg press and curl
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Review your 2023 season: 14 pieces
How to maximize your off-season gains
Foundation : 3 Weeks
- Perfect for all cyclists beginning off season training
- Raise your CTL and the all-important muscle tension intervals
Phil Gaimon's FONDO
- Complete similar workouts to what Phil does to prepare for all his KOM's
- Sweet Spot training, threshold intervals, and some anaerobic work
Phil Gaimon's Strava PR Plan
- Perfect Plan for Those with Less Training Time, starts at 15 minutes per day
- VO2's, 1 minuters, Tabatas, threshold, suprathreshold, and even Sweet Spot
Road Race In-Season
- Weekend racing and group rides with weekday training and recovery
- anaerobic efforts like criss cross, Over/Unders Sweet Spot, Threshold
Road Racing Intervals
- Increase your functional and race-specific power output
- Includes Sweet Spot, VO2, Anaerobic, Threshold