The Workout Of The Day for Saturday, 8.27.11. – “The Doppelganger”

•August 26, 2011 • 4 Comments

Howdy folks,

This weekend –  if it’s at all possible – I recommend getting in the last (or almost last!) road or MTB race of your season. The Cross racing is right around the corner, and it’s really darn hard to match the intensity of racing when you’re training on your own!

So, if you can manage it, your workout today is –

Go Race!

No racing in your neck of the woods?

Today’s Workout – if you’re not racing – is…

The Doppelganger –

Remember just a paragraph ago, when I was saying that it’s really hard to get race-level intensity without racing?

Uhhh… yeah.

This workout is really hard.

Really, really, DAMN hard.

Make sure you’re up for it, don’t do it if you’re feeling a bit gassed, and feel free to cut it in half. Or less.

You’ve been warned…

– Warm up well. If you have time, warm up as you would for a race. It’s good practice, if nothing else.

– After you have warmed up, do five full-gas starts. Focus on the second effort in your start, working on getting back on the gas right after you max-out on your initial effort and begin to sit down.

– 20 minutes at your 2×20 pace.

– 2 minute rest.

– 10 minutes of Over/Under intervals

The baseline for this interval is the level of effort/output you just did in the 20 minute effort.

However hard you went in that interval, you are going to try and hold that for the 10 minutes.

Easy, right?

Here’s the rub.

You’re going to sprint for 10 seconds every minute of the interval.

How hard are you going to sprint?

Hard, but not so hard that after you sprint, you can’t sit back down and keep churning away at your 2×20 level.

This takes some practice to figure out.

Don’t get all freaked out if you blow it and can’t hold the effort until the end. You tried, right?

Having said that, don’t wuss out and quit. This is some difficult s***, man. You want to get faster, right?

OK.

Here’s how this works.

Use a stopwatch. Put it on your bars.

Start the stopwatch.

Start the interval with a sprint, out of the saddle pretty hard, but not full gas.

Sprint for 10 seconds.

Back in saddle, drop into your 2×20 zone. Hold this until the minute mark, then –

Sprint again. 10 seconds.

Back in saddle, 2×20 level until 2 minute mark…

Repeat.

Repeat…

Repeat, until you have hit the 10 minute mark.

– 5 minute recovery

– 10 minutes at 2×20 level

– 2 minute recovery

– 10 minute Over/Under Intervals

– SPRINT at the very end of the last interval. 30 seconds, all out.

Really all out, like “I’m sprinting for the Maillot Arc en ciel” all out. You should be at least half-blind at the end of the sprint.

Heck, you should be so gassed when you start the sprint that just upping the tempo a little bit puts you in a box.

You asked for a race simulation, right?

Ouch…

Again, Yes, this is really damn  hard. You asked for it.

You can always just sub in a 2×20 (or better yet a 3×20…) when you can’t race. That’s a hard damn workout if you do it right, but certainly nothing like the nightmare I just handed to you…

Good Luck! You’ll need it!

M

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The Workout Of The Day for Friday, 8.26.11. – “No.Big.Deal.”

•August 26, 2011 • 3 Comments

Howdy folks,

My apologies for not getting this posted last night! The day job has been kicking my butt this week, and I was doing the work thing until late into the night.

Which – I guess – speaks to one of those little training lessons I burden ya’all with on occasion.

Sometimes life interferes, and you just can’t train.

No. Big. Deal.

This whole bike racing thing is supposed to be fun. Don’t stress when you can’t make time in the day to get the darn workout in. There are (usually!) more important things to worry about.

OK, enough of that, on with the workout.

You’ve been working hard the last couple of days, and the 2×20’s and running work tend to get the legs feeling like mollasses, & we’re going to address that a little bit  today by doing some leg-speed drills, the ever popular …

Spin Ups –

– Get on your bike and warm up with a leisurely ride, just rolling around for 10-20 minutes.

– After you’re warm, find a nice, long, flat or slightly downhill section of road with little or no traffic.

– Begin the 1st interval by rolling into it at a moderate speed, in a gear that’s smaller than you would typically use to sprint.

– Get out of the saddle and sprint.

– Spin the gear up out of the saddle. When your leg speed gets to the point that it’s hard to maintain form out of the saddle, sit down and keep going until you are totally spun-out. We’re talking  fast, can’t turn ‘em over any faster…

Think Road-Runner fast…

– Repeat 3-5 times.

