The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Tuesday, 10.4.16. – “Onwards! Or, well, maybe just chill.”
Howdy folks,
Before we get started, just a couple of small pieces of business…
Later today (5:00,) I’ll be presenting a webinar on transitioning from road (or MTB) season to cyclocross in collaboration with one of my colleagues from the Source Endurance coaching group. Yes, we’re already well into the CX season, but we hope to be able to send some useful info out onto the interwebs anyways. If you aren’t already booked up, please check it out.
Tomorrow, the cyclocross workouts and clinic sessions continue out at the JBMV at Marymoor Park in Redmond. We’re still working on putting together a special early(er) session for Jr riders. It looks like it may start happening next week, but stay tuned, and please drop me a line if interested.
On with the workouts!
Buckle up, because it’s…
2×20 Tuesday!
A couple of quick thoughts before we bust these out today…
It’s definitely time for folks to start thinking about whether they should take it easy on Tuesdays rather than hit it hard with an interval session like this. Especially if you are racing two days on the weekends, recovering in one day might be asking a bit much. Don’t overdo it, ok? It’s better to do a little bit less training than to dig yourself a hole you’ll likely never get out of. When in doubt, cross it out (the workout, that is.) Feeling tired? Take today off.
Yes, we did this workout last Tuesday as well. It takes practice to really get these nailed, especially the get-up version. Repetition allows us to really figure out how to do the workout, and the better we know how to do the workout, the better the training stimulus. Keep at it, and keep on it. Or, you know, take the day off. One or the other.
Onwards!
As we’ve talked about in previous posts, at it’s most basic the 2×20 looks like this:
– Warm up.
– Go as hard as you can for 20 minutes.
– Recover for 5 minutes.
– Go again for another 20 minutes.
The idea 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.
It’s all about doing two intervals.
Two intervals at as close to the same level of consistent, steady power output as you can manage.
If you’re doing this with a power meter, you want your wattage output to be as constant and unvaried as possible.
For both intervals.
Both.
How steady?
Can you keep it in a 10 watt range?
Probably not.
15 watts?
More likely
20 watts?
Try.
Keep it steady.
If you run out of gas before you finish the second interval, then you went too hard.
If your vision isn’t blurry at the end of the second interval, you went too easy. But guess what?
It’s way better to go too easy and finish both intervals than it is to go too hard and crater part way through the second 20.
That’s the basic version (and if you’re new to all this, it’s probably the version you should do.) Today, though?
Today we’re doing the get-up version, so…
Start your 20-minute 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 keep your level of output consistent.
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 next 20 minute interval.
Remember, 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’re doing this with a power meter, you want your wattage output to be as close to constant as possible, and the out of the saddle time we’re throwing in makes this even more challenging.
Keep it steady.
These take practice to do well, and the better you get, the harder they get, as your output level gets closer and closer to the absolute max you’re capable of doing for an interval of this duration.
Add in the constant standing and sitting component, and you’re going to know you did some work when you’re through.
I know I’m repeating myself, but do try to avoid the temptation to up the output level when you get out of the saddle, OK?
That’s an entirely different workout, and we’ll get there soon enough, I promise.
One of the things we’re learning with this workout is how to calibrate our out of the saddle efforts. We’re getting a better handle on what we’re actually doing when we stand up on the bike.
You need to know – really know – when you’re going harder and when you’re not.
What most people find when doing this workout is that every time they get out of the saddle their power output takes a big jump.
Which isn’t a huge surprise, because we largely train our bodies to correlate out of the saddle with “go time.”
The thing is, though?
Cyclocross ain’t road racing.
A lot of the time you’re getting out of the saddle not to accelerate, but due to a bike handling challenge.
Heck, in Cross if you get out of the saddle in a super sketchy tech section and really put the power down, pretty often that’s going to result in rear wheel slip and lack of traction, with the expected bad results.
Here’s a little secret:
One of the keys to good bike handling is having a really good understanding of how much power you’re producing, and the effect that has on your traction.
Step one to developing that understanding is getting a real feel for how your power output can change when you get out of the saddle.
Nothing will give you a better feel for that than this workout.
Make sense?
Especially since we’re trying to work on perception, not just output, this is a workout that works great on the trainer, and that’s how you should do ’em, if you can stand it. If not, really try to find the most vacant, flat, soulless terrain possible. The fewer the distractions the 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.
Enjoy!
M
What’s that you say? You’d kinda’ like to have a cycling coach help figure this stuff out for you? Check out…
Crosssports's Weblog 