Winter Training Is Coming - 10 Endurance Workouts to Consider

For many of us the summer racing season is coming to an end and the peak races are over or within the next few months. Every year I look to add something different or and old training discipline to keep things interesting and fun during the sometimes long winters in Pittsburgh, PA. In 25 years, I have used many different workouts inside and out to add not only variety but also to improve different weaknesses. Here are a few to consider to add to your off-season or winter training program. Yes, I know there are plenty of you who focus on winter racing so your prime race season is coming up!

10 Activities to add some Variety:

1.  Consider a video course for overall body strength, P90X, Insansity (great one - personally I love these workouts) or Wheel of Yoga for Cyclists, http://www.moryoga.com/dvd-release.html. 
2.  Snowshoeing and participating in a race, (hill climb or longer race). 
3. Mountain biking in the mud and snow for a long fat burning ride. 
4. Speed Skating - even if you don’t have the higher end performance skates, just rent hockey skates and do a session after a bike or run. This is tough on the quads and lungs when combining with another workout!
5. Winter mountain hiking/climbing.
6. Cross Country skiing and either do a long trail: for example the Catamount Trail in Vermont or sign up for a race.
7. Trail running in the snow - add some screws to the bottom of the shoe for additional traction.
8. Long Workouts to build mental strength: 100 mile indoor bike ride or a 3 hour treadmill run (yes they can be brutal/boring but add in a specific interval set or a combination workout to keep it interesting). 
9. Cyclo-Cross bike race - these are a lot of fun and absolutely exhausting.
10. Long distance indoor swim.

These are just a few to consider for the upcoming off-season for many of us. What are you going to do this winter? Find a race on http://www.racetwitch.com Send over your workouts or races to consider!