The second set of indoor bike sessions for your ‘enjoyment’ (Part2 ) Winter sessions for the turbo trainer or gym bike. 14/11/2011
Please read the first article before commencing these sessions. These sessions are not only to keep you motivated on the cold dark nights but to give your session a bit of focus. If you get on your bike and pedal slowly for an hour every session then you have managed to train your body to ride a bike slowly for an hour. So get on the bike with a target or a focus for each and every session. RPM refers to revolutions per minute. To get your RPM, count each time the left leg is at 12 O Clock for 15 seconds and multiply by four. The RPM is sometimes referred to as cadence. Effort is given as XX%; this is easily converted to whatever scale (RPE, Heart rate etc) you wish to use yourself.
The Warm up for each of these sessions is the same, 10 to 15 minutes. Get the legs turning and get the blood flowing around the body. Start off gently and build the intensity to 75% of your effort. Use this time to make sure your bike position is optimal, get comfortable and get your ‘game face’ on, as the Americans would say.
The Cool down is also similar to all the other sessions, usually about 10 minutes, don’t skip on it. Ease the effort level back and bring your breathing under control. A gentle spin (70-85 RPM) for the last ten minutes of a workout will bring the heart rate down and still keep the blood pumping. The blood will then continue to deliver oxygen to the muscles and help offset the oxygen debt along with speeding up your recovery for future sessions. This also leaves the body warm and supple for your flexibility post workout.
So now that we have establish the garnish for our sessions (warm up and cool down), it is time to put the meat on the dish.
Sustaining Sprints:
5 mins 90 RPM building to 70-75% effort
5 mins Alternating 30/30 – 30sec standing at 90% effort 75-85 RPM
30 sec sitting at 60% effort
5 mins Steady sitting 80% effort 90-100 RPM
30 mins 4 mins steady 80 % effort followed by
1 min of all out sprint (repeat X6)
This is a cruel session and should slot into you endurance speed block in the master training plan. It can be made easier or harder by manipulating the 30 minute set above. You can increase the set up to 10 all out sprints, but after 8 all out sprints it is the session or the length of the sprints which I usually change. Use the 4 minutes of recovery to drink and wipe the sweat from your brow.
Single leg suffering:
5 mins 90 RPM building to 70-75% effort
5 mins Alternating 75-85 RPM (repeat X 4-6) – 1min Left leg
1min both legs
1min Right leg
2mins both legs
5 mins Steady 80% effort 90-100 RPM
This session concentrates on building the pedal stroke to an efficient 360 degree smooth motion as opposed to the beginners up/down pumping motion. Clip in shoes or good straps are a must for this drill and try and focus on pulling the pedal on the back stroke. Visualise scraping the mud off the sole of the shoe. Start with 4 sets and build a set at a time. Use the both legs part of the main set to recover and if a minute is too long for an individual leg then use 30 seconds and build slowly to the full minute. The type of bike or turbo will determine where the resting leg will go. Either a chair either side of the bike to rest it on or the central part of the spinning bike will do. If you have particular injuries, it might be worth leaving the resting leg clipped in. Talk to your therapist and/or coach before commencing a rehabilitation program.
Sticky Hills:
15 mins 90 RPM building to 70-75% effort (warm up)
Alternating (repeat X 4) – 3mins 60-70 RPM 85-95% effort Seated
5mins 90 RPM 60% effort Seated
5 mins Steady 70% effort 90 RPM
10 min Cool down
The 3 minute hill should have you starting the 3 minutes at 85% effort and incrementally building the effort over the three minutes till you’re struggling to maintain the 60 RPM and fighting the urge to stand on the pedals. Novices or first time using this session, should attempt to repeat three to four times only; more advanced cyclists could increase the repeats or use this in conjunction with another session to increase the time and workload.
So that should keep you amused till we meet again.
Please read the first article before commencing these sessions. These sessions are not only to keep you motivated on the cold dark nights but to give your session a bit of focus. If you get on your bike and pedal slowly for an hour every session then you have managed to train your body to ride a bike slowly for an hour. So get on the bike with a target or a focus for each and every session. RPM refers to revolutions per minute. To get your RPM, count each time the left leg is at 12 O Clock for 15 seconds and multiply by four. The RPM is sometimes referred to as cadence. Effort is given as XX%; this is easily converted to whatever scale (RPE, Heart rate etc) you wish to use yourself.
The Warm up for each of these sessions is the same, 10 to 15 minutes. Get the legs turning and get the blood flowing around the body. Start off gently and build the intensity to 75% of your effort. Use this time to make sure your bike position is optimal, get comfortable and get your ‘game face’ on, as the Americans would say.
The Cool down is also similar to all the other sessions, usually about 10 minutes, don’t skip on it. Ease the effort level back and bring your breathing under control. A gentle spin (70-85 RPM) for the last ten minutes of a workout will bring the heart rate down and still keep the blood pumping. The blood will then continue to deliver oxygen to the muscles and help offset the oxygen debt along with speeding up your recovery for future sessions. This also leaves the body warm and supple for your flexibility post workout.
So now that we have establish the garnish for our sessions (warm up and cool down), it is time to put the meat on the dish.
Sustaining Sprints:
5 mins 90 RPM building to 70-75% effort
5 mins Alternating 30/30 – 30sec standing at 90% effort 75-85 RPM
30 sec sitting at 60% effort
5 mins Steady sitting 80% effort 90-100 RPM
30 mins 4 mins steady 80 % effort followed by
1 min of all out sprint (repeat X6)
This is a cruel session and should slot into you endurance speed block in the master training plan. It can be made easier or harder by manipulating the 30 minute set above. You can increase the set up to 10 all out sprints, but after 8 all out sprints it is the session or the length of the sprints which I usually change. Use the 4 minutes of recovery to drink and wipe the sweat from your brow.
Single leg suffering:
5 mins 90 RPM building to 70-75% effort
5 mins Alternating 75-85 RPM (repeat X 4-6) – 1min Left leg
1min both legs
1min Right leg
2mins both legs
5 mins Steady 80% effort 90-100 RPM
This session concentrates on building the pedal stroke to an efficient 360 degree smooth motion as opposed to the beginners up/down pumping motion. Clip in shoes or good straps are a must for this drill and try and focus on pulling the pedal on the back stroke. Visualise scraping the mud off the sole of the shoe. Start with 4 sets and build a set at a time. Use the both legs part of the main set to recover and if a minute is too long for an individual leg then use 30 seconds and build slowly to the full minute. The type of bike or turbo will determine where the resting leg will go. Either a chair either side of the bike to rest it on or the central part of the spinning bike will do. If you have particular injuries, it might be worth leaving the resting leg clipped in. Talk to your therapist and/or coach before commencing a rehabilitation program.
Sticky Hills:
15 mins 90 RPM building to 70-75% effort (warm up)
Alternating (repeat X 4) – 3mins 60-70 RPM 85-95% effort Seated
5mins 90 RPM 60% effort Seated
5 mins Steady 70% effort 90 RPM
10 min Cool down
The 3 minute hill should have you starting the 3 minutes at 85% effort and incrementally building the effort over the three minutes till you’re struggling to maintain the 60 RPM and fighting the urge to stand on the pedals. Novices or first time using this session, should attempt to repeat three to four times only; more advanced cyclists could increase the repeats or use this in conjunction with another session to increase the time and workload.
So that should keep you amused till we meet again.
