This is a windtrainer session that is great for developing your threshold power or intensity. It is perfect for triathletes (especially short-course athletes), road cyclists, and mountain bikers alike.
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.
This session is inspired by a workout by Gale Bernhardt published by Active.com. The original article can be found here.
Active’s Power Building
- 10min Level II WU;
- 3x 30sec Level V+, 4:30min Level II RI;
- 3x 20sec Level V+, 4:40min Level II RI;
- 3x 10sec Level V+, 4:50min Level II RI;
- 10min Level II CD;
- 10min Stretching
The warm-up (WU) should be done at an intensity that is steady but not overconsuming at Level II for ten minutes.
The Main Body of this workup is made up of three sets of three sprint reps.
The first set includes three 30-second reps. Ride these reps as hard as you can, Level V plus. After each rep ride steadily at Level II for four and a half minutes for your Rest Interval (RI).
The second set is very similar to the first set, but each rep is only 20 seconds long (at Level V) and the Rest Interval (RI) is slightly longer at four minutes and 40 seconds at Level II.
The third set steps things up again with a ten-second sprint at Level V plus, and then a slightly longer Rest Interval (RI) at four minutes and 50 seconds duration at Level II.
The long Rest Interval (RI) between sprints will give you maximum time to recover and therefore allow you to put in your maximum effort for the 30, 20, or ten-second sprint.
The Cool Down (CD) is at low intensity (Level II) for a minimum of ten minutes.
Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.
If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.
I am the Head Coach and 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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Download the Garmin (.FIT) and Zwift (.ZWO) files for this workout for FREE
If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published previously.
Wednesday Windtrainer Workout: Santa’s Ride
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