{"id":2381,"date":"2021-02-01T14:54:47","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T14:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2021-02-01T14:54:47","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T14:54:47","slug":"training-tips-by-andy-schleck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/2021\/02\/01\/training-tips-by-andy-schleck\/","title":{"rendered":"Training Tips by Andy Schleck"},"content":{"rendered":"

We interviewed the Tour de France winner Andy Schleck about his training habits as a professional and as an amateur road cyclist now that he is retired. Here is what he told us about his indoor setup, cross-training, nutrition, and hydration.<\/strong>
\n
\n\u201cThe world moves really fast. Unfortunately, when I was a pro rider, we didn\u2019t have Zwift. So, my training at home was just a basic home trainer and a fan. We invented all kinds of systems to try and make it not as boring,\u201d Andy said when asked about his own home training.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>
Andy shot to fame almost overnight when he finished second in the 2007 Giro d\u2019Italia out of the blue aged just 21.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Should you use your PlayStation when training indoors?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWe would try things like watching a moving while riding or even playing on a PlayStation! But I soon found out that none of those things really worked. I couldn\u2019t concentrate on my training while doing those things,\u201d Andy continued. That meant his training setup was very basic in the end. Just a home trainer, a fan for cooling, and some music. That was the only way to properly go through all the required training indoors.<\/p>\n

I become an addict when I start \u201cZwifting\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cToday, everything has changed with platforms like Zwift, BKool, FulGaz, and many others.<\/a> This can actually make indoor training a fun thing.<\/a> Before, indoor training was the most boring and painful part of the preparation as a pro cyclist. I still prefer riding outside but if you\u2019re in a lockdown or if the weather doesn\u2019t allow for outdoor training, this is definitely an effective and fun alternative. When I get into it and start \u201cZwifting\u201d, I become an addict after two rides,\u201d Andy laughs. \u201cI sign up for competitions. I try hard to beat the others. I have friends that use Zwift every week or even every day. I have to say, big thanks to Zwift for inventing this before [COVID-19] came.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turbo trainer or rollers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cI believe rollers are good when you just want to spin your legs. Maybe for a warm-up before a time trial or an easy recovery workout at home just to get your legs moving. But to do a proper workout, it simply doesn\u2019t work because you can\u2019t add enough resistance. It\u2019s like you\u2019re just riding flat with a backwind. And you don\u2019t get in shape with flat roads and backwind,\u201d Andy smiles. \u201cBut some modern rollers do allow you to add some limited resistance and they give you a more realistic feel. You can move left and right more than on a fixed home trainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can simulate climbs indoor<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Andy<\/a>
Nowadays, Andy spends and enjoys his time as a cycling coach, owner of a small bicycle shop in Luxembourg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cNowadays, you can really have a variety of indoor training setups. For example, you can get the CLIMB from Wahoo, which attaches to your front wheel<\/a> and helps simulate climbing by lifting your front fork. Some people think it\u2019s just a gimmick but if you want to simulate climbs at home properly, it\u2019s not a bad thing to have. Even if you set the right resistance on a regular trainer, the position on the bike stays the same as riding a flat road. With the Wahoo CLIMB, your position changes, which means you use your muscles differently, just like on a real climb,\u201d Andy explains.<\/p>\n

Pay extra attention to hydration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cYou should have a lot of water or some isotonic drink at hand because you do sweat a lot, more than when you ride outside. That way, you don\u2019t have to stop your training in the middle. A fan can create the feeling you sweat less because it feels cooler but the temperature in your room is still the same even with a fan. So, be careful to stay hydrated<\/a> while you do the workout,\u201d warns Andy. He also recommends having a towel on the bike to deal with the sweat.<\/p>\n

Nutrition for indoor training<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cA long indoor training session for me as a professional was 2 hours. Sometimes, I would do 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon but never more than 2 hours in one session. And the average indoor workout for most people will usually be around 1 hour. I believe that if you have a healthy lifestyle and you eat properly<\/a> throughout the day, you don\u2019t need to eat during that 1-hour session. But if you do a monster session at home of 4-5 hours, then you do need to eat something,\u201d Andy says.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>
“I can\u2019t say I really found a bad cycling location. There are good ones and there are very good ones.\u201d \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Training core stability in winter<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cAs a pro, you need to work on your overall fitness, not just your legs and lungs. Especially the off-season in winter<\/a> is when you can work on your core stability. It\u2019s what keeps you straight on the bike. It\u2019s what keeps you from crashing and helps you avoid injuries. And that\u2019s what I used to do, a lot of core training and weight lifting to train the other parts of my body, which I didn\u2019t have enough time to train during the season,\u201d Andy describes. \u201cWinter is also when I was able to sometimes go for an early morning run to stimulate different muscles than with cycling. And I would also do some swimming as a workout for the lung muscles and to improve lung volume.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cycling and staying in shape while busy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cNow that I\u2019m not a professional cyclist, I\u2019m quite busy with other things than cycling. But I still love cycling. I don\u2019t do it for the workout, I ride just because I enjoy it. And I use it to socialize with different people. It\u2019s the most social sport in the world, I believe. I also swim a lot \u2013 that\u2019s also my sport today. I like it because, in 1 hour, I can do a real workout whereas on the bike 1 hour is not really enough for me. I can\u2019t really run anymore because of a knee injury but I do take my dog for very long walks in nature,\u201d Andy describes how his sports activities have changed since retiring from professional cycling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We interviewed the Tour de France winner Andy Schleck about his training habits as a professional and as an amateur […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":2400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition-training"],"yoast_head":"\nTraining at Home With Andy Schleck - We Love Cycling Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""When I was a pro rider, we didn\u2019t have Zwift. 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