March 28 8am Ride Notes

Ride Content Overview- Training Pointers

  • First hour focuses on cadence work-We will do one minute intervals throughout the ride:9 total-changing the cadence each minute toggling back and forth between high and low RPM

  • Last 30 minutes focus on the sweet spot-Remember to find your happy place in this section of the workout.

  • Warm-up-This time allows you to work on the skills we are going to work on during the main set.

  • Training Buckets: We like to put cadence in one bucket and power in another.

    • Some workouts focus on cadence

    • Some focus on power

    • Some use both

  • RPE is about the same throughout the first 10 min block- But your RPM is changing so pay attention to which RPM feels better. NO perfect cadence but being aware of where you feel best is key.

Tips For Having Your Best Ride

  • Training Buckets: We like to put cadence in one bucket and power in another.

    • Some workouts focus on cadence

    • Some focus on power

    • Some use both

  • Pedal Stroke

    • Try to keep a nice, round pedal stroke to keep a high RPM.

    • The higher the RPM the more circular the stroke.

    • The lower the RPM the more likely you will mash your pedals.

    • Try to keep your upper body quiet and use your core. This helps keep high RPM.

    • What makes a smooth rider is the ability to maintain power throughout varied terrain. They are great at maintaining power regardless of cadence and terrain changes..

  • Quick Cadence Calculator

    • Doing a single-leg pedal stroke, count the number of revolutions for six seconds then add a zero to it. 7 revs in 6 seconds equals 70RPM

  • Shifting

    • Depending on your gearing, you may need to shift 1,2 or 3 times for each interval.When we lower the cadence you shift to a harder gear and we suggest higher RPM’s you need to shift to an easier gear.

    • When there is a big jump in cadence, you may need to shift up several gears at a time. Try to keep power stable while adjusting cadence.

    • When shifting the front chain ring, make sure to take some pressure off the pedals before shifting. Reducing the torque on the chain will help that front gear transition easier and your odds of a clean shift increase.

  • After each set take inventory on how you are feeling:

    • Try to understand where you are at.

    • We are going to incorporate different cadence ramps during each interval.

    • You will notice that this will affect your heart rate depending on the type of rider you are. Higher RPM’s are associated with higher HR.

    • How quickly your HR is coming down may be an indicator of your fitness and fatigue levels. Generally the faster it comes down the better your feeling and the fitter you are.

  • Riding easy for the long play.

    • Balance intensity with long, easy rides to balance the intensity

    • Fast twitch muscle fibers get recruited when slow twitch are fatigued

    • Allows you to absorb more intensity in the future

    • Teaches you to burn fat more effectively as a fuel source

    • 80-20 rule (80% is easy, 20 % is hard)

Final Thoughts from RV

  • If you only have a few days to work out: do two intensity and one really long ride and

  • I am bringing back some fundamental building blocks since many of my athletes’ goals have been moved to the fall. This is done by pulling back a bit on the sweet spot work and putting back in more strength work, longe easy rides and some high intensity VO2 max intervals.

  • I also gave some of my athletes a week of in order to help allow their blood values and hormone levels to rebound,

  • Make your hard days hard and your easy days longer and often times easier than you think.

  • Create mental scenarios of when and where you may use these types of efforts. Even though your not racing you can build your racing toolbox by imagining ride scenarios where you need efforts like the ones we did today.

Remember that we have Allen Lim will join us for tomorrow’s ride.