Real drawbacks of early morning training rides?

First of all, you should be congradulated for making the time to workout.

But at the same time you should be aware of that in the morning the body's core temperature, blood sugar levels and flexibility will not be as ideal as they are in the early evening. So, you may want to take a few precautions....Like making sure you warm-up properly and have something to eat before or while working out.

Have, you considered indoor riding to beat the cold weather? You might find that riding indoors is actually more time efficient, and it also allows for better control of the intensity of your warm-up.

Scott

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by scottmoroschan
First of all, you should be congradulated for making the time to workout.

But at the same time you should be aware of that in the morning the body's core temperature, blood sugar levels and flexibility will not be as ideal as they are in the early evening. So, you may want to take a few precautions....Like making sure you warm-up properly and have something to eat before or while working out.

Have, you considered indoor riding to beat the cold weather? You might find that riding indoors is actually more time efficient, and it also allows for better control of the intensity of your warm-up.

Scott

Indoor training is boring and can't replace practice (off-road riding for me). also I'm tired of this for 3 months (from january to march) and I do indoor sessions during bad weather.
I eat CHO before riding and try to do good warmups and stretching after warmup.
My question is on workouts' quality. Does cold weather affects it?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by dot
I can train only in early morning (even on weekends).
I'm an early bird and it's not too hard to me to go out when it's dark and cold outside (mostly below 0 degree C).
But I wonder are there any real drawbacks in performance gains with such type of training.
I see I'm much slower when it's below 0C.

What has been previously said is right. Your blood glucose will be lower and your body will feel a lot less like doing hard work. The temperature may also reduce your training performance. Take food with you, stretch and warm up b4 going hard. Its a great way to start the day.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by dot
I can train only in early morning (even on weekends).
I'm an early bird and it's not too hard to me to go out when it's dark and cold outside (mostly below 0 degree C).
But I wonder are there any real drawbacks in performance gains with such type of training.
I see I'm much slower when it's below 0C.

I also tried this, and for a part of my training still do early morning rides. The Downfalls which I noticed were that my legs really need a much longer time to warm up, and I do not feel as good as if I ride later in the day, but thats me.

I am not saying that training later in the day is worse or better, just my experiences

Hope it helps!!
P.S. It also helps for me to drink a nice strong expresso before I ride

KEEBLER

I am an early morning rider as well. I have been doing it for so long that I think my body has adapted to the routine. I don't hink there are any drawbacks. Last year was my best year ever and I really committed myself to those early morning rides. I would just make sure that you have a goal for the ride. I would often treat it like a TT and try to beat my own PR, or focus on hill repeats. It is real easy to get complacent riding by yourself in the cold and dark.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by scottmoroschan
First of all, you should be congradulated for making the time to workout.

But at the same time you should be aware of that in the morning the body's core temperature, blood sugar levels and flexibility will not be as ideal as they are in the early evening. So, you may want to take a few precautions....Like making sure you warm-up properly and have something to eat before or while working out.

Have, you considered indoor riding to beat the cold weather? You might find that riding indoors is actually more time efficient, and it also allows for better control of the intensity of your warm-up.

Scott

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by scottmoroschan
First of all, you should be congradulated for making the time to workout.

But at the same time you should be aware of that in the morning the body's core temperature, blood sugar levels and flexibility will not be as ideal as they are in the early evening. So, you may want to take a few precautions....Like making sure you warm-up properly and have something to eat before or while working out.

Have, you considered indoor riding to beat the cold weather? You might find that riding indoors is actually more time efficient, and it also allows for better control of the intensity of your warm-up.

Scott

Time constraints during the week mean 5:30 starts for me - on my trainer's advice I take on some carbs (something light and lowGi like a muesli bar) with some water, and spend 10-15mins at 60-65% on a stationary bike or a trainer to warm the muscles and get some blood moving - this works great for me, especially in winter b/c I'm not cold when I leave the house and I get max use of my time on the road. I avoid coffee before and during rides - it pushes my heart rate up and it's a diuretic so it makes me want to pee about 30mins into a ride (especially on those cold dark winter mornings when the cold air hits and I've a few layers to unwrap).

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by armchair_spacem
Time constraints during the week mean 5:30 starts for me - on my trainer's advice I take on some carbs (something light and lowGi like a muesli bar) with some water, and spend 10-15mins at 60-65% on a stationary bike or a trainer to warm the muscles and get some blood moving - this works great for me, especially in winter b/c I'm not cold when I leave the house and I get max use of my time on the road. I avoid coffee before and during rides - it pushes my heart rate up and it's a diuretic so it makes me want to pee about 30mins into a ride (especially on those cold dark winter mornings when the cold air hits and I've a few layers to unwrap).

This sounds like a really good approach to follow. I try to emulate it, except I can't get it together enough to do the 15 minutes on the trainer.

The only thing I would add is that it is very important to have your legs (knees especially) well covered, even if you are getting a bit soggy by the end. I think you can really injure your knees if they are too cold. Who needs that?

I personally would rather ride in [censored] conditions more than nice. If you become a badass in lousy weather, think of what you can do in pristine climate. I've read that Lance will up and ride 6 hours really hard in the pouring rain.

Keep up your workouts and try to stay on the road, not inside, as much as possible.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by stone61cm
I personally would rather ride in [censored] conditions more than nice. If you become a badass in lousy weather, think of what you can do in pristine climate. I've read that Lance will up and ride 6 hours really hard in the pouring rain.

Keep up your workouts and try to stay on the road, not inside, as much as possible.

Amen to that stone - I have limited time to ride so when the weather craps out I'm out there, looking for headwinds to ride into (while my self-styled "hardcore roadie" mates are sitting inside copping an attitude & saying "I don't ride in that [censored]"😉. Inside riding bores me [censored] - I can only stand it for the 10 or 15 minutes I use it for pre-ride warming up in winter.

Oh also....forgot to add this in....riding only indoors will make you a sissy. You can quit at any time and on all of the cheaper trainers, you don't know how fast you're going or if you're even on a resistance that feels like the road. You can jump off at any point and do what you will. On all of my rides (excluding intervals) I ride out to a certain point and then turn back and ride back to my car. This way, I can't stop and the only thing I have to control is turning back before I hit the end.