Goals, Gear and Gains

Written by James Witts, content writer for Nopinz.

Unless you love the dark, hate blue sky and come alive when rainy wind is blasting your frozen temple, winter can somewhat sap the motivation of the most stoical of endurance athletes. But it needn’t be so if your 2026 starts now. In short, here’s how to train smarter, stay healthy and exercise stronger this off-season…

Goal Getting

“You can’t improve what you can’t measure.” It’s a quote attributed to management guru Peter Drucker but is equally as relevant in the pain cave as the boardroom. Cue goal setting, designed to concentrate your mind and efforts so you sustain the motivation that had you signing up to your next great adventure. It’s particularly important in the winter months when the perma-grey ceiling of cloud and chillier ambience aren’t conducive to maximum motivation.

When it comes to goal setting, there are three types of goal that you should be aware of – outcome, performance and process. Consistently tick these off and your chances of goal getting rather than just goal setting rise immeasurably. Let’s look at them one by one, using triathlon as our sporting example…

Outcome goal This is the overarching goal and the end result you’re after. This might be finishing in the top-10 of your age-group at the Royal Windsor Triathlon.
Performance goal This is how well you’ll have to perform to achieve your goal. This might mean completing the Olympic-distance category in under two hours and 40 minutes. To do that, you might need to swim the 1.5km in under 28 minutes, bike 40km in under one hour and 10 minutes, and run 10km in under 50 minutes.

Process goal This is where the magic – and, at times, the monotony – live. Process goals lay the foundations to tick off both the outcome and performance goals. When it comes to our Royal Windsor example, improving the swim leg might mean practising bilateral breathing to stay balanced against the Thames current. Or to mimic your race nutrition plan by consuming one gel every 20 minutes on the bike, plus one halfway through the run.
Goals, of course, are nothing if unrealistic to the ebbs and flows of life, the universe and everything. That’s why you should also take on-board the learnings of six-time Ironman Hawaii winner and one-time coach of Chrissie Wellington, Dave Scott, who would ask his athletes to write down the time they plan to complete a session and an alternative time. Scott knew that if they had a 90-minute indoor bike planned at 6.30 in the morning but the kids wake up screaming, that session won’t happen. But if when writing down their goals they have an alternative time – say 5pm – even if it’s for only half the session length, they get in their workout.

Ace of Base

The base phase is the most important time of the year. It’s where you lay your fitness foundations, especially your aerobic endurance. As you’re ultimately an endurance athlete, your VO2max is arguably the single most important determinant of performance. A high VO2max is a sign that you can use huge swathes of oxygen during intense exercise. Think of it as building your engine before fine-tuning it come the spring (build phase).

The base phase isn’t about crawling along, nor is it about burying yourself in blood, sweat and tears. It’s about spending most of your saddle or striding time in zone two to three in a five-zone model. Broadly speaking, that’s around 60 to 75% of maximum heart rate; 55 to 75% functional threshold power; and around 3.5 out of 10 on the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. (To accurately set your zones, read our Peak, Perform and Peak piece.)

Why this is the aerobic sweet spot is down to myriad physiological adaptations that will ultimately result in improved performance. Regular training at this intensity creates more numerous and bigger mitochondria, the energy powerhouses in your cells; more capillaries in the muscle for greater bloodflow and more powerful contraction; a stronger, more efficient heart; and improved fat metabolism, so sparing glycogen (glucose stores in your body, primarily the muscles and liver) for harder efforts.

According to legendary endurance coach Joe Friel, ideally your base phase should start no fewer than 23 weeks before your main race. This then leads into the build and peak phases, which are much shorter and much more race-specific, with more of a focus on intensity than volume.

That said, you shouldn’t completely neglect high-intensity work and sprints in the winter. Not only is shifting through the gears good for your mind, but it also reminds your neurological system how to fire rapidly.

