The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Tuesday, 12.2.14. “Some pun with leg speed”

Howdy folks,

Well heck… It’s Tuesday again!

As I’m sure you know if you’ve been following along with us over the course of the season, Tuesday is usually the day when we get some interval work in.

Heck, that’s why we call it 2×20 Tuesday!

But here’s the thing…

Up here in my neck of the woods, the season is rapidly drawing to a close.

Heck, truth be told, it’s essentially over for most folks after this weekend.

So hey…

If the season is pretty much done for you, there’s not a lot of sense in doing something like a 2×20 today.

Even if you’ve got a pretty big race – or races – this weekend, say for example the only UCI races in the Pacific Northwest of the entire season.

So what should you do?

How about some speed work today?

How about some…

Downhill Sprints –

Start by warming up well, a bit longer than usual – 30 minutes or so.

Find a gradual downhill that lets out on a flat section of road or trail.

The ideal setup for this workout is a hill that’s about a block long, and lets out on a flat section of road that’s also about a block long. Extra bonus points if you can loop back to the start without having to turn around – that would be perfect.

You’re going to do 3-5 sets of 5 sprints, full gas.

Here’s how the sprints go:

Roll down the gradual descent in a comfortable gear. You want to hit the bottom of the hill going fast, but not yet in a sprint.

As soon as you hit the flat section at the bottom of the hill, get out of the saddle and give it full gas.

Sit back down in the saddle as your leg speed comes up close to your limit. This will allow you to increase the RPMs even more.

Go until you are spun out.

That’s one rep.

You’re doing sets of 5.

Each sprint should take just a few seconds.

Recover for 30 seconds to a minute between reps, and 5 minutes between sets.

Stop when you hit 5 sets or just aren’t getting the same leg speed you were on the first couple of reps.

When you’re done, pedal easy for a few minutes, go home and relax.

Tips –

– You should start the sprint in a pretty big gear, and spin it out. How big? It depends on how fast you’re going and how strong you are.

You’re working on speed here, so don’t try to lug a giant gear, but the gear needs to be big enough that you accelerate when you hit it at the end of the downhill.

– Stand up out of the saddle when you start to sprint, and gradually sit down as you begin to spin out. – Don’t forget to breathe. Seriously

– too many people hold their breath when they sprint. Don’t be one of them.

Enjoy!

**********

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Thanks for following my blog!

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~ by crosssports on December 2, 2014.

Posted in Cyclocross, Intervals, The Workout Of The Day
Tags: Bicycle racing, bike racing, cx classes, cx handling drills, cx intervals, CX practice, cx skills, CXWOTD, Cycling, Cyclo-cross, Cyclocross, cyclocross classes, cyclocross handling drills, cyclocross instruction, cyclocross intervals, Cyclocross Practice, cyclocross skills, cyclocross workouts, Fitness, Health, Heart rate, Howy folks, Intervals, Kannibaal Van Baal, Marymoor CX, Marymoor cyclocross, Marymoor practice, Personal Training, Physical exercise, Running, s: Aerobic exercise, Seattle, Sports, The Workout Of The Day Tags: Bicycle pedal, Van Aert, wootd, WOTD, Wout Van Aert, XC Racing

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