Recover for 5 minutes, rolling around at a leisurely pace.

– Go again, same thing.

Recover, then repeat as time and fitness allow. Shoot for 3-5 sets of  3-5.

Recover after the last set by rolling around in an easy gear until you feel relaxed, loose, and supple, then head on home, and get ready for the weekend.

 Have fun!
M

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The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Thursday, 8.25.11. – “Same s**t, different day. Uhhm… stuff. I mean stuff…”

•August 24, 2011 • 1 Comment

Howdy folks!

We’re running again today.

In fact, we’re doing the very same workout we did last Thursday.

If you are just getting started following these workouts, you’re not getting left behind. If you did the workout last week, you know that you could probably stand to do it another time or two before things ramp up to the next level (ouch!)

So, without excessive blah-blah-blah…

Today’s workout is –

Second Verse, Same As The First – (yes, that’s a hyperlink. Click it, darnit!)

One little note today –

– I’m doing the exact same running workout today, but rather than just spinning around on the bike to warm up, I’m doing a single 20 minute interval on the trainer, hopping off the bike, putting on my running shoes, and jogging down to the stairs.

Ouch.

I’m not recommending you do this, BTW. It’s pretty damn early, and that’s a pretty damn hard workout…  And yeah, you need to be nuts to ride on the trainer this time of year, but hey… feeling frisky? want a challenge? Go for it!

G’night,

M

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The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Wednesday, 8.24.11. – “Perkins-esque”

•August 23, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Howdy folks,

It’s Wednesday, and that means we’re going to be doing some skill work today – yup, that’s right; the fun stuff.

Unfortunately, if you skipped yesterday’s intervals because you were still gassed from Sunday, you don’t get to do the fun skills today. You’re bouncing back one post, and doing yesterday’s workout… sorry!

Conversely, if you’re super tired from yesterday, feel free to do just the skills part of the workout today. Skip the little interval section at the end.

Onward!

1 – warm up for 10 minutes.

2 – Stretch out after you’re warm. . Pay special attention to all the muscles used in those movements you make hopping on and off the bike that are different from what you usually do.

3 – Dismount/remount  skills for 15 minutes.

– Start at literally a walking pace, and slowly increase speed until you can mount and dismount the bike smoothly and perfectly at full speed. Do not jump on and off the bike, you are looking to smoothly slide yourself on and off.

Yeah, I know… what the hell… how do I do this?

We worked on the basics of this skill last wednesday, so hey – check it out Here.

Do just the most super basic dismount/remount as per last week until you have it wired, smooth at all speeds. When you are feeling confident, add some barriers to the session…

– Again, start at a super, super slow speed.

– Approach the barrier, dismount smooth as silk.

– Step over the barrier, paying attention to how you lift the bike, and how you place your feet.

– Remount. Again, think smoooooth….

– Start with a single barrier, move to a double, and keep going slow until you have things wired. Then, speed things up until you aren’t smooth, back it down 1 notch, and make it smooth.

(If you don’t have barriers, anything will do. Use a log, put a stick on the ground – whatever.)

4 – turning and handling skills for 15-20 minutes.

– work on tight, high speed turns as well as super tight low speed turns. Roll some off camber slopes, and learn to turn on them as well.

– Put two traffic cones about 10 feet apart from each other, and ride a figure eight around them, pedalling the entire time.

Make the turns tighter and tighter until you can’t hold the line and you fall down. Learn where the break point is between riding a tight line and falling on your ass, and push that line until you are definitively over it.

– Finish the night with two 5-minute efforts on relatively easy terrain.

– “Easy” as in a loop on grass with some tight-ish turns on it, or some pretty buffed double-track.

– Go hard, and work on accelerations out of the turns.

– Every time you slow down entering a turn, get on the gas on the way out of it, ass out of the saddle, working hard.

– 5 minutes full gas, rest for 5 minutes, then go for 5 again.

Warm down, go home, relax.

More interval work tomorrow!

(If you’re up for it…)

.

M

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The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Tuesday, 8.22.11 – “Get up Style”

•August 22, 2011 • 4 Comments

Howdy folks!

I hope ya’all enjoyed your easy day yesterday, and that you’re ready to get some hard efforts in today!

We’re going to jump right into it… today is Tuesday, and that means that it’s…

Two By Twenty Tuesday!

