Crosssports's Weblog

Howdy folks,

I hope you had as much fun doing your skills session yesterday as we had out at the Kore Kross workouts in Seattle (OK, Redmond…) last night.

Super fun. Thanks to everyone who came out for the good times!

We had a pretty speedy, flow-ey course set up out there, and it became pretty apparent that lots of folks are hitting the wooden-legged point of the season, and that they need to start making a concerted effort to get some speed work in.

So, hey… how about we do some of that today, and work on getting the legs turning over rapidly with some…

Downhill Sprints – 

(OK, maybe not quite like that, but CUTE!!!!)

– 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.

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, spin out and go home.

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.

Have fun!

M

Posted in The Workout Of The Day

Howdy folks,

Well, if the responses I got to yesterday’s workout are any indication, folks had a… good? time with the Half & Half yesterday.

Nice.

“Puddles of sweat,” as one reader wrote, conjures up images of this…

…but today you’re probably feeling more like this:

So, we’re going to focus on technique over strength today, and do our Wednesday Skills Work, special edition…

The One Thing…

Guess what?

We’re really going to focus today.

I want you to pick one thing that you’re really good at skills-wise.

Barriers, starts, bunny-hopping, foot-out turns, pedaling turns, whatever.

The one thing that you do better than your peers.

Identify that skill, and hold it in your mind for just a second.

Got it figured out?

OK.

Now think of the one thing you stink at.

The one thing that gives you fits, that always gets you dropped in the races.

Again, barriers, turns, starts… whatever.

Got that?

Ok.

Now…

– warm up for 10 minutes on the bike, then run for 5-10 minutes easy.

– Stretch out.

– 10-15 minutes drilling your best technical skill, whatever that is.*

You’re looking to transform a skill that you’re good at to one that’s an absolute killer, a race winner.

Good at barriers?

Stop being good, make ’em perfect.

Become so darn good that the opposition can’t ever let you come into a barrier section first.

Good at starts?

Get great at starts.

Work it ’till you know that you’re coming off the line with a 5 bike-length lead in your next race.

You get the idea, right?

Whatever skill you choose, sharpen the heck out of it until it’s an even better weapon than it already was.

– spin for 5 minutes.

– 10-15 minutes drilling your worst technical skill, whatever that is.*

You’re looking to transform a skill that’s a liability to one that, if not a strength, is at least no longer a weakness.

Stink at barriers?

Stop that now. Figure ’em out.

Become good enough that the opposition can’t ever assume they’re going to drop you in the barriers.

Terrible at starts?

Yeah. No more.

Work it ’till you know that you’re coming off the line right next to that guy that’s been dropping you all season.

You get the idea, right?

Whatever skill you choose, figure it the heck out. No more avoiding the painful reality of a liability.

– spin for 5 minutes.

 – immediately, spend another 5 minutes drilling your best skill again. Really nail it.

 – Recover for a few minutes, then Finish the night with two 5- 10 minute race-level  interval efforts on relatively easy terrain.

Include a feature that will force you to use both of the skills you worked on tonight.

Spin out when you’re done, and call it a night.

Have fun,

M

* Lots of info on here on ways to hone your skills, with specific drills & suggestions for the various skill elements. Best way to find ’em is to type “Wednesday” into the search box below the Facebook plugin on the right side of the page, and read through the posts that come up. Feel free to drop me a line if you can’t find a workout for the skill you want to work on…

Posted in The Workout Of The Day

Howdy folks,

All rested up and ready to go?

I hope so, because today we’re hittin’ it pretty hard, we’re doing the…

Half & Half (& Half ) –

– This isn’t quite the same thing as doing a 2×20, it’s something to do if you need a break from the 2×20′s (and I’m guessing you do.)

– This is also a good warm up for  Over/Under intervals,which we’re going to hit you with next week 🙂

Here we go…

This workout is best done on a flat(ish) stretch of open road, with very little traffic.

You need to be able to ride full-tilt for 20 minutes, non-stop, at a pace that isn’t going to let you pay much attention to where you’re going.

I do these on the trainer. It’s easier and it’s safer.
If you can stand it.

– Warm up well.

Do 1/2 of a Classic 2×20.

Rest for 5 minutes.

Now you’re going to do a single 10 minute effort – unless you’re crazy, seriously, ridiculously in-form and fast as hell. Then you can do 2. Or 3. Or lift small cars off of small children.

Whichever.

No way I’m telling You what to do!

…but wait… there are some details to get straight before you launch into this…

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.

If you do it right, you will be right on the edge of blowing up, but not quite going over it into total destruction.

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

You tried, right?

OK.

Onward.

You’re going to need something with a stopwatch function.

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 one 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.

At the 10 minute mark, finish with one 10 second all-out sprint.

If you have done the interval right, you shouldn’t be able to crank the final sprint all that much harder than the earlier sprints.

Pick yourself up off the ground, spin your legs out and recover for a while.

Go home, get on with your day.

Have fun!

Posted in The Workout Of The Day

Howdy folks,

Phew.

That was a long weekend of racing for most folks…

So, hey… take it easy today.

Go for a…

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.

