Sterling Bailey
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ZONE 1 – active recovery
* Heart rate (% of threshold HR) – 50-60%
Should feel very easy with little pressure going through the pedals. Breathing will be light and conversation easy. Usually used after a hard training session, race, or sportive to aid recovery.
ZONE 2 -endurance
* Heart rate (% of threshold HR) – 60-70%
* Typical duration – 3+ hours
Conversation while riding should still be easy but your breaths will be a little heavier and more frequent than in zone one. Well-trained riders can ride for three hours (or significantly more) at this intensity with adequate fueling.
ZONE 3 - tempo / sweet-spot
* Heart rate (% of threshold HR) – 70-80%
* Typical duration – 20 minutes to one hour
Breathing is getting sharper now with more concentration required to maintain the effort. It’s harder to talk and starts to feel uncomfortable.
ZONE 4 - threshold
* Heart rate (% of threshold HR) – 80-90%
* Typical duration – 10 to 30 minutes
Regular conversation while riding will be very difficult and your breathing will be heavy, but not strained. You will be feeling ‘the burn’ and it will require concentration and mental determination to stay in this zone, so it’s usually broken down into blocks or intervals of 10 to 30 minutes.
Difficult to ride effectively at this threshold for sessions on back-to-back days, but possible with adequate fueling and recovery.
ZONE 5 - VO2 max
* Heart rate (% of threshold HR) – 90-100+%
* Typical duration – 3 to 8 minutes
This is a hard zone that’s painful to ride at for more than a few minutes, so you should be suffering. Breathing will be heavy and the effort will be difficult to maintain. If you have all the above sensations, you’re in the right place.
It’s difficult to complete sessions effectively and consistently on back-to-back days. It’ll be hard to get your average heart rate right during these efforts, so concentrate on how your body is feeling.
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5x5’s
These intervals are extremely important when building a base phase of intensity. These are the efforts that will help you sustain longer efforts. Riding people off your wheel or sticking to the wheel or group that is pushing the pace for longer durations during the race.
I like to pick apart the 5x5’s into the first 30-40 seconds, and the remaining 4:30.
Within the first 30 seconds, you need to find the top speed, effort, and heart rate, that you can consistently hold for the next 4-5 minutes. The key to these efforts is in the 4-5 minutes. Going as hard as you can, without fading. If you find yourself slowing down or wearing out by the end of the effort, you’ve gone too hard.
________________________________________________________________Hill Intervals:
Find a hill that takes no more than 40-45 seconds to sprint up.
Begin the ride with a 20-30 min warmup. Move into the 4 hill intervals. 100% effort each time up with 1-3 minutes rest between each effort. Once you’ve done 4, 100% effort sprints, take the next 30 min and ride a high-tempo, active recovery. Repeat the intervals above, followed by 30 min tempo ride.
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Tabata IntervalsThese are designed to sharpen the knife. They’ll help with explosive power during long climbs, sprints, and everything in between. They’ll decrease your recovery time between efforts as well, which will help you bounce back after each hard effort during events and training.
Make sure you get a really good warmup. 30-40 min. Find a gradual hill. Nothing too steep. Farmington Canyon dirt is great for these. Make sure you have enough space to finish the workout. These cannot be interrupted.
Tabata Intervals go like this: 20 seconds at 100% NO HOLDING BACK. 10 seconds rest. Repeat for a total of four minutes.
Min 1: 20 on. 10 off. 20 on. 10 off.
Min 2: 20 on. 10 off. 20 on. 10 off.
Min 3: 20 on. 10 off. 20 on. 10 off.
Min 4: 20 on. 10 off. 20 on. 10 off.
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4 Min Builders
Warm-up 20 minRepeat 8 times
Hard 4:30 zone 3-4
Sprint:30 sec @100% (zone 5)Active Recovery 10 min
Repeat 3 times
Hard 2:00 zone 5
Moderate 2:00 zone 3-4Active Recovery 15 min
Repeat 3 times
Hard 2:00 zone 5
Moderate 2:00 zone 3-4Cool down for 20 min.
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The week leading up to a big race is crucial for ensuring that you are WELL-RESTED, properly fueled, and mentally prepared. Here's a suggested plan for the week leading up to a race:
MONDAY: Active Recovery
- Duration: 1 hour
- Focus on gentle spinning or light activities like yoga to promote recovery from any residual fatigue from the previous week's training.
TUESDAY: Short Intervals and Skills
- Warm up with easy spinning for 15-20 minutes.
- Perform short, high-intensity intervals (30 seconds to 2 minutes) with ample recovery between efforts.
- Focus on maintaining high cadence and power output.
