10 Weeks to the Best Ride of Your Life – Stage 3

Gran Fondo Race Training Plan – Stage 3

Stage 3

Weeks 7-9: That’s no hill! It’s just a bump!

As we approach event day, we should be starting to feel the benefits of smart structural training with some functional challenges to help you progress. With this fitness we can afford to try some bigger challenges like hill training. Just the functional act of riding hills will help you improve on them, but here are a few tips to flatten those hills.

Pacing: Being patient on a hill is key to finishing strong. When we hit a hill on a ride, it can sure mess with your head because everything feels so much heavier, the speed is way lower and your body seems to want to mutiny. Keeping yourself under control, especially for the first stage of the hill, will pay dividends as you approach the top. Get into a rhythm with your breathing and pedalling. Try the ‘three threes’ rhythm: inhale smoothly for three pedal strokes and exhale smoothly for three pedal strokes. This will keep your breathing under control, yet you’re still working hard. As a rule, you should never hold your breath. Find a more natural and comfortable breathing pattern if you begin to feel lightheaded or dizzy. It can take some time to master this breathing pattern, so be patient.

Cadence and gear choice: When I ask athletes, what is the best cadence (number of revolutions of each leg in one minute = rpm) to pedal at, the most common answer is 90 rpm. Do you know why? Let’s start by not thinking about 90 rpm as a hard spinning threshold. Rather think of it as the top of the bell curve. A lot of people are most efficient at 90 rpm, but there many who are happier slightly above 95 rpm or can produce more power lower than 85 rpm. The reason for this variability is the balance of two major factors, functional co-ordination and passive blood pumping. We want to go slow enough that our protagonizing muscles (the ones producing forward movement) and the antagonizing muscles (the ones that should be resting) are contracting and relaxing in perfect harmony so as not to cause any wasted power. Inversely, we want to spin faster so we can reduce the muscle tension required during muscle loading at low cadence. Pick a gear that allows you to spin at the upper end of your comfort rpm. zone, but slow enough that you are consistent and smooth.

Week 7

Tuesday | BIKE: RIDE STRUCTURAL — FLAT TIME TRIAL

Duration: 70-90 minutes
Workout Description: Sustained effort with stable heart rate/ exertion and cadence
Warm-up: 10 minutes easiest gear spinning at high cadence (+5 rpm from normal)
Main Set: On a flat route (trainer would be better) settle into your normal cadence with effort at 70%. Aim to hold this output for 50-70 minutes. End your ride and cool down if either your exertion climbs to 80% or 90% or you have to decrease your gear to keep exertion the same
Cool-down: 10 minutes easy gear spin

Wednesday | STRENGTH: YouTube Core Set

Duration (P): 25 minutes
Workout Description: Focus on technique and challenge yourself by mixing up the order

1. Push-ups 10-30 reps
2. Leg raises 60 seconds
3. Push-ups 10-30 reps
4. Pelvic thrusts 60 seconds
5. Push-ups 10-30 reps
6. Back extensions 90-120 seconds (switch between 6 beat kick, star fish, and sky divers every 15 seconds)
7. Side plank 60 seconds
8. 90 degree sit-ups 60 seconds
9. Other side plank 60 seconds
10. Front plank 60 seconds

Thursday | BIKE: FUNCTIONAL HILL REPEATS

Warm-up: Spin easy gear for 10-20 minutes
Main Set: 3-7 climbs
Protocol: Find a steep, long and hard hill for 5 minutes at 70-80% exertion. Recover with 5 to 10 minutes easiest gear spin in between climbs
Cool-down: Easiest gear spin for 5-10 minutes

Friday | STRENGTH: YouTube Core Set

Duration: 25 minutes
Workout Description: Focus on technique and challenge yourself by mixing up the order

1. Push-ups 10-30 reps
2. Leg raises 60 seconds
3. Push-ups 10-30 reps
4. Pelvic thrusts 60 seconds
5. Push-ups 10-30 reps
6. Back extensions 90-120 seconds (switch between 6 beat kick, star fish, and sky divers every 15 seconds)
7. Side plank 60 seconds
8. 90 degree sit-ups 60 seconds
9. Other side plank 60 seconds
10. Front plank 60 seconds

Saturday | BIKE: RIDE STRUCTURAL – ATTACKING CLIMBS

Duration: 210 minute riding time
Workout Description: Feeling strong on the bike with strong climbing efforts
Warm-up: 10 minutes easy spin to start
Main Set: 80%-90% effort on undulating terrain. Every climb you have to slowly build your exertion levels for the duration. Start out easy and end up attacking over the crest to accelerate over the top
Cool-down: 10 minutes easy spin

Sunday | BIKE: GROUP RIDE

Duration: 210 minutes riding time
Workout Description/Goal: Develop comfort in riding with groups of people and learning to signal on the bike
Parameters: Join a local group, or get your friends together and head out for a sociable ride
Warm-up: 10 minutes easy spin to start
Main Set: 60% effort on undulating terrain with some smaller climbs
Cool-down: 15 minutes easy spin

Week 8

Tuesday | BIKE: CADENCE FIELD TEST

Workout Description: Time to repeat the cadence field test from Week 1 of the program. Let’s ensure that we are seeing some improvement!
Warm-up: 10 minutes easy spin
Main Set: Cadence field test
Cool-down: 10 minutes easy spin

Wednesday | STRENGTH: YouTube Core Set

Duration: 25 minutes
Workout Description/Goal: Focus on technique and challenge yourself by mixing up the order

