Back in 2007, I conducted windtrainer classes. I had a fleet of Minoura Mag-800’s and I hired a hall & 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. 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) and it involves riding a large portion of the workout at Threshold.
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 VII
- 4min WU Level II;
- 4x 60sec Cad 90-95; 95-100; 100-105; 105-110;
- 1min Level V, 1min Level II RI;
- 2min Level V, 2min Level II RI;
- 3min Level V, 3min Level II RI;
- 4min Level V, 4min Level II RI;
- 5min Level V, 5min Level II RI;
- 4min Level V, 4min Level II RI;
- 3min Level V, 3min Level II RI;
- 2min Level V, 2min Level II RI;
- 1min Level V, 1min Level II RI;
- 6min Level II CD;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with an eight-minute Warm Up (WU) riding at Level II. For the first four minutes don’t worry about your cadence but for the next four minutes, start at a cadence of 90-95rpm for the first 60 seconds. Increase your cadence by 5 rpm every 60 seconds.
The main set is a pyramid session. Start with one minute of riding at Level V, followed by one minute at Level II for a Rest Interval (RI).
Follow this with two minutes at Level V, with a two-minute cruising at Level II for your Rest Interval (RI).
Next up is a three-minute rep at Level V, with three minutes cruising at Level II for your Rest Interval (RI).
The fourth rep is four minutes long at Level V, with four minutes for your Rest Interval (RI) rode at Level II.
The fifth rep is the longest and it is five minutes in duration, riding at Level V. Follow this with five minutes of easy riding at Level II for your Rest Interval (RI).
Reps now descend down in duration one minute each rep. They are all run at Level V. Follow each rep with a Rest Interval (RI) of the same duration and ridden at Level II.
Conclude the workout with four 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. Due to YouTube issues the second song (for the Increasing cadence segment) can’t be included in the playlist – Skitz Rocks Somebody to Love (by Nick Skitz).
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