With the Tour of Southland currently in progress and today’s stage including the Crown Range which is a decisive place that can determine the outcome of the tour and yesterday’s stage going over Blackmount on the way to Te Anau, this week’s session has been inspired by these key points in the race. The session itself will increase power for when you need to accelerate up an incline such as particularly Blackmount or maybe in a Mountain Bike race.
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.
Chris Carmichael’s HillSprints™
- 20min Warm Up Level II;
- 3x 8-12sec Uphill Level V, 10min RI Level II;
- 10min Cool Down Level II;
- 5min Stretching
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) of 20 minutes of easy riding at Level II. If done on the road ride towards a course that has some undulations.
The main set includes three reps of 8-12 sec stomping on the pedals as hard as possible at Level V as you hit an incline. Make sure you are in moderate to light gear and as you hit the base of the hill, jump up out of the seat and really go for it. As the slope increases so too will the resistance. Stay up out of the saddle for the entire sprint. This will work your glutes, lower back, and triceps. Hold the top end speed for the full duration of the interval. Ensure you get maximal recovery of riding for ten minutes at Level II between efforts to ensure you can maximise your effort with each rep.
Conclude the ride with a minimum of ten minutes riding at Level II for your Cool Down (CD).
Finish with ten minutes of stretching to assist with your recovery.
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. Credit for this workout belongs to Chris Carmichael who has worked with some of the world’s most well-known (as well as infamous) cyclists. This workout along with others can be found in his book “The Lance Armstrong Performance Program” (and yes, the book is solely about training and is well worth the read).
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
If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published 12 months ago.
Wednesday Wind Trainer Session: Big Gear Hill Reps
For more great workouts of this nature check out my eBook Top 10 Cycle Workouts From Coach Ray.