Cross training is one of the most important and helpful things you can do to prepare for the up-coming bicycle racing season. You might think that spending time on other activities is wasting time you could be spending on the bike but that’s not the case. Lets explore this.
Bicycling does not build as much bone mass
Bicycling is a low or no impact sport for the most part. That means that cycling does not cause the physiological adaptations that make your body build more bone mass. This may not be as important to you if you are younger but as you age, especially if you are a woman, this will be very important. So put on your running shoes and go for a jog every once in awhile.
Avoid Burn-Out
Cross training also helps you avoid burn-out by giving you something else to do for a while that is simply not cycling. Too much of any one activity is bad for us mentally and physically. We all need a break from our normal routines sometimes. Its best to take a break from the bike in the off-season pre-season so your mind will be able to stay focused when it really counts.
Teams Sports are a nice choice
Cross training allows you to play team sports like basketball or indoor soccer. This is great because you get to interact with other players more like, well, a team. You used to have friends, we all did. Playing a team sport during the pre-season can help you rebuild those friendships that we neglected during the racing season
Cross Training will make you stronger on the bike
Cycling is really good at working many of the major muscles in your legs, lower back, and lower abs, but many other sports that force you to move laterally like racquet ball or basketball, work entire muscle groups that get totally ignored on the bike. By strengthening these muscles you build a better base for your cycling specific muscles to work from. When the other muscles are strong your primary cycling muscles do not have to work to stabilize the movements as much making you more efficient.
Keep your aerobic base
The main thing to keep in mind during the pre-season, before the heavy training starts, is to keep as much of your aerobic base as possible. This is how you build performance from year to year. That means you should pick cross training activities that also give you a good aerobic workout.
Good luck and happy training.
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Levi 11.07.07 at 3:33 pm
Building bone mass is one of the very few reasons I go running
Actually I’d say it’s the #1 reason, because I prefer to keep my bones intact!