Today, though, we’re doing  ’em Get-Up Style…

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.

– Have fun!

M

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The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Monday, 8.22.11. – “Have a ball”

•August 21, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Howdy folks!

It’s Monday, and on Monday, we take it easy.

Use today to recover from the work of the weekend, get some real-world necessities taken care of… things of that sort.

I know some of you probably took it pretty easy yesterday, too.

No big deal.

If you were tired enough to need an easy day yesterday, another one today probably isn’t going to hurt.

The workout today, then, is –

One Hour Recovery Spin.

Get on your bike.

Roll out into the street and just spin around for an hour.

Really small gear, no hard efforts – heck, no medium effort.

Spin. You’re looking to move your legs around in circles, almost like there is no chain on the bike.

The idea is to get your body moving, flush the systems out, and speed your recovery.

When you do your recovery ride -if you have the time- just get out and spin aimlessly.

At a certain point, your legs suddenly feel better.

As soon as that happens, turn around, go home, eat, stretch, and put your legs up.

…or, you know, go to work.

Or School.

Or whatever real-world hassle you have to deal with. :)

If you have some extra energy, today is also an excellent day to get in some core work; remember, Good Quality core work! No crappy sit ups!

Here’s a good foundational set of exercises for your core work…

Stability ball roll-outs –

Superman  Back extensions –

“six-inch” isometric extension.

Lie down on your back, hands together behind your lumbar spine. Raise your legs 6 inches in the air. Hold.

10 minutes of plank poses –

http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/isometric-exercises-for-stomach.html

Personally, I follow up with about 2 hours of Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu.

That’s optional… but it will definitely work some muscles the cycling doesn’t get to!

G’night!

M

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The Workout Of The Day for Sunday, 8.21.11. – “Like, Whatever dude…”

•August 20, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Howdy folks,

OK… if you actually did the last couple of workouts, odds are you’re feeling pretty gassed today.

If you didn’t?

Well, all bets are a little bit off, right?

So… what the heck are we doing today?

I dunno.

Today’s workout is…

Go Your Own Way

Here’s the thing… sometimes you just need to get out on your bike and do whatever the heck you feel like. Or, well…not.

This is going to be a really damn long cross season, folks. Nationals are in January!

Make today a mental health day.

Do whatever the heck seems like it would be fun to do today. Preferably on the bike.

Tomorrow (Monday…) is going to be a recovery day, so you can go pretty darn hard today if you’re feeling up to it, but if you’re not? No big deal.

Whatever…

Seriously…

Have fun!

M

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The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Saturday, 8.20.11 – “Jacky & the Freak”

•August 19, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Howdy folks!

Wow, the Cross season is sneaking up on us quickly!

There just aren’t going to be all that many more opportunities to get out and just ride, with no racing on the schedule! (If  you’re racing on the road or the mtb this weekend? Well… have fun. You know the drill, eh?)

So… if there’s a casual weekend ride that you like to do, get on it this weekend. Have some fun, and get some miles in with your road-riding buddies or MTB brethren, because you probably won’t be seeing them for a while.

This is also one of the last good opportunities for the folks with day jobs to get some real miles in the legs, and blow a whole day out on the road or the trails.

Look… I’m not one of those folks who thinks that distance, time, and hundreds of hours of junk miles in the legs is the key to cycling success, but there’s something immensely satisfying about going long, and many of us love the full-day ride.

If that’s you, get it out of your system now!

Your workout today is –

Ride All Freakin’ Day If You Feel Like It!

Pretty simple, right? Get on your bike. Ride. Ride some more. Stop when you feel like it.

If you’re the type looking for a bit more structure, or something that’s just a wee bit ambitious, give a try to the –

Jacky Day.

This is a good general climbing and endurance workout that will stretch you a little bit longer than anything you’re likely to see out on the cross courses.

Select a route that will enable you to hit at least 3 climbs of 10 minutes or so each, with flat to rolling terrain in between.

Warm up well, at least 20-30 minutes before you hit the first climb.

Climbs should be hard but steady.

Start medium hard (not full gas!) and try and hold it the whole climb.

Drive it over the top, and roll down the descent. Visualize a prime at the bottom of each descent, and a chase pack nipping at your heels. Don’t sit up at the top of the climbs,stay on the gas all the way down and through.

In between climbs, keep it steady.

