Warm Up:
- 10 minutes light spinning increasing cadence as you get closer to 10 minutes.
- 5 x 30 second pickups where you increase speed every 10 seconds. Get your heart rate elevated. 30 second recoveries.
Main Set:
- 30 seconds ABOVE your threshold (Hard Efforts) with 30 seconds recovery x 15-20
- If there is a drop off in effort then end the workout early and pace yourself better next time.
Cool Down:
- 10 minutes of easy pedaling.
Workout Benefits:
This workout is designed to improve the pumping capacity of the heart. It also works on improved pedal stroke (keep your form, don’t get sloppy). Pace yourself. There are no heart rate zones or wattage numbers assigned to this workout. The intervals are short and you should concentrate on proper form while giving hard efforts.
Workout Usage
I use this workout with most of my clients during the base building phase. It sets up future harder intervals as we progress throughout the season. I believe we should keep our fast twitch muscles active throughout the year. So even though this is a base building phase, we still need to work the upper levels of our V02 Max, keep all muscles groups engaged. This workout also develops speed and power but in a short time frame. The workout is challenging in that most athletes take a few rounds to get the pacing portion correct so they don’t blow up in the first 10 reps. I give this workout every other week (drill work on the alternate weeks) for a total of 3-4 rounds. I gradually increase the time interval as the season progresses, which is dependent on the athleteÍs race goals, fitness level and ability to handle longer durations.
