Ride Hard After Work
Time to turn your riding up a notch
If you have been good you will have retained some of last summer’s fitness and have been getting on the bike, be it in the form of the indoor trainer or grinding out some miles after work in the dark and/or during the weekends.
With there now being some light at the end of the working day, late winter early spring represents a great opportunity for some higher quality training. By now you should be relatively bored of steady base level riding and actually looking forward to some variety on the bike. Now is the time to get a little more specific in your pre-summer training regime.
Daylight savings hasn’t kicked in yet, so that means there is a great opportunity for some short, intense sessions in the daylight before it goes dark. Get your intensity up now and reap the rewards come summer.
Just short of, to an hour is perfect for this time of year. With that in mind there are a few different types of training session you can perform to work on different levels of your performance. Not only does changing it up a little help with different aspects of your performance but variety helps keep it interesting.
Below are a few training patterns to incorporate after work. Doing them post work will leave you with time for longer rides on the weekend. Win win situation.
Spin sessions
Why? A great way to work on your pedalling technique is through spinning. The term ‘spin it to win it’ is no myth. Really concentrate on your technique. If you’ve worked hard on your fitness then you want to be as efficient as possible on the bike in order to get the most out of your training. Smooth circles with no jerking are what we’re aiming for. Ideally you will have a cadence speedo to keep an eye on things.
What to do:
1. Warm up for 15 minutes in an easy, comfortable, gear.
2. Spin your legs for 2 minutes at approximately 110RPM.
3. Slow it down to 80RPM and continue for a further 2 minutes.
4. Cruise for 10 minutes in your chosen easy gear.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 again.
6. Warm down for 15 minutes.
Strength sessions
Why? After a winter of cruising around the streets and roads it is time to inject a little pace into your legs. You will have lost much of that power you came out of summer with, so now it’s time to get it back. During this process concentrate really hard on maintaining even power. If you find yourself unable to maintain the level you have set yourself, aim slightly lower. Remember – you won’t be cranking out the same Watts you were four months ago.
What to do:
1. Warm up for 10 minutes in an easy, comfortable, gear.
2. Bring your heart rate up a step for 5 minutes whilst still using an easy, comfortable, gear.
3. Ride hard for 2 minutes and keep the power level consistent. Don’t waver through the two minutes.
4. Spin a very light and very easy gear for 90 seconds.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 two more times, making three repetitions of sprints in total.
6. Take four minutes to spin your legs on an easy gear to help flush out some of the lactic acid that will have built up.
7. Ride hard for 1 minute and keep the power level consistent. Don’t waver through the minute.
8. Spin a very light and very easy gear for 1 minute.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 two more times, making three repetitions of sprints in total.
10. Take four minutes to spin your legs on an easy gear.
11. Ride hard for 30 seconds and keep the power level consistent. Don’t waver through the 30 seconds.
12. Spin a very light and very easy gear for 30 seconds.
13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 two more times, making three repetitions of sprints in total.
14. Warm down for 15 minutes.
Severe sessions
Why? Sounds awful doesn’t it? Well, they are, unless you really revel in fighting through some pain. This type of training is fundamental in developing speed endurance. You’ll find that there are no rests built into the Severe sessions, that’s because to develop speed endurance you need to teach your body and mind to work through the pain. You’ll be surprised at what you’re actually capable of. Ideally you will have a heart-rate monitor to hand and you will know or at least have estimated your max heart rate.
What to do:
1. Warm up for 15 minutes in an easy, comfortable, gear.
2. Hold 15 minutes at 75-80% of your max heart rate. As this session is based on a percentage of your max heart rate it should feel hard but very sustainable.
If not, reassess your max heart rate.
3. Step it up a notch by clicking up a gear and ride for 10 minutes at 80-85% of your max heart rate.
4. For the final push, change up a gear once more and ride for 5 minutes at 90% of your max heart rate. 90% is a guide to help you achieve at least five minutes of
riding at this intensity. The effort should be about as max as you are able to achieve. By the end of this five minutes you should be exhausted but really
concentrate on that heart rate monitor and maintain 90% effort. This is where all the hard work will pay off in the future.