- Incorporate brief skills practice to keep technical abilities sharp.
- Duration: 1.5 hours
WEDNESDAY: Moderate Intensity Ride
- Duration: 1.5 - 2 hours
- Keep the intensity moderate, focusing on maintaining a steady effort rather than pushing to exhaustion.
- Include some short, moderate-intensity efforts to keep the legs engaged without inducing significant fatigue.
THURSDAY: Rest or Easy Spin (travel day)
- Duration: 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Allow the body to fully recover before the race.
- If you feel the need to move, opt for an easy spin to keep the legs loose without adding fatigue.
- If you’re traveling a long distance for the race, plan for an easy spin on the bike to loosen the legs, once you arrive at your destination.
FRIDAY: Pre-Race Preparation
- Duration: 1 hour
- Short, easy ride to keep the legs moving and ensure everything feels dialed in.
- Focus on mental preparation and visualization techniques to envision a successful race.
- Feel free to ramp up the legs with a few, high-intensity sprints of 30-60 seconds or threshold work, no longer than 8 min. with five min. recovery between each effort.
- Check and prepare all race equipment, ensuring everything is in working order.
SATURDAY: Race Day
- Focus on a thorough warm-up routine to activate muscles and prepare mentally.
- Execute race strategy and give maximum effort during the race.
- Stay hydrated and fueled during the race, following a nutrition plan you’re familiar with from training.
- After the race, engage in a proper cool-down routine to aid recovery.
Throughout race week, I must emphasize the importance of hydration, nutrition, and SLEEP. Take time to visualize the race, your race strategy, strength, and confidence. Think back to some of your best training rides and smile because of the hard work and fun you’ve had riding your bike.
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DAY BEFORE:
The day before is a great opportunity to open up the legs from any travel, rest, or recovery from earlier that day or the day before. If you can, pre-ride the course at a comfortable pace. Make mental notes on sections you're comfortable riding, places you can pass, and sections where there will be challenges. Find confidence in the entire course. If there are sections you question, don't hesitate to ride them over and over until you're comfortable.
Open the legs and body up with the following efforts:
2x8 min efforts, 8/10 with 4 min recover between efforts
If you feel strong and your legs feel fresh, that's good. Don't overdo it. If you're feeling a little sluggish, push through the efforts and follow it up with 20-40 min of easy spinning.
DAY OF:
Plan to be suited up and ready for a pre-race warmup, 60-90 min. before start time. Even if you're not going to spend a full hour warming up, it's important to have the mindset and mental game ready to go. Plus, you're not cutting into potential warmup time, by getting dressed and looking for all your equipment.
Factor in the following to allow for an ample amount of time, before you get on the bike for warm-up:
travel time to the venue
parking
registration
bike check (clean, adjusted, lubed, and number plate attached)
The very last thing you want is to be rushed into a proper warm-up or to the start line.
Your pre-race meal can vary, depending on personal preference or the type of race you're about to crush. For example, your pre-race meal before a typical XC race that lasts 1.5-2 hrs may be different than a 30 min crit or short track race, or a 4-6 hour endurance race. As will the amount of time you give yourself between the mean and start time.
A good rule of thumb is about 2.5-3.5 hours before start time. At two hours or less to start time, I would consider eating a smaller meal to reduce stress on the digestive system and the potential for that pre-race meal to come back up due to the increased intensity at the start of the race.
Pre-Race Warmup: (1 to 10, 1 = easy 10 = max effort)
Pre-race warmup will be different for everyone. This is where you need to begin to "flip the switch." Focus on how you feel, the temperature, the wind, or weather patterns. Make sure you have a game plan in mind, for every possible turn of events during the race.
10-15 min at an easy pace 3/10
2x3 min at 6/10, steady push and focus on consistent and controlled breathing
3x30 second sprints 8/10, with two-minute recovery between efforts
It's okay to work up a bit of sweat then make your way to the start line, ready to rock.
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Pre-Race/Start Line
INHALE: slowly, filling up the lungs to capacity. roughly about 4 seconds.
HOLD: 4-6 seconds:
EXHALE: Slowly. 6-8 seconds. Let your body fully relax.Repeat five times after you get kitted up before your warmup.
Repeat three more times, once you're staged and ready to start.
________________________________________________________________Here’s a nice write-up on three different types of breathwork.
https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/breathing-techniques-for-sportSkip to 2:10 when he begins his explanation of the exercise. It takes him a minute to get there, but I’m a huge fan of Wim Hof breathing techniques. https://youtu.be/nzCaZQqAs9I?si=1JkRkXgzS5kphq2q
https://youtu.be/tybOi4hjZFQ?si=0yRSk02EYRDv2A5B