Relax, if you can. If not, head off to work, school, or whatever the daily drag is for you.

Have fun! 

M

Posted in The Workout Of The Day

Howdy folks,

Before we get started today, I’ve had some people asking about archived workouts, and how to make their way through the (what, is at this point a rather imposing  – how did that happen?) stockpile of workout on here.

Over on the right side of this page…

Just below the Facebook box is a little search box.

You can find any of the posts that have been on here over the years by entering some targeted search terms.

I haven’t been great about tagging the posts on here to make it easy to look ’em up – no way did I think this would go on as long as it has – but there’s an easy shortcut to make it easier to find general types or categories of workouts:

Search by day of the week.

Generally speaking, the type of workouts posted on, say, Tuesday all fall into the same narrow-ish category, IE 2×20’s, or some variation on the theme.

Looking for skills work? Search through the Wednesday posts.

If you read through a week or two’s worth of posts, the pattern will probably become pretty clear, or at least I hope it will!

But, hey… enough of that!

How about today?

Well, today, most of  you are – yup – racing, so Go Race!

Lot’s of info on race-day particulars if you search through Saturday or Sunday posts!

Not racing today?

Hah! I’m totally going to cheat, and force you to use the search function I just described.

Plug Sunday into the search box, and have a go at one of the workouts that pops up.

Psych.

Have fun!

M

Posted in The Workout Of The Day

Howdy folks,

Have I mentioned before that I ❤ Fridays?

Some times it’s just nice to know that the darn week is coming to an end, and that you’re going to get a fresh start on the whole sequence of days that makes up the weekly grind.

It’s been that kind of a week, and it’s that kind of a day.

So, in the spirit of getting a fresh start, but plugging right back in to a sequence, today we’re having a go at…

Ignizione, la terza parte

You’re going to be doing a series of short, hard sprints midway through a 1 1/2 hour ride, so give some thought to where you can do these effectively.

A flat, straight, low-traffic section of road is what you’re looking for.

Even better if it’s about a :45 minute ride away; that will make things nice and simple.

Hop on your bike and roll out the door.

Ride steady, at an easy, relaxed pace for  45 minutes – 1 hour, eventually winding up at the aforementioned stretch of road.

You’re now going to do a series of Hard out of the saddle sprints from a standing start.

8 sprints, 5 seconds each.

1 minute between each sprint.

After the last sprint, roll back home spinning easily to recover.

Budget about 20 minutes for the spin/ride back home.

Put your feet up, relax, and get ready for the next day’s race.

Yup. This is almost the same as the workout we did last Friday… and hey, the Friday before!  Almost… it’s part III…

Have fun!

Posted in The Workout Of The Day

Howdy folks,

I hope you had an enjoyable skills session yesterday!

In a lot of ways, those sessions are the most fun I, for one, ever have on the bike. Hopefully you’re enjoying them too!

Time for some more engine work today, though…

and we’re going to work on the high rpm side of the ledger with 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, one notch below 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 gas.

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 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, spin out and go home.

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.

Have fun!

M

Posted in The Workout Of The Day

Howdy folks,

It’s Wednesday, and yup. You know what that means, right?

It’s…

Skills Day!

I saw some pretty darn fast people making some really basic mistakes at the races this weekend, so don’t forget; no matter how fast you are, it pays to nail down the basics.

…and that includes not catching your bars on posts at top speed.

That’s a pretty basic mistake, and I made it, and made a total hash out of my race as a result.

Still learning…

Anyways, onwards…

1 – warm up for 10 minutes on the bike, then run for 5-10 minutes easy.

2 – Stretch out.

3 – Dismount/remount  skills for 5-10-15 minutes (depends how much work you need on these. Do ’em until you nail ’em.)

– 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.

Need a refresher on the basics? Check out –

https://crosssports.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/cyclocross-workout-of-the-day-for-7-27-10-where-the-have-my-skills-gone/

Do just the most  basic dismount/remount as per above until you have it down cold, smooth as silk.

When you’re perfect (hah!) throw some barriers into the mix.

– 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. 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 keep it there.

Smooooooth.

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

4 – Foot-down drill

Pretty simple in theory, not so much in execution.

While riding, unclip one foot.

Lower that foot to the ground.

Push off.

Clip back in.

Do it again.

Switch sides.

Same thing.

Alternate sides.

Do this until you’re good at it.

Why the heck are you doing this?

Check out 29:11 and 49:44

Pretty darn useful, eh?

Don’t be afraid to unclip a foot and use it to push off or “paddle” around a turn.

This can be a game changer, so work on it, eh?

 6 – Recover for a few minutes, then Finish the night with two interval efforts on relatively easy terrain. Try to include a feature that will force you to use the “unclip & paddle technique.”

– “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, and your ability to jump.

Every time you come out of a turn or terrain feature, get on the gas on the way out of it. Out of the saddle, full-throttle.

– 6-8 minutes full gas, rest for 2 minutes, then go again.

– Start each effort from a dead stop, on foot down, just like a race.

Spin to recover until your legs loosen up & your heart rate comes down, then go home and call it a day.

Have fun!

M

Posted in The Workout Of The Day