This session will help you develop your leg strength which will positively affect just about all areas of your cycling – sprinting, hill climbing, and time trialling.
Each Wednesday I’ll post a Windtrainer Workout that you can do in about 60 minutes to enhance your cycling. See a previous post about training intensity (Levels) to know how hard to work. If you are working directly with Coach Ray he will in most cases prescribe either a Power Zone or Heart Rate Zone to work within if you are training with these tools.
4x 5min BG Hill Reps, 1min RI
- 18min Warm Up Level II;
- 4x 5min Level IV BG & high resistance, 1min RI Level I;
- 10min Cool Down Level I-II;
- 10min Stretching
The warm-up should be done at an intensity that is steady but not overconsuming at Level II.
The main set includes a set of four repetitions of five minutes hard at Level IV against a resistance to simulate a hill and also in a big gear (BG). Your cadence will be relatively low – possibly somewhere between 50 & 70 Revolutions per minute (RPM). After the five minutes is up, ride easy against minimal resistance and in a small gear for a Rest Interval (RI) for a minute.
Once all repetitions have been done commence a cool down at a low intensity for ten minutes.
Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with your recovery. This isn’t necessarily included in the 60-minute workout and can be conducted whilst showering post-workout.
This session can also be done out on the road just as easily as on a wind trainer but is a lot more effective on the wind trainer. If you are doing it on the road you need to choose a hill that will take a good 20 minutes of riding to get to the top. Warm up as you ride to the hill. If the hill is within 10 minutes of your starting point, extend the warm-up so that it lasts a minimum of 10 minutes. Commence the first repetition at the bottom of the hill and after the riding, the first rep, turn around and descend for the minute (including the turn around times) before recommencing the climb for the second rep in the big gear. Push yourself hard in this session and you will find your form will come on nicely.
If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.
I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.
I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.
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If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published previously.
Wednesday Windtrainer Workout: 2min/2:30min/3min/3:30min/4min
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