By Coach Adam Walker, The Cycling Co
February is a pivotal month for mountain bikers training for BC Bike Race. With the race just 15 weeks away, motivation is rising. In many places, winter is starting to loosen its grip, trails are becoming rideable, and it finally feels like the season is approaching. That makes February an opportunity month.
If you’ve been training consistently since the fall, you’re in a great position to keep progressing. If you’re just starting to find your groove now, there’s still time—but how you train over the next few weeks matters a lot.
February isn’t about hero workouts or panic training. It’s about setting yourself up to train well in March and April, when the biggest gains are made.
February Is a Bridge Month
Think of February as a bridge between:
• Winter base and foundation work
• Spring-specific fitness for stage racing
The goals right now are clear:
• Raise the ceiling with well-controlled intensity
• Build durability by extending volume carefully
• Do both without blowing up recovery
This is the month where athletes get into trouble by doing too much, too fast. Progress is the goal—but restraint is the skill. February isn’t about proving fitness. It’s about setting up the next 8–12 weeks.
Training If You’re Snowbound, Indoors, or Time-Crunched
If you’re stuck inside or short on time, intensity should remain front and center. Primary Focus: Intensity + Controlled Aerobic Load
Key priorities:
• VO₂max work with short, repeatable efforts
• Extending time at threshold
• Gradually increasing tempo volume
Indoor training works extremely well in February because:
• The trainer allows for precision
• You can control the environment
• Less total time is needed to create a strong stimulus
How to Approach These Sessions
• VO₂ intervals should stay repeatable, with enough variation to avoid stagnation
• Threshold work should progress by duration, not just higher watts
• Tempo should build fatigue resistance—not push you toward exhaustion
⚠️ Important reminder: Indoor training is high signal, high stress. Recovery is non-negotiable.
Training If You Can Ride Outside 🚵♂️
If outdoor riding is an option, February becomes about preserving intensity while extending endurance. What Stays in the Plan:
• VO₂max sessions
• Threshold work
What Starts Expanding
• Endurance ride duration
• Time spent in Zone 2
This endurance work creates oxidative stress, which drives:
• Mitochondrial development
• Increased capillary density
• Improved aerobic efficiency
For more advanced riders, February is also when you can begin introducing:
• Controlled tempo or threshold within longer rides
• Long, steady climbs
• Sustained pressure on the pedals without surging
🚨 These are not hammer rides.
The goal is Aerobic efficiency under fatigue
Not turning every ride into a race simulation
If every endurance ride becomes a smash fest, you’re borrowing fitness from your future.
Strength Training Shifts to Maintenance Mode
February is when strength training begins to take a back seat—but it doesn’t disappear.
The Shift:
• Gym work moves into maintenance
• Bike training becomes the priority
The adaptations we’re chasing now are aerobic and oxidative in nature:
• Increased stroke volume
• Greater mitochondrial density
• Improved capillary development
What Strength Work Looks Like Now:
• Shorter sessions
• Lower overall volume
• Just enough to:
◦ Preserve muscle
◦ Maintain strength
◦ Support injury resistance
Mobility and stability work should stay in the program throughout this phase. We’re not trying to get stronger right now — we’re trying to not get weaker.
Functional Overreaching vs. Overtraining ⚖️
Progress requires stress. Functional overreaching—applying slightly more stress than your current fitness level—is necessary to improve performance.
But when stress exceeds recovery for too long, that functional overreaching turns into overtraining.
Why February is risky:
• Motivation is high
• The race countdown starts to feel real
• Athletes begin thinking, “I need to make big gains right now”
Common Mistakes:
• Increasing volume too quickly
• Stacking intensity without understanding personal limits
• Ignoring fatigue signals
• Training through:
◦ Poor sleep
◦ Low HRV
◦ Elevated resting heart rate
◦ Heavy, dead legs
🚫 The biggest mistake: Training through illness.
If you’re sick, you rest. Period. Training while sick prevents your body from absorbing stress and often leads to bigger setbacks later. Missing a day or two now is far better than missing weeks in March or April.
The Absorption Principle
This is the most important concept to understand in February: It’s not about how much training you can do — it’s about how much you can absorb.
Missing a workout because you need recovery is smart. Pushing through fatigue is expensive—and the bill always comes due. A small step back now beats a forced stop later.
What a February Week Might Look Like
Here’s an example structure:
• Monday: Rest
• Tuesday: VO₂ intervals (Tabatas, 30/30s, or steady-state efforts)
• Wednesday: Strength training (optional easy ride if time allows)
• Thursday: Endurance ride (2–3+ hours; advanced riders may add tempo or threshold)
• Friday: Strength training
• Saturday: MTB ride with skill development and possible threshold work
• Sunday: Long endurance ride, increasing ~30 minutes weekly toward 3–4+ hours
Final Thoughts
February is where patience pays off. You don’t need monster workouts. You don’t need to rush fitness. You need consistency, smart progression, and the discipline to listen to your body. Stay focused. Stay positive.
Let the work compound because when you respect February, March and April become a whole lot more productive—and BC Bike Race becomes a whole lot more fun.
Happy training!
Coach Adam Walker is a certified professional mountain bike coach and has coached athletes to World Cup and World Championship wins. A masters athlete himself, he is passionate about helping all riders achieve their biggest goals, like completing BC Bike Race.
If you want to take the guesswork out of your training, preparation and skill development, Adam has a couple of options for you.
The CLUB SHRED online community with weekly group coaching calls. OR… Personal One-on-One Coaching.
For more information on either of these programs, hit him up on instagram @coachadamwalker or email adam@thecyclingco.com. Check out Club Shred.