Trainer Workout: Climbing Intervals

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
*Warmup
-15 minutes, progressively harder resistance (39x19,18,17,16 @ 3 minutes each, followed by 53x16/39x16 30 sec each for last 3 minutes)
*Each set is 8 minutes
-6 minutes, 53x17 work
-2 minutes, 39x17 recovery
-repeat as desired; 3 sets is a good place to begin; I'm currently doing 4 reps, which is 24 minutes of work in 30 minutes. Not a lot of rest.
*Cooldown
-15 minutes, reversing the warmup routine minus the big-ring stuff

*With 15 minute warmup/cooldown, 4 sets gives you a high-quality workout in 1 hour total time.

The goal of the workout is climbing cadence, strength development, and concentration. The work intervals should be done in gear which allows a cadence of 80-90 rpm ONLY if you push fairly hard. Everyone has their own "comfort zone" cadence-wise, so go with what works for you. You should be mindful of maintaining smooth pedaling form and a relaxed, quiet upper body. No death grip on the bars, rocking from side to side, etc. If you can't maintain the goal cadence w/o upper body issues, go to an easier gear. Be mindful of occasionally sliding forward/back on the saddle a bit to bring different muscles into play, otherwise aim to keep your body from moving around. The trainer will let you get away with all sorts of bad stuff that will slow you down/waste your energy in the real world.

Concentrate on maintaining the cadence. 6 minutes is a fairly long work period, so mental strength is needed to keep the work rate appropriate. Your legs will load up for these, and breathing will be somewhat labored, though you shouldn't lose control of your breathing, at least not until near the end of the work interval, and preferably not all. Play with the gearing until you find what works for you.

Be sure to stay hydrated and use a fan; you'll be happy you did. As always, cranking music is a huge help for me with these, as is visualization practice. Both help the time pass and provide motivation.

Have fun!
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
The monkeys are out! Thanks Chris!

However today im taking advantage of the beautiful daylight and heading outside.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
Chris: A point of clarification - cadence should be in the "comfort zone" of the gear which one has to push to maintain 80-90 rpms?

Once gain, thanks for posting these workouts.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Gearing & Cadence

Chris: A point of clarification - cadence should be in the "comfort zone" of the gear which one has to push to maintain 80-90 rpms?
The goal cadence I'd recommend is 80rpm minimum. Anything under that is a different kind of effort, and not optimal for any sort of extended climbing effort. So "comfort zone" means the gear that allows the 80 rpm (or higher cadence) w/o blowing up before the interval is complete. There shouldn't be too much "comfort" in the "comfort zone", :D though.

I put a "cap" of 90 rpm +/- because I believe that will most closely approximate the kind of pedal pressure one would encounter when actually climbing outdoors. A gear that allows a higher cadence for 6 minutes will produce a different kind of effort (what I'd classify as a time trial effort).

Hope this helps.
 
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walter

Fourth Party
can't wait

I'm going to leave a note on the kitchen table for my wife to check on the floor next to my trainer, cuz thats where Im gonna be in about an hour.

thanks Chris
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
workouts like this are the main reason that i'd like get a trainer so i could do these types of workouts. maybe next year, we'll see...

as for heythorp....
LMFAO

i was thinking the same thing on the trainer last night, i was really going pretty hard and i was like " will she ever check the trainer room?"

your trusty doggies would find you. and eat you. :D
 
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ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Did this workout in honor of today's bag o' crap weather. Judging by RPE and cadence, I'm getting fitter. Not that it still didn't hurt, but I was pedaling faster to make it hurt. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Special blast-from-the-past soundtrack: Metallica Master of Puppets. "Damage Inc." is a great way for a skinny shaven-legged wuss like me to finish a workout.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Blew the dust off this one...

OK, I got in 12 miles in the snow yesterday, but today's rain was another story. I was forced to succumb to the trainer for today's workout.

So I dug out this old chestnut and lit myself up real good. Ugh.:drooling:

Mastodon's Remission provided good motivation, particularly "Trampled Under Hoof" for the last few minutes of the fourth (and final) interval. Dig it.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Your workout sounds like fun Chris...I'm sure we'll all have a chance to try it out in the next few days!!

I did the Spinervals "Lean and mean" on Tuesday and it had this cool pyramid set coach Troy had you do twice through...It goes like this...

Cadence should stay around 90rpm, except for the 60sec, which should be over 120 rpm...
53/12-15sec
39/12-15sec
53/13-30sec
39/13-15sec
53/14-45sec
39/14-15sec
53/21-60sec
39/21-15sec
then everything goes down the other side, back to 45 sec,30sec,15sec...
2 minutes recovery...
repeat pyramid...

It doesn't feel too bad until you start going down the back side, then it ouches a little:D

And I like your taste in trainer music Chris!!

-Jim.
 
