- Pure Belgian
Dear Cyclists,
Congratulations! You’ve done well to come this far. By this point (assuming you’ve been doing the training program), you’ve
- begun building an aerobic base
- set a solid tempo foundation
- performed your testing (at least once) to get a baseline measure
- worked on pedaling form and efficiency via drills
Because of all these accomplishments, we’re able to begin taking the next steps forward. But first, make sure that you have
— TESTED
Tomorrow’s a great day to perform an outdoor test on Petersburg Pass. Again, this is really valuable data.
— TRAINED CONSISTENTLY
If you haven’t been riding frequently, don’t just jump to this next block of training.
— NOT OVERDONE IT
If you find the workouts we’ve done so far hellishly challenging, you probably aren’t doing them right. Let me know.
In any case, we’re just making gradual changes as we move from January to February. Tempo is still our bread and butter. Again, these are workouts that are at a challenging but not all-out pace. HR is around 75-85% of max. If you’re approaching your max heart rate, you’re doing it wrong. If you finish cross-eyed and unable to stand, you’re doing it wrong. But, if you finish and feel like you just went for a nice easy spin, you’re doing it wrong. You get the idea.
So, here’s the new line-up. Quite similar to what we’ve had previously. Start this next Monday. As always, include a warm-up and cool-down.
Monday: Recovery day. Either spend this off the bike or riding super dooper easy.
Tuesday: SE workout: 3×20 at tempo with low cadence (~70), 5 minutes recovery in between. This should be a challenging but doable day. Leave something in the tank for tomorrow. You’ll need it.
Wednesday: Intro to LT! Above tempo on the “pyramid” is LT (lactate threshold). Today’s pace should be significantly faster than Tuesday, but the work times are significantly shorter, and you should be getting plenty of rest. Make sure this isn’t too hard. Do one set of 4×3 minutes at LT (3 minutes rest in between), ride at an aerobic pace for 15 minutes, and then another 4×3 set. LT is NOT all-out. It’s hard to go by HR for everything, but think ~85-90% of max HR. Again, the pace is should be faster than tempo, but nowhere near an all-out sprint.
Thursday: Recovery day. See Monday.
Friday: repeat Tuesday
Saturday: Longer aerobic ride. Maybe ride outside? If it’s nice enough try to get out for a couple hours for a relaxed aerobic ride. Otherwise try to ride on the trainer for 120-150 minutes at a moderate pace (e.g. watch a movie).
Sunday: If you can get outside, ride outside again. Otherwise, repeat Wednesday.
Lastly, people have been asking a lot of good questions, so I figure I’d let you all know my responses.
FAQ
Is it okay to move training days around?
More than okay. Do whatever you need to do to live your life and also ride your bike.
Are extra recovery days okay?
Absolutely. Especially at this point, the worst thing you can do is fail to recover enough from your workouts.
Can cross-training workouts be substituted for cycling workouts?
Yes, but ideally make this the exception rather than the rule. You get fast at riding bikes by actually riding bikes.
Questions? Keep ’em coming.
– Erik
