For many, winter is synonymous with the off season. Summer competitions are in the rearview mirror, the conditions are difficult and the practice of the majority of the most popular endurance sports becomes almost impossible. Ice, snow and cold are good reasons to greatly reduce the volume of training, and the alternative of the treadmill or the "trainer" of a bicycle is often less attractive. For all these reasons, some perceive winter as an obstacle to achieving their goals.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
You just have to be able to see what winter can bring you, and take advantage of it to maximize your training.
First, turning down the volume of your favorite sport for an extended period is not a bad thing! This break allows the body to regenerate and wounds to heal. Muscles, joints and tendons are put to the test during the summer season, and require, like everyone else, a vacation.
That doesn't mean sitting on the couch in front of a fireplace (though sometimes that's just as necessary). On the contrary! Several options are available to you. Cross-country skiing, skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing... all activities that allow an extremely interesting adaptation for the practice of endurance sports, and this, without risk of injury. You therefore respect the necessary break, while continuing to progress towards the achievement of your objectives.
These winter sports improve your cardiovascular capacity. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are particularly effective in this aspect, when the speed is slow, but the effort is sustained. This effectively works Zone 1, or the Green Zone, to improve your endurance and aerobic capacity, while allowing your body to recover and your heart to adapt.
The practice of skating, cross-country and alpine skiing greatly improves the strength of the stabilizing muscles. These are extremely important in the practice of the three sports of triathlon, for example. Their training is often left out during the summer season, because the volume is too big and these kinds of details are the first to be overlooked when time is short. Winter is therefore an excellent time to put the emphasis on it, while combining business with pleasure.
Because in the end, winter passes much more quickly when you appreciate it than when you suffer it. By equipping yourself properly and finding which sports you enjoy the most, you maximize the chances of having fun and, by the same token, you continue to build, brick by brick, the path to your goals. When the season of your goals comes around, not only will you not have lost anything, but you will have made considerable progress!
