The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Tuesday, 9.10.13. “Tuesday Get-up”
Howdy folks,
Late again!
Sorry… got swamped with work last night, and suddenly it was 2 in the morning, and I didn’t want to fall asleep with my face on the keyboard again…
Blech. No fun.
…and drool isn’t good for your laptop. Not that I would know anything about that from personal experience…
…anyways…
If you’re a Seattle local, and you raced Sunday, and you’re planning on doing the StarCrossed CX this Saturday, today might be a good idea to take a day off the bike.
That was a hard race this past weekend, and from what I’ve been seeing, not too many folks are fully recovered today.
So think about it, ok?
Otherwise, it’s Tuesday.
You know what that means, right?
It’s…
2×20 Tuesday!
Here’s how this 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 powermeter, 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 exercise – instant home made ergometer.
– No reason you can’t do these normal-style. Honestly, for many/most of you, that might be a better bet.
Why did I tell you to do the variation today? Some folks have been struggling to get through the longer efforts this season.
It can really help, mentally, to have that out of the saddle effort thrown in to the longer/larger workout. It makes it feel just a bit like you’re doing a series of 2 minute intervals rather than 20 minute ones.
You’re not, though. Try to avoid the temptation to up the output level when you get out of the saddle, OK? That’s an entirely different workout.
Maybe next week…
Enjoy!
M
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