Crosssports's Weblog

Howdy folks,

I hope you’re feeling rested after the weekend, and you’re ready to get ome work in today!

It’s Tuesday, and if you’ve been following for a while, you know what that means, right? It’s…

Two By Twenty Tuesday!

I know these might be getting just a wee bit old by now, but bear with me. They really are the foundation of your fitness, and they seriously pay off over time. I would go as far as to say that if you can only do one workout, this is the one you should do, and that you could build yourself a pretty good training program composed entirely of 2×20’s and casual spin days (combined with a wee bit of racing, of course!)

So, hey… here’s the workout… it’s an old favorite, the…

2×20 Get-Up Style 

Here’s how it goes…

– Warm up.

– Go as hard as you can for 20 minutes.

– Recover for 2 minutes.

– Go again for another 20 minutes.

That’s the basic version. This is the get-up version, though, so…

Start the first interval out of the saddle, and stand for the first 30 seconds.

After those 30 seconds are up, sit down. Keep the effort going, and consistent. Don’t surge, don’t go harder when you get out of the saddle.

Stay seated for the next 1:30, then stand for 30 seconds.

Repeat to the end of the interval, and follow this format for the successive interval.

The idea here is to go as hard as you can for the duration of both intervals without being forced to go easier at the end of the second interval.  If you run out of gas before you finish the second interval, you went too hard. If your vision isn’t blurry at the end of the second interval, you went too easy.

If you’re doing this with a power meter, you want your wattage output to be as close to constant as possible. We’re talking 10 watt variance at the most. Keep it steady.

These take practice to do well, and the better you get, the harder they get. This is another workout that works great on the trainer, and that’s how I do ‘em, which is a good thing… because I always wind up flat on my back on the floor trying not to puke after the 2nd interval.

I’m really not kidding about the seeing spots thing. If you can learn to push through your limits when you do these, you will get better and well… you will get better.

Tips:

– I do these on the trainer, with a stopwatch on the bars and an Ipod blaring in my ears. Start the stopwatch at the beginning of the interval, and the format is really easy to follow; you stand up for :30 at the 2:oo, 4:00, 6:00, etc. mark(s). Get it? It’s easy!

– A power meter will help you to keep the level of intensity constant. You want the power output to be as steady as possible with these. If you don’t have a PM, do these on the trainer,  choose a gear ratio and a cadence, and stick to that for the duration of the excercise – instant home made ergometer.

S00000…. cool. You’re ready to do the Get-Ups.

OK, but hey; I got this great question from a reader at a Skills clinic  I did a while back.

“Why – really – are we doing the Get-up style 2×20’s? What’s the difference between these and the normal ones from a training perspective? Why do we need to stand up”

(Yes, I’m paraphrasing. That was the gist of it, though! 🙂 )

Man, what a great question.

Here’s the answer.

Cyclocross is a unique discipline of cycling, in that – even more than in mountain biking – you really need to learn how to keep the power driving down through the wheels, into the ground.

What do I mean by that?

To be good – really good – at cross, you need to learn to push the power through the pedals smoothly as you transition from seated to standing.

Far to many riders – even pretty darn good ones – get out of the saddle with a big giant hitch in their pedal stroke.

Do this in a sketchy section of a cross course –  in the sand, in the mud – Bang! You’re off of the bike & running while that smooth cat in front of you rides away.

Check out another series of photos I took of Mr. Bart Wellens in the sand at one of the races this past weekend –

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Pay attention to the little bit of sunshine that comes and goes as he moves in and out of the saddle in this sequence.

Smmoooooth.

No hitches, no hops, just steady (ridiculously powerful) pedaling, even as his upper body floats all over the place, in & out of the saddle, side to side, back and forth, maintaining balance and putting the power down at the same time.

Sick.

How do you get yourself just a tiny little baby step more towards this level of skill?

You practice. You train your body to produce power through the whole range of postures it will assume in the races.

Then you practice a whole lot more.

And train even more than that.

Baby steps.

Start by integrating just a little bit of the skill into your motor workouts.

Start by doing the 2×20 Get-Up Style.

Pay just a little bit of extra attention to the transition in and out of the saddle. Keep it smooth. Keep it steady.

You’re already pretty darn close to your max on this workout… try to keep the power output at the same level in & out of the saddle.

Yup.

Ain’t easy.

Have fun!

M

~ by crosssports on September 19, 2011.

Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: Bart Wellens, Cycling, Cyclo-cross, Interval training, Physical exercise