Back in 2007, I conducted a windtrainer class. I had a fleet of Minoura Mag-800’s and I hired a hall that had a great group of athletes that would join me once a week for a tough session (similar to Spinervals by Coach Troy Jacobson except I also rode with my athletes and sweated up a storm alongside them). I’ve recently been tidying up some old boxes in the garage and found my old lesson plans and the music to go alongside them. This was the session I took for the very first class. Although primarily designed for triathletes this session is great for anyone wanting to boost their FTP (yes, I was training with power back then with the old Polar WIND power meter temperamental as it was).
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.
QK WT Class I
- 10min WU Level II;
- 3x 5min Level II 100+ RPM, 5min Level IV Cadence <75rpm;
- 3x 2min Level IV 95-100Rpm, 2min Level IV 80-85Rpm;
- 7min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with a ten-minute Warm Up (WU) riding at Level II. Keep your cadence between 85 & 95Rpm for the warm-up.
The main set involves completing three reps. Each rep totals ten minutes and is made up of two five-minute segments. The first five minutes of each rep is ridden at Level II and maintains a high cadence greater than 100 rpm. The second five-minute segment is ridden at a lower cadence of below 75 rpm but a higher intensity at Level IV. There is no rest period, you roll straight from this segment into the next set…
The second set is effectively twelve minutes at Level IV, but every two minutes you change your cadence. Ride with a cadence of between 95 & 100 rpm for the first (and all subsequent) two-minute blocks and a cadence of 80-85rpm for the second (& subsequent) two-minute blocks.
Conclude the intervals with seven minutes of riding at Level II for your Cool Down (CD).
Finish with ten minutes of stretching to assist with your recovery.
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. Make sure you sign up for my informative newsletter.
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Download the Garmin (.FIT) and Zwift (.ZWO) files for this workout for FREE
Here is the playlist that I put together for the class. The intervals line up with changes in songs with slower, more gentle songs for the Warm Up and Cool Down, with more up-tempo songs for the higher intensity portions. For the class I had a CD of music, these are the closest in duration I could find on YouTube in 2021, and if you have ads play this will push things out a bit as well and it won’t perfectly line up.
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