Cycling training advice a week of workouts on your home trainer | Sticky Bottle

*If you're making the best of your cycling - maybe doing a bit indoors and also within the 5km range outdoors - this week-long training routine is well worth have a look at*

The Covid-19 restrictions are still limiting how most of us can ride outdoors, with rides limited to within 5km of our home.

While that exercise zone allows some
outdoor training, many cyclists are doing more specific or intense sessions on
their home trainer.

Some cyclists may have very sophisticated smart trainers giving them the illusion of cycling up Alpe d'Huez in their living room, but not everyone is in that position.

If you use a less sophisticated home
trainer or are new to it, the challenge is not to get bored and throw it into a
corner after two sessions. This piece aims to ensure that doesn’t happen to you.

This is the first in a series of pieces setting out weekly routines for those riders using a power meter and a home trainer. It’s brought to you by stickybottle in association with the cycling holiday and international sportive travel company SportActive; a great supporter of our work down the years.

SportActive is a long established cycling travel company that has been working with Irish cyclists for many years. It runs cycling holidays, with different options for riders of all abilities and goals, in Mallorca where Sean Kelly guests for periods of each year. SportActive also takes groups of riders to international events including Marmotte Granfondo Alps, Marmotte Granfondo Pyrénées, and the Mallorca 312. You can check out their offerings and treat yourself to a post-lockdown cycling trip by following this link.

So let’s start this series with a training routine, featuring specific sessions, that will keep you occupied for between seven and 10 days.

First of all, you need to know what
your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is. This figure is needed for your
future training sessions.

What is the FTP? It is the maximal average power in watts that you can
maintain in a quasi-steady state without fatiguing for 60 minutes. You need a
power meter on your bike.

The 20-Minute Critical Power test

The 20-Minute Critical Power test is
conducted as follows:

On a turbo trainer warm-up easy for 15-20 minutes
Over the next 5 minutes, do five hard 30-second
efforts, followed by 30 seconds of soft-pedaling. The purpose of this
drill is to open up the blood and oxygen flow and to increase the heart
rate prior to the 20-minute effort, so don't go too hard. Push a wattage
you think you can sustain for 10 to 20 minutes.
Pedal easy for five minutes and prepare yourself
mentally for the 20-minute test, as it's going to hurt!
Start a new interval on your power meter and immediately
begin the test. Start the 20-minute test by selecting a wattage you think
you can sustain for the full 20 minutes. The cardinal rule of time
trailing applies here: don't start out too hard. Keep in mind that the
best cyclists in the world can only sustain 400-500 watts over a 1-hour
period of time. So if you find yourself starting out at 500 watts, you
know you are likely going much too hard. It's best to start out easy for
the first two minutes, and then build progressively to a wattage level you
think can sustain.
Hold that level for the first 15 minutes, and then give
it your best effort during the final five minutes. If you find yourself
fading in the last five minutes instead of holding steady or building,
then you may have gone out too hard. Keep this in mind for your next test.
After 20 minutes, immediately start a new interval to
save the precious power data you just worked so hard for. Cool down
completely for five to 10 minutes.

Your FTP will be 95% of your average
power during the 20-minute effort.

To improve FTP takes discipline.

Now that you know your FTP, you are ready for your training, but not one the same day as you need to recover first.

Examples of power-based workouts based on your FTP

Endurance:
2-2½ hours

Warm up 15 min at 50-55 per cent of FTP
1½ to 2 hours at 69-75 per cent of FTP; cadence 85 to 90 rpm
During the 1½ to 2 hours effort do two short bursts seated for eight seconds every 10 minutes taking the rpm to 130
Watts should be close to 85 per cent of FTP for the eight second efforts
Cool down for 15 minutes at 48-51 per cent FTP

Active
Recovery: 1 to 1½ hours

Warm up 15 minutes at 48-51 per cent of your FTP
30 minutes to one hour at 62 per cent of your FTP; cadence 90-95 rpm
Cool down for 15 minutes at 48 per cent of your FTP

Workout example for one week

Day 1 & 2: Endurance efforts (for example, Sunday
& Monday)
Day 3: Active Recovery effort (for example, Tuesday)
Day 4 & 5: Endurance efforts (for example Wednesday
& Thursday
Day 6: Active Recovery effort (for example, Friday)
Day 7: rest day (for example, Saturday)

Note: The endurance session can be
done four times per week but be careful to make sure you allow yourself recover
with sleep, proper hydration and eating properly.