January Activity

I was recently asked what I am currently doing to get back into training after the holidays.  Currently I am just trying to stay as active as possible, with a focus on trimming the holiday fat build up.  The main goal for January is to get to under 200 pounds while maintaining muscle mass.  Once under 200 pounds I will set up a more regimented training schedule for February and March (the racing season starts in April).  I also do not want to peak and/or burn out too early in the racing season.  A regimented schedule means scheduling specific training areas like hill repeats, interval training, power training, etc. depending on the areas I need to work on.

For the first week in January, my activity looked like this...I've left out all work, family, personal stuff so as to avoid boring you into seizures:

Jan 2 - 6am weight lifting working on shoulders and arms. 2pm afternoon ride at Dundas with NewfieSteve.  Was muddier than I normally like, making for a good workout struggling through the soft trails.

Jan 3 - 8am trainer workout.  Planned getting an afternoon ride in but it was the coldest day of the year to date, and so I wimped out and elected for another trainer workout in the late afternoon.  The trainer is a great workout but incredibly boring, so I struggle to stay at it for 40 minutes to an hour per session.

Jan 4 - 8am morning ride.  Rode the local trails east and west of Snake Road near Waterdown.  The trails were in great shape, perfectly frozen.  However I ended up breaking a chain (on a brand new drive train!), witch required a 10 minute quick-link trail fix.  6pm was a group ride with the BicycleWorks gang.  Typically the Wednesday night group ride has riders with a wide range of experience, skill, and fitness.  However this week was all experienced, fit riders which meant for a great ride/ awesome workout as I worked to keep up!

Jan 5 - 6am weight workout working on chest, back, core.  7pm hockey (I play hockey in a mens league once a week).

Jan 6 - 8am morning ride local trails.  Conditions good, it was -2 ish degrees so the trails were nicely frozen.

Jan 7 - 8am BicycleWorks group ride...too muddy.  It was about +4 degrees and the trails were too muddy.  Riding them was only doing damage so we took the mountain bikes to the road.

Jan 8 - 8am morning local ride. At -2 degrees trail conditions were again frozen and perfect.  However, I managed to break my chain again!  Even with my relative lack of finesse, I should not be breaking a chain this often.  I will have to get it looked at.

So that's it for my training activity for the week.  Nothing too regimented yet.  Mainly getting out on the bike as often as my work, and personal schedules allow.

Have to note that effective training not only includes physical activity, but also nutrition, and having a proper nutrition plan based on goals.  I have been asked to explain what I do in this regard in more detail...so a topic for a future post!