5. Warm down for 15 minutes.
If you have been good you will have retained some of last summer’s fitness and have been getting on the bike, be it in the form of the indoor trainer or grinding out some miles after work in the dark and/or during the weekends.
With there now being some light at the end of the working day, late winter early spring represents a great opportunity for some higher quality training. By now you should be relatively bored of steady base level riding and actually looking forward to some variety on the bike. Now is the time to get a little more specific in your pre-summer training regime.
Daylight savings hasn’t kicked in yet, so that means there is a great opportunity for some short, intense sessions in the daylight before it goes dark. Get your intensity up now and reap the rewards come summer.
Just short of, to an hour is perfect for this time of year. With that in mind there are a few different types of training session you can perform to work on different levels of your performance. Not only does changing it up a little help with different aspects of your performance but variety helps keep it interesting.
Below are a few training patterns to incorporate after work. Doing them post work will leave you with time for longer rides on the weekend. Win win situation.
Spin sessions
Why? A great way to work on your pedalling technique is through spinning. The term ‘spin it to win it’ is no myth. Really concentrate on your technique. If you’ve worked hard on your fitness then you want to be as efficient as possible on the bike in order to get the most out of your training. Smooth circles with no jerking are what we’re aiming for. Ideally you will have a cadence speedo to keep an eye on things.
What to do:
1. Warm up for 15 minutes in an easy, comfortable, gear.
2. Spin your legs for 2 minutes at approximately 110RPM.
3. Slow it down to 80RPM and continue for a further 2 minutes.
4. Cruise for 10 minutes in your chosen easy gear.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 again.
6. Warm down for 15 minutes.
Strength sessions
Why? After a winter of cruising around the streets and roads it is time to inject a little pace into your legs. You will have lost much of that power you came out of summer with, so now it’s time to get it back. During this process concentrate really hard on maintaining even power. If you find yourself unable to maintain the level you have set yourself, aim slightly lower. Remember – you won’t be cranking out the same Watts you were four months ago.
What to do:
1. Warm up for 10 minutes in an easy, comfortable, gear.
2. Bring your heart rate up a step for 5 minutes whilst still using an easy, comfortable, gear.
3. Ride hard for 2 minutes and keep the power level consistent. Don’t waver through the two minutes.
4. Spin a very light and very easy gear for 90 seconds.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 two more times, making three repetitions of sprints in total.
6. Take four minutes to spin your legs on an easy gear to help flush out some of the lactic acid that will have built up.
7. Ride hard for 1 minute and keep the power level consistent. Don’t waver through the minute.
8. Spin a very light and very easy gear for 1 minute.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 two more times, making three repetitions of sprints in total.
10. Take four minutes to spin your legs on an easy gear.
11. Ride hard for 30 seconds and keep the power level consistent. Don’t waver through the 30 seconds.
12. Spin a very light and very easy gear for 30 seconds.
13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 two more times, making three repetitions of sprints in total.
14. Warm down for 15 minutes.
Severe sessions
Why? Sounds awful doesn’t it? Well, they are, unless you really revel in fighting through some pain. This type of training is fundamental in developing speed endurance. You’ll find that there are no rests built into the Severe sessions, that’s because to develop speed endurance you need to teach your body and mind to work through the pain. You’ll be surprised at what you’re actually capable of. Ideally you will have a heart-rate monitor to hand and you will know or at least have estimated your max heart rate.
What to do:
1. Warm up for 15 minutes in an easy, comfortable, gear.
2. Hold 15 minutes at 75-80% of your max heart rate. As this session is based on a percentage of your max heart rate it should feel hard but very sustainable.
If not, reassess your max heart rate.
3. Step it up a notch by clicking up a gear and ride for 10 minutes at 80-85% of your max heart rate.
4. For the final push, change up a gear once more and ride for 5 minutes at 90% of your max heart rate. 90% is a guide to help you achieve at least five minutes of
riding at this intensity. The effort should be about as max as you are able to achieve. By the end of this five minutes you should be exhausted but really
concentrate on that heart rate monitor and maintain 90% effort. This is where all the hard work will pay off in the future.
5. Warm down for 15 minutes.
