Just using volume to improve has one major drawback. As an age group athlete there is only a limited amount of time to train and recover. At some point we all hit the limit of the time we have to spend in the saddle.
I faced this issue a few years back. My riding was good, but I still felt like I had more potential. After years of basically "just riding" I took the leap over to the wild side, adding in interval sessions while reducing the total time spent in the saddle. Since making the change I have set PRs at all distances from sprint to Ironman.
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| Dropping a 5:23 at Ironman Florida in 2014 |
What follows are five of my favorite workouts. This is not an exclusive list of what I do, but these are the sessions I enjoy the most. What you will notice is they are nothing fancy. Some people "need' to have "fun and exciting" workouts, which I always take to mean a lot of variety. I am not that person. What I prefer is simple, measurable workloads that can be easily compared to past efforts. I want to not just be able to measure what I am doing today, but I want to be able to look back and see improvement over the course of a season, or from year-to-year.
All of these workouts can be performed on either the trainer or outside, unless otherwise noted. Always include a proper warm up and cool down.
Standing Strength Intervals 3-5 x (2 miles + easy ride back to the start)
This is a favorite of mine that I like to put into the mix early in the year, right about the time I start to ride outside again on a full time basis. Because I am in Pennsylvania this is usually late-March or early-April. Anyone who has been training mostly inside all winter can appreciate how different it is when you get back outside again, dealing with the elements and bumps in the road. After a few months of interval work inside I hope to feel strong. Problem has been, that strength inside doesn't necessarily translate outside right away. For me there always seems to be a delay.
This workout, given to me by Coach Bill about a decade ago, is what I use to get my legs back under me in short order. You will get some good work in the standing position, get the legs used to working hard outside in the elements, and get some good strength work in pushing a big gear. And speaking of the elements, I think you get more out of these if the conditions absolutely suck.
Where: This is one I do exclusively outdoors. My preference is to do this in just horrible conditions with wind and cold. A cold, stiff headwind is perfect.The more suffering the better. If for some reason you can't suck it up in the great outdoors, doing on the trainer this would equate to 3-5 x (8 min standing + 5 min recovery seated ez spin).
When: I do it once a week for 3 or 4 weeks. If done correctly this is very effective in jump starting your legs in the early season.
How: After an ample warm up I head out to a road not far from my house that gives me 2 uninterrupted miles, is flat to rolling and is usually into a headwind. Ideally you want the road to be a slight incline the whole way, I just do not have access to such a road.
The intervals are done standing with your bike in the heaviest gearing you have available (53/12 in my case). The cadence should be low. You simply ride as hard as you can to the two mile mark, where you drop back into an easy gear, turn around and head back to the start. I usually start with 3 intervals week one and increase the workload each week.
T-Max Intervals 4-8 x (2 1/2 min all out + 5 min recovery)
Sometimes you can find truly great things where you least expect it. I have read Bicycling Magazine most every month for years. I find it to be a nice read that gives good general advice. It also reminds me of things you sometimes forget or stop doing that maybe you should, like cleaning your bike chain on a regular basis. What I never really imagined was finding anything that could make a significant difference in my riding. That is, until I read this article on T-Max Intervals.
From the article:
"Laursen's findings, which have been backed by other recent studies, show that the workout he dubbed T-Max can, on average, increase maximum power output by 5 to 6 percent, and raise VO2 max sky-high. The T-Max Interval is effective because it tailors work and rest time, and intensity, to your genetic ability and fitness level, rather than prescribing an arbitrary set of conditions. Here's how it works: T-Max is the length of time you can hold your peak power output before succumbing to exhaustion--or, scientific jargon aside, how long you can ride really, really hard until you feel so much like you're dying that you stop. For most of us, that's about four to six minutes.Laursen found that cyclists improved the most doing intervals at 60 percent of their T-Max with double that amount of time for recovery between efforts. For instance, someone with a T-Max of four minutes would ride hard for 2:30, followed by five minutes of recovery." Source
I love these intervals for the pure simplicity of what they are. I tend to keep the intervals at 2 1/2 minutes that will creep up to the 3 min range later in the year.
Where: These can be done inside or outside, but you need to be careful outside. If I'm doing them outside I have a piece of road I use that is slightly uphill to start then flattens out. Because you are going all out, however, my personal preference is to do these on the trainer so I can focus on the work, not traffic.
When: These can be done all year long, although you should use caution on the timing of these during race season.
How: This is pretty straight up hard riding. If you are using power you want to try and stay at 120% of your FTP, if you are not these should be really, really hard efforts. If your power (or speed) dips more than 15% for an interval you are done, even if your plan says you have more intervals.
Aerobic Endurance Intervals 3-8 x (10 min @ OLY Effort + 3 min recovery)
This is one of my favorite workouts to do outside. Inside, I can tolerate these every now and again, but that is about it. I have a loop I like to do these on which is rolling terrain and I do not have to stop for traffic or lights. If I hit it right I can go 30 minutes without even seeing a car, let alone have to think about stopping. I also use this same loop for 6 min interval work as well .
Where: Inside or Outside, but I think mentally these work better outside.
When: Anytime of the year but I tend to do these once I get closer to my first race and periodically throughout the race season. It is one of my "go to" sessions.
How: I warm up by riding from my house out to the loop (approx. 30 minutes) then hit pace once I make the left turn onto the loop. Between efforts I make sure to hydrate and fuel up, pedaling as easy as I need to to get a full recovery.
If you train with power these intervals should be right at your FTP. If you do not, the effort should be about the effort you would put out for an Olympic distance triathlon.
Time Constrained Intervals: 10 x (1 min hard + 1 min recovery)
There are times where you just don't have the time to get a full workout in but you still want to get something done. This 30 minute workout is just the ticket for those times.
Where: Always inside. If you had time to get dressed, pump up your tires, clean your Oakleys you wouldn't need to do this workout
When: Anytime you are time restricted but still need to get a workout in.
How: These start with a 10 minute warm up where you want to build the intensity and maybe get 2 or 3 spin ups in before starting the main set. For the main set you gear up and pedal as hard as you can for 1 minute, followed by a 1 minute easy recovery spin. Repeat 10 times.
Seated Hill Repeats 3-8 x (10 min climb + full recovery)
I have this listed as a 10 minute climb because that fits the parameters of what I have readily available to me. These can be a bit shorter if needed or longer if you desire (and have an adequate piece or road or are inside on the trainer). These will make you strong if done correctly.
Where: I prefer outside but have done these many times on the trainer. If you are inside you can prop up the front of the bike to get a more realistic simulation of climbing.
When: During a strength-building phase of training.
How: Due to the muscular stress of this workout I err on the side of a longer warm up. For the intervals you want to use the largest gear in which you can sustain 60ish rpms in the seated position. Once you start you want to keep continuous pressure on the pedals until you make it to the top of the hill or your allotted time is completed. Turn around and head back to the starting point, making sure you get a full recovery between sets. If you are inside on the trainer you want to spin easy and make sure you are fully recovered before starting the next interval.
The first time you do this outside it will be a bit of a guessing game, which is fine. You may also find that due to elevation changes that you will have to periodically switch gears to maintain the proper intensity. Key is to make sure you're using consistent tension on the pedals and your rpms don't go below 50 or above 70. I find that the power numbers take care of themselves.
So there you have it, five of my favorite, most productive workouts for the bike. There are others, of course, but these are the ones I like and continuously come back to.
If you have any questions, leave a comment or hit me up with a private message or email.
Thanks for reading.
Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon
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