1. Push-ups 10-30 reps
2. Leg raises 60 seconds
3. Push-ups 10-30 reps
4. Pelvic thrusts 60 seconds
5. Push-ups 10-30 reps
6. Back extensions 90-120 seconds (switch between 6 beat kick, star fish, and sky divers every 15 seconds)
7. Side plank 60 seconds
8. 90 degree sit-ups 60 seconds
9. Other side plank 60 seconds
10. Front plank 60 seconds

Thursday | BIKE: FUNCTIONAL HILL REPEATS

Warm-up: Spin easy gear for 10- 20 minutes
Main Set: 3- 7 climbs
Protocol: Find and climb a steep, long and hard hill for 5 minutes at 70-80% exertion. Recover with 5 to 10 minutes easiest gear spin in between sets
Cool-down: Easiest gear spin for 5- 10 minutes

Friday | STRENGTH: YouTube Core Set

Duration: 25 minutes
Workout Description: Focus on technique and challenge yourself by mixing up the order

Push-ups 10-30 reps
Leg raises 60 seconds
Push-ups 10-30 reps
Pelvic thrusts 60 seconds
Push-ups 10-30 reps
Back extensions 90-120 seconds (switch between 6 beat kick, star fish, and sky divers every 15 seconds)
Side plank 60 seconds
90 degree sit-ups 60 seconds
Other side plank 60 seconds
Front plank 60 seconds

Saturday | BIKE: RACE PLAN TRIAL

Workout Description: Put into place and execute a thorough race plan for the fondo. From nutrition to pacing, this test will allow you to tweak things moving forward
Parameters: Distance is 80% of your race day distance
Calorie Consumption: Ensure you get a good nutritional plan together so you get between 200-350 calories per hour
Hydration: 500mL to 700mL per hour
Exertion Level: This is the big unknown. If you wear a heart rate monitor you will be able to gauge your effort throughout. Aim to keep it as stable as possible so you can manipulate it later if we need to
Route: An undulating route would be great with 2 longer or steeper climbs

Sunday | BIKE: RIDE STRUCTURAL – BREATHING FOCUS

Duration: 180 minutes riding time
Workout Description: Moderate your intensity, and develop control of your breathing rate
Parameters: For this workout you will need to take a breathing rate test during your warm-up. Spin at normal speeds and 60% effort. Count your breathing for 30 seconds (breath in and out=1). We will use this in the workout
Warm-up: 10 minutes easy spin to start
Main Set: 70% effort for 5-6 x 3 minute sets at 2 breaths below your count in the warm-up – 12 minutes normal breathing between
Cool-down: 15 minutes easy spin

Week 9

Tuesday | BIKE: 40-MINUTE TABATA WORKOUT

Workout Description: Functional stress on all systems. This workout will hit you hard
Warm-up: 5 minutes easy gradually increasing heart rate
Main Set: 1- 3 sets. One set is 15 seconds at 100% effort, 30 seconds rest. Repeating until your effort falls to 90%. Rest 4 minutes in between sets.
Cool-down: Minimum of 15 minutes spin down

Wednesday | STRENGTH:YouTube Core Set

Duration (P): 25 minutes
Workout Description/Goal: Focus on technique and challenge yourself by mixing up the order

1. Push-ups 10-30 reps
2. Leg raises 60 seconds
3. Push-ups 10-30 reps
4. Pelvic thrusts 60 seconds
5. Push-ups 10-30 reps
6. Back extensions 90-120 seconds (switch between 6 beat kick, star fish, and sky divers every 15 seconds)
7. Side plank 60 seconds
8. 90 degree sit-ups 60 seconds
9. Other side plank 60 seconds
10. Front plank 60 seconds

Thursday | BIKE: LACTATE STIMULATION

Workout Description: Production and utilization of lactate at intensity
Time Goals: 2 – 6 repeats
Warm-up: 10- 15 minutes easy spin
Main Set: Over/unders. Increase effort to 85% (where breathing starts to get taxed, or legs start to feel heavy). Maintain same gear, cadence and heart rate for 5 minutes. Recover at 70% for 5 minutes (this is not a full recovery intensity, you are still working here with good pressure on those pedals, but your breathing should come back into control)
Cool-down: 10 minutes easiest gear spin

Friday | STRENGTH: YouTube Core Set

Duration (P): 25 minutes
Workout Description/Goal: Focus on technique and challenge yourself by mixing up the order

1. Push-ups 10-30 reps
2. Leg raises 60 seconds
3. Push-ups 10-30 reps
4. Pelvic thrusts 60 seconds
5. Push-ups 10-30 reps
6. Back extensions 90-120 seconds (switch between 6 beat kick, star fish, and sky divers every 15 seconds)
7. Side plank 60 seconds
8. 90 degree sit-ups 60 seconds
9. Other side plank 60 seconds
10. Front plank 60 seconds

Saturday | BIKE: RACE PLAN TRIAL

Workout Description: A follow-up from last week. It’s time to tweak any aspects that you felt were off par. Put into place and execute a thorough race plan for the fondo. From nutrition to pacing, this test will allow you to tweak things moving forward
Parameters: Do 80% of your race day distance
Calorie Consumption: Ensure you get a good nutritional plan together so you get between 200-350 calories per hour
Hydration: 500mL to 700mL per hour
Exertion level: If you wear a heart rate monitor you will be able to gauge your effort throughout. Aim to keep it as stable as possible so you can manipulate it later if needed
Route: An undulating route would be great, with two longer or steeper climbs

Sunday | BIKE: SUPER EASY RIDE