Winter Wardrobe

Fact: at 4°C and 15mph, the air feels like 0°C. Crank up to 25mph and you’re effectively riding through -2°C air. That’s not good news for your core, which aims to stay around 37°C. Drop just 2°C and hypothermia’s a very real concern. That can mean slurred speech, confusion and hyperventilation. (Some granite-like endurance athletes are seemingly oblivious to windchill. At the 1980 edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Bernard Hinault braved freezing temperatures and blizzards to win by almost 10 minutes from a field of just 21 finishers.)

It’s why clothing choice is so important to your winter training, whether that’s cycling or running. And when it comes to your torso it’s all about layering, which gives you flexibility to add or shed layers as conditions change. A fast descent? Windchill spikes, your heat drops and you’ll need extra insulation. Grinding up a steep climb? You’re generating heat and can afford to strip back.

Start with a base layer. Its job is to insulate and breathe, wicking sweat from skin to air. Manmade fabrics like polyester and natural fibres like merino wool are excellent choices. Choose thickness based on temperature and ensure that fit is snug enough to function, but not so tight that it’s damn uncomfortable. A good example is the Nopinz Winter Base Layer, which utilises highly breathable and four-way stretch fabric for the perfect fit.

Add a mid-layer depending on the forecast. Think versatile winter jerseys such as our Pro-1 Evo Roubaix Jersey, which can double as an outer layer. Like the base layer, it aims to insulate without leaving you a sweaty mess. Ideally, it’s form-fitting, too, to sit beneath the outer layer or to add an aerodynamic edge if worn as a standalone like during spring rides. Finally, when the mercury really drops, finish with a windproof, thermal or waterproof shell, choice based on the temperature and conditions.

For the lower half, it’s all about bib longs. Our Endurance Bib Tights balance warmth and performance, thanks to advanced fabrics and smart panel placement. The result? Comfort, insulation and freedom to move.

Add flexibility with Arm and Leg Warmers. They’re easy to pull on or stash away when the temperature shifts mid-ride. A neck warmer is another smart investment, sealing the gap between jacket and chin, and doubling as a mouth cover on icy mornings.

Quality cycling gloves are also a must. The ideal is a pair that delivers good insulation, is waterproof and windproof, plus offers breathability and dexterity so you can comfortably scroll through your bike computer. Look for a pair with brushed lining for comfort, coated with a laminated membrane to protect your hands from the biting wind. Good grip and long enough to cover your wrists are beneficial, too. And don’t forget your head and feet. A skull cap or headband keeps heat in up top, while overshoes do the same down below.

Strengthen Your Defences

The NHS reports that approximately 15 million people in the UK are affected by colds and flu each year, with a significant increase during the winter months. On the positive, there’s evidence that those who endurance train regularly benefit in terms of lower reported incidents of illness, infection and disease.

Take a 2011 study in the British Journal of Medicine. The researchers followed a group of 1,002 adults over a 12-week period and discovered that, on average, they experienced symptoms of upper respiratory tract illness (URTI) – a common cyclist’s ailment – for 21 days. However, those in the top 25% for fitness, who exercised for five days or more each week, experienced 43% fewer days with these symptoms (nasal discharge, coughing, fever…) and when they did display symptoms, they were less severe.

How exercise boosts the immune system isn’t 100% clear but studies have shown exercise increases the production of macrophages, which are white cells that attack the bacteria that can trigger an upper respiratory disease.

So, all good? Maybe not. Even in trained individuals, it’s well-established that high-intensity exercise can result in impaired immune function for up to three days after the exercise bout. In fact, high-intensity exercise over 90 minutes has been shown to depress the immune system, creating what’s known as an ‘open window’ of decreased protection, which is when viruses or bacteria can gain a foothold.

What can you do? Carbohydrate feeding and hydration is known to attenuate the impairment of immune function post-heavy exercise, which is likely down to the reduction in blood glucose concentration and associated insulin and stress hormone response.

