Off-Season Fitness
With my bike still “in the shop”, I’ve not done much in the way of cycling this week. I took it out for a spin when I thought I had it fixed up, but the steering was still extremely stiff. A couple more experienced friends of mine believe it to be a bent head-tube. I have a “new-to-me” bike coming down next weekend, but that doesn’t do me any good right now.
Because of my lack of cycling this past week, I feel sluggish, less alert, and “fat”. I’m a skinny guy, we’re not supposed to feel fat. As I mentioned in my opening post, I only really started getting reliably cycle-active again this past spring. I’m in Canada, so pretty soon the snow will start falling, and I’m going to have to find another way to keep myself fit over the winter. I don’t want to sit back on the bike next spring and discover I can barely do 8 km, at 12 km/hr again. That brings me to the topic of this week’s entry: off-season fitness.
What do cyclists do during the off season?
Well, a little research reveals something that would shock a lot of people. Many cyclists continue to bike after the snow falls. There are studded tires available to help with grip during the winter months. The folks over at bikeforums.net recommend putting them on during the winter, and they also highly recommend a good set of fenders if you don’t have them already. The salt does a lot of damage to a bicycle, so it’s necessary to perform maintenance weekly during those winter months or you’ll have a rusty chain and creaking joints in no time.
As for me, I plan to get through October once the new bike arrives. After that, travel will be done by bus, so I still need to figure out a fitness routine. The bus doesn’t save any commuting time. It actually takes longer than it would for me to bike to the college. It does, however, give me a chance to do reading for my courses while en-route, clearing up the same amount of time to “do other stuff” at home.
For me, and for most economically aware individuals, getting an exercise bike or a gym membership, is not an option. So we need to come up with our own exercise routines. A lot of websites suggest winter sports like Nordic Skiing and Snowshoeing. Again, I’m short on equipment and options for that.
There’s a single line on an article at Carmichael Training Systems that will probably define my winter program: “During the Foundation Period of training, working the general aerobic system is the main goal. The body’s aerobic system really does not know if you are running, swimming, inline skating, hiking, snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, or cycling.” This means I can basically do anything, so long as it’s a aerobic workout.
Now, I happen to have a Nintendo Wii. Not an overly great fitness system in itself, but some of the games can work as decent tools. I have several versions of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), the Wii Fit Plus, and Shaun White’s Snowboarding. I believe by combining some of the exercises in these three games, I can at the very least keep a basic level of fitness throughout the winter months. With the Wii Fit Plus, I can focus on the Aerobics and Strength training sections. DDR is an aerobic workout in itself, and it focuses on the muscles in the legs more than anything else. The Snowboarding game, again exercises the leg muscles and works on your balance. As I’ll have 2-hours of bussing, per day, that’ll free up 2-hours of daily readings and give me the chance to take 2 hours of Wii training every day.
It’s not a perfect plan. I don’t think I’m going to be exercising the right muscles in my legs to keep me in cycling shape. But at least I’ll still be keeping to an exercise routine and won’t feel like a fat lump on the couch.
So I put it to you, what should I do in the winter to keep in shape? What are you doing this winter? Do you know of any sources that have better suggestions on how to work the cycling-specific muscles over the winter months? Please, post a comment below so I can check it out.
This week’s cycling report:
Sunday & Monday: 0km – Still need part for bike. I did manage an 8.5 km walk however…
Tuesday: Test run. Alta Vista/Industrial to Terminal, Terminal to Walmart & return trip. 1.88 km. 6 minutes. 18.8 km/hr.
Wednesday – Saturday: 0 km – Head tube is bent, bike out of commission.
