April 1st Ride Notes

  • Right now we need to balance our energy. Where are you using yours?

    • Work

    • Relationships

    • Personal Well Being

    • Managing the home

    • Food

    • Faith

Right now let’s use our workouts to balance and boost our energy instead of drain our energy.

Warm-Up is 10 minutes. If you want/need a longer warm-up, please get on your bike before you start the workout.

Today’s Workout uses low RPM through 5 interval sets:

  • Low RPM-Engage glutes, be aware of the pedal stroke

    • Neuro-muscular control component: slower workout allows you to feel the pedal stroke and recruited muscles better

    • Builds strength and compliments other strength training you are doing

    • Strength endurance helps cement proper pedal stroke strength

    • The specificity of this is another big reason. Balance out high RPM work from the previous workout.

  • Each set includes 5 efforts while seated. Keep the core stable. You might have to toggle back and forth between your gears to get in the right position. If you don’t have power. If you don’t have a power meter use PE of 7-8

    • 70 RPM @ 80% of FTP

    • 60 RPM @ 90% of FTP

    • 70 RPM @ 80% of FTP

    • @ 90% of FTP

    • @ 80% of FTP

  • Just before each interval we are doing single-leg pedaling for 30 seconds (put the other leg out to the side) This allows for increased neuromuscular connections, control and awareness of pedal stroke:

    • Click out

    • Feel pedal stroke

    • Feel what muscles are being used

    • Recruit the hamstrings

    • Then switch legs

    • Click back in while keeping your head up. Try not to look down at your pedal. This gives you great practice in clipping in.

    • Then click out the other leg

    • Repeat thought process for 30 second

    • Make sure to watch RV’s example just before the 4th set....One not to miss for sure!

Terminology Review:

  • Rear Gears=Cassette- located on the back of the bike and there are either 10 or 11 cogs that make up the cassette... The lower the number the bigger the gear…

  • Front Gears= Chainrings. Usually, two but nowadays people on MTB and some gravel rigs have only one.. Older bikes sometimes had three. More gears equal more range and options for cadence and speed.

Touch Points on the Bicycle

  • Bars

    • Try taking your hands off the bars...what do you feel?

    • You will feel more pressure on your seat.

    • Using your bars helps displace your weight depending on which position you have on your bars:

      • Hoods,

      • Drops

      • Shoulders: the curved part between the center of your bar and your hoods. This position allows for better displacement of weight. Turn your hand out a bit with fingers resting down the outside of the bars

    • Changing hand positions help adjust the pressure from shoulders and hands.

  • Seat

    • Adjust your position fore and aft on the seat to see where you feel the pressure release

    • Tip your hips to another position to shift the pressure point

  • Pedals (Feet)-This area can be problematic during long races. To elevate your pressure in your feet:

    • Pull up a little more in your stroke

    • Shift a little of your weight into your hands

    • Loosen your shoes-When things warm up feet expand. Loosening up helps elevate foot stress. If it is really bad (during very long events) take your foot out of the shoe and rest it on top of your shoe and pedal for a few minutes.

  • RPM and Touch Points Pressure

    • Higher RPM takes the pressure off of your feet

    • Lower RPM takes the pressure off of your hands and seat

Getting older?.... You are in the right place! The endurance domain is so great for the aging athlete. Great gains can be made with proper training as we age.