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Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
The goal cadence I'd recommend is 80rpm minimum. Anything under that is a different kind of effort, and not optimal for any sort of extended climbing effort. So "comfort zone" means the gear that allows the 80 rpm (or higher cadence) w/o blowing up before the interval is complete. There shouldn't be too much "comfort" in the "comfort zone", :D though.

There is a test you can do to find what your optimal cadence is, it best works with a power meter, I'm not sure if it works with a heart-rate monitor...

Start by pedaling at a cadence you feel most comfortable with, whatever that may be, "self-selected" cadence they call this.

After a nice tempo zone warmup (heart-rate should get to around 100-110bpm)

Do a 10 minute interval at "sweet-spot" (sub-threshold/high tempo)...

recover for 5 minutes...

then do another 10 minute run making sure you stay 15rpm lower overall, heart-rate should still stay about the same as set one...

recover for 5 minutes...

do you last set at 15rpm over your self-selected cadence...

Cool down, go home and download your power file...You can compare your average power output during the 3 sets to see if it drops during one of the intervals...a few watts either way is ok, over 10 is not...for example, if you averaged 330 watts during set one at say 90 rpm...during set 2 at 75 rpm your watts may drop to like 300...and maybe during your 3rd set at 105prm they went up to 340...you'd repeat this test for 2 weeks playing with where you start your first set...To make it closer to where you got the max power number, then do everything else from that point...In this example we'd start at 105rpm next time, then do 90 and 120...

Over 90% of the time though, we put out our max wattage for any given time-frame at our self-selected cadence...

-Jim.
 

Mike679

Active Member
Your workout sounds like fun Chris...I'm sure we'll all have a chance to try it out in the next few days!!

I did the Spinervals "Lean and mean" on Tuesday and it had this cool pyramid set coach Troy had you do twice through...It goes like this...

Cadence should stay around 90rpm, except for the 60sec, which should be over 120 rpm...
53/12-15sec
39/12-15sec
53/13-30sec
39/13-15sec
53/14-45sec
39/14-15sec
53/21-60sec
39/21-15sec
then everything goes down the other side, back to 45 sec,30sec,15sec...
2 minutes recovery...
repeat pyramid...

It doesn't feel too bad until you start going down the back side, then it ouches a little:D

And I like your taste in trainer music Chris!!

-Jim.

Spinervals videos are just about the only way I can stay on the trainer for any length of time. I mostly do the "Uphill Grind" and "Suffer-o-Rama" videos a couple of times a week so I can hang on to what little fitness I have when I can't get out riding. I have a few others as well that don't get as much use.

The music in the videos is just about as bad as music can be, though.

Mike
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
That's too much to decipher. I'd rather get outside and practice perfect circles plowing up some snowy hills :D
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
That's too much to decipher.
Wait a minute- what subject do you teach again?!?:hmmm:

In all seriousness, trainer workouts aren't the same kind of fun as riding a bike in the manner God intended, but they are a very efficient way to get the most fitness in the least time when the weather is crappy. And the intensity and concentration can be kind of a kick, if you're into that sort of thing.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Wait a minute- what subject do you teach again?!?:hmmm:

In all seriousness, trainer workouts aren't the same kind of fun as riding a bike in the manner God intended, but they are a very efficient way to get the most fitness in the least time when the weather is crappy. And the intensity and concentration can be kind of a kick, if you're into that sort of thing.


Hehehe I see numbers all day long. But if it comes to multiple choice and it's either A) Trainer or B) Ride outside, I'll always opt for outside even if the weather doesn't agree. I DESPISE the trainer!
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
I did the Spinervals "Lean and mean" on Tuesday and it had this cool pyramid set coach Troy had you do twice through...It goes like this...

Cadence should stay around 90rpm, except for the 60sec, which should be over 120 rpm...
53/12-15sec
39/12-15sec
53/13-30sec
39/13-15sec
53/14-45sec
39/14-15sec
53/21-60sec
39/21-15sec
then everything goes down the other side, back to 45 sec,30sec,15sec...
2 minutes recovery...
repeat pyramid....
This is a solid workout. Pyramids and descending intervals are always good for keeping it interesting.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i guess i'm gonna have to figure out what the hell all these numbers mean since i know have a road bike and a trainer and nothing better to do.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It's gearing, Jake. Jim's workout basically follows this pattern:

Pain 10 for 15 seconds, rest 15
Pain 9 for 30 seconds, rest 15
Pain 8 for 45 seconds, rest 15
Pain 7 for 60 seconds, rest 15
Pain 8 for 45 seconds, rest 15
Pain 9 for 30 seconds, rest 15
Pain 10 for 15 seconds, rest 15

Rest 2 minutes, rinse, repeat, eat, drink, and be merry.
 

chxracer

New Member
Thanks for the climbing workout, I had hill repeats scheduled today and I cant do them outside, everything is sopping up here in NY. I didnt think I was gonna make it through! That was awesome! I cant wait to attack neds lung:getsome:
 
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