You want to stay on top of a pretty big gear, at a level that is below threshold, but not that far below.

If you’re a power meter type, with an ftp of 265, you would want to try and average about 200 watts between the climbs and 300 on the climbs.

Not a PM type? Try and go about 90% on the climbs, and just over 50% between the climbs.

Remember, 3 climbs of 10 minutes, or as close as you can get. With a warm up of 30 minutes, and a cool down of about the same, this would be just about perfect for a 2.5 hour ride.

Got more time? Rest after the 3rd climbing effort, repeat the cycle.

It’s better to keep the intensity up than to go longer. Remember, we aren’t resting between climbs, we’re dieseling along in a big gear.

Visualize yourself driving an all-day breakaway, and you get the idea…

Have fun, and think to yourself, as you’re rolling along…

“What would Jacky do?”

M

 PS… this is a hard workout. You’re going to be tired the next day if you really do it in a committed fashion. Might be worth saving it for Sunday, depending on your schedule…

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The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Friday, August 18, 2011 – “Like a Sex Machine”

•August 18, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Howdy Folks,

How are those legs treating you after the running?

If you’re feeling gassed today, no problem, we’ve got you covered. Racing on Sunday? Ditto.

If you fit one of those two categories, your workout today is a One or Two Hour…

Moderate Ride.

This is just what it sounds like.

 Go out and ride moderately for an hour or two.

Not quite a recovery ride, but no hard efforts.

Keep it steady, under control, and fun.

Not racing this weekend? Not tired from yesterday? Feeling frisky?

We’re going to hit you with some short intensity, and some climbing all at once.

Your workout is…

Get On Up.

Warm up well

Find a moderate length hill, with a slope that is barely manageable in your big ring.

Start your interval on the flat, and roll into the hill at a pretty good speed.

As you hit the base of the climb, get out of the saddle and attack the climb.

Full gas, 30 second effort up the climb (it’s OK to sit down after you get going.)

After 30 seconds, back off, turn around, coast back down hill, and back to the flat .

Go again.

Repeat 5-6 times.

That’s a set.

Rest for 5 minutes between sets.

Do 2-3 sets.

Warm down. Go home.

(If you happen to be racing on Saturday, well… do some Can Openers )

Have fun!

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The Cyclocross Workout Of The Day for Thursday, 8.18.11 – “Get High. Knees, that is…”

•August 17, 2011 • 3 Comments

Howdy folks,

Well, it’s Thursday, and guess what? We’re running today.

Yay!

It does help to work on this stuff…

Inspired?

Good.  It’ll help, ’cause Today’s Workout is  –

Run. Pause. Get High (Knees, that is…)




– get on your bike and warm up for 15 minutes or so.

(we’re going to warm up for any running efforts we do, all season, with some time on the bike. )

– Mosey on over to your stairs/knoll/whatever, and get set. Stretch, have a sip of water, turn up the volume on your Ipod.

– Jog up the stairs. Walk down.

– Repeat x3

– Sprint! up stairs, fast, using whatever stride is most comfortable. Walk down.

– Repeat x3

Rest for 1 minute, walking slowly up and down stairs.

– Sprint up stairs, this time using quick, tiny strides, 1 stairstep at a time. Jog down.

– Repeat x3

Rest again, same as before.

– Sprint up stairs, this time using long strides, several stairsteps at a time. Walk down.

– Repeat x 3

Rest again.

– Sprint up stairs, combining the previous two exercises; long step, followed by 2 short steps. Do 1x.

Walk down.

– Run up stairs, high knees –

Repeat x3

Rest again, 2-5 minutes.

Sprint up stairs, free form, just go as fast as you can. Go until spent.

– Repeat entire damn thing if you’re a freaking animal.

Get back on bike, spin out your legs, go home.

Notes –

– If you can, go really damn hard. If you do this right, it’s a brutal workout.

– Don’t go that hard if it’s your first (or nearly first) time running this season. In fact, don’t do this workout at all. Do this instead –

https://crosssports.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/the-cyclocross-workout-of-the-day-for-thurs-7-29-is-somebody-chasing-you/

– If you’re super fit, or crazy, do a 20 minute effort on the bike (1/2 a Classic 2×20) immediately before running. Be aware, this is a completely bonkers workout combo if you do it right, and if you do do it right, you should need to take it easy tomorrow. Or you’re really damn fit. One or the other…

G’night,

M

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