When it comes to fuelling, aim for at least 60g of carbohydrates an hour during your ride or run. As for hydration, don’t presume you’ll need less fluid because it’s cold. Cold air actually increases respiratory fluid loss, meaning you lose water when you breathe. You may also sweat less visibly but you’ll still be sweating. Aim for around 150ml to 250ml of fluid every 30 minutes.

Other immune-boosting ideas may remind you of Covid times. Washing your hands regularly and avoiding touching your mouth and eyes are proven ways to sidestep illness, while coach Joe Beer’s a fan of using face masks at any time of the year when flying. Also focus on a healthy diet that contains plenty of colour, like red pepper, kale and sweet potatoes. Colour is a sign of foods high in antioxidants, which have been shown to fight infection.

Benefits of Indoor Riding

Finally, we can’t talk about the off-season without heading indoors. We’d argue that indoor training is a cyclist and triathlete’s essential if you’re serious about improving your performance. Runners can benefit from riding indoors, too, albeit treadmills are obviously sport-specific.

For those who haven’t joined the indoor revolution that’s swept over endurance sport in the last five or so years, you’re missing out. Where once indoor cycling was akin to extracting your molars with a set of rusty pliers, now it’s actually fun. That’s thanks to the technological revolution that’s brought us real-world-mimicking smart trainers and immersive apps like Zwift, which of course also provide a competitive.

Indoor training is appealing for myriad reasons. It’s convenient, as it can be ticked off anytime regardless of weather; there are no traffic hazards to contend with; if you’re a parent, you can train while babysitting – a double win; and it’s great for structured interval training using power meters or apps like Zwift and Rouvy.

Apps like Zwift add a competitive element as you can race against cyclists all around the world. That’s a great driver of fitness and it’s all down to the Kohler Effect, which stresses that no one wants to be the weak link; in other words, we work harder when working in a group than when working alone. In these virtual lands, you ride with fitter avatars and dig deeper to stay in the pack. Kansas State University found exercisers pushed intensity and duration by up to 200% when paired with stronger partners.

Indoor training also leads to more consistent training. A Finnish study from 2009 found upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) were most common when temperatures hit 0°C or below– conditions many cyclists know all too well once wind chill is factored in. That chill can irritate your airways, though it’s the dryness of cold air, not the temperature itself, that’s the main culprit. The solution? Ride indoors (or, when you’re outdoors, wrap a Buff or similar around your mouth to warm and moisten the airways).

If you want to extract the most from your indoor sessions, you’ll need a solid hydration plan, and that starts with a sweat test. Strip off and weigh yourself nude before and after a hard 60-minute ride. During the session, sip from a transparent bottle so you can see exactly how much you’ve drunk. Each kilogramme of bodyweight lost equals roughly one litre of fluid. So, if you drop 0.3kg but drink 200ml (0.2kg), your sweat loss is around 500ml per hour, which should be your target intake next time.

Pop in an electrolyte tablet to replace sodium and give the water some flavour, and always have a towel on hand – indoor sessions get steamy fast. Or they can if you don’t wear the right apparel. That’s where the Nopinz Subzero range comes in. The Subzero range has been specifically designed for indoor riding and racing with graphene-enhanced fabrics and FreezePockets helping to keep your core temperature down when you’re working and sweating hard.

All in all, cold days and short evenings don’t have to mean missed sessions or stalled progress. By combining realistic goal setting, a solid aerobic base, proper winter kit, immune-conscious training and indoor cycling sessions, you’ll maintain consistency and performance throughout winter. With the comfort and premium performance of Nopinz gear plus these smart strategies, the off-season becomes an opportunity to build your fitness and set yourself up for success when race season returns.

–  This post was written by James Witts.

James Witts is a writer who specialises in endurance sport and sports science. He has three books on his palmares including The Science of the Tour de France and Riding with the Rocketmen. He also writes for a broad range of consumer publications including Rouleur, Cyclist, The Observer and 220 Triathlon.