Matt Roberts has joined forces with former professional cyclist Chris Ball who brings his knowledge of cycling, coaching and remedial massage therapy to our team to create Apex Bike Performance.
Whether you consider yourself a Tour de France contender or a recreational Weekend Warrior your position on the bike is vital to your comfort, enjoyment and performance.
What we aim to do at Apex is more than just a bike-fit. After conducting a full Biomechanical, Postural and Strength assessment, with the help of video and power analysis, we are able to develop an effective strength and conditioning programme that will improve and maximise the way you use your body whilst on the bike.
WINTER TRAINING TIPS
1 - Winter fitness
In order to build a strong winter base fitness, the first thing you need to be able to do is lose some of your summer's fitness! You don't want to try and carry your summer's fitness throughout the whole winter.
Spend some time relaxing and enjoying the bike again as our winter goes on for a long time.
You need to reset both your body and mind ready for the winter season.
2 - Winter clothing
Building a strong winter's base is generally a slow process! Wrapping up warm is vitally important if you’re going to get to March without getting completely fed up of being wet and cold on your bike!
Investing in some good, warm, waterproof clothing is a must. Make sure that your base layers are technical and have high wicking properties.
Do your research; find out what other people wear, look at what are the most popular overshoes, gloves, tights, winter jackets.
3 - Bike preparation
Be prepared! You don't want to get half way through a cold club run and have a mechanical!! My advice is to take your bike into the shop and have a full service taken on it.
It is also well worth investing in a pair of good, puncture resistant tires for the winter season. The investment might not be realised as you may not get any punctures! At least I hope not but if you make do with old/summer tires you might be regretting it when you’re cold and wet, with numb hands, standing by the side of the road trying to repair your puncture, wishing you had invested in some new winter tires!
4 - Focus, goal setting
Setting yourself targets throughout the winter can make training more manageable. If you’re starting your training on November 1st, try working on an eight week goal. This will take you through to the New Year. Then, thinking ahead for Jan 1st to March 1st, this will be your second eight week block and for many, this takes you through to the start of the season. Or, perhaps you've organised a warm weather training camp in March.
Give yourself a goal, whether it's a National championship race or a difficult sportive or perhaps it's a summer training camp in the mountains? Having a goal in mind through the winter gives you a constant reminder of why you’re doing this training.
5 - Get yourself a coach
Whatever your reason for cycling; racing cyclist, club cyclist doing the odd sportive, or maybe even losing weight? Having a qualified coach looking after you, giving you the correct training for your goals makes your life easier. Having someone else telling you every day, week, or month what you want to be doing takes the stress out of training. You can be sure that you’re training at the correct level to obtain your goals.
If you’re looking for a good coach, ask around, find out who others use and trust. Arrange a meeting with them, interview them, make sure they understand you and listen to what your goals and targets are and they aren't just going to put you on a general programme all their clients are on.
6 - Make your turbo and rollers your friend..!
Many people dislike the turbo! So try having it set up somewhere you can watch TV or have music on. It's worth looking at your turbo as a means to an end rather than something you have to spend Hours on and ending up disliking. The body responds to repetition, doing 30-45 Min's easy spin each day during the week will have a huge benefit mentally, physiologically and on your Christmas waist line!
If you haven't tried rollers yet, they are well worth the investment. They take a little bit of getting used to but once you've ridden them a few times and you’re confident on them, they will help you improve your relaxation, balance, handling AND they're not as boring as a turbo because they make you think about riding and you can't shut off.
