12 Week Cycling Time Trial Program to have you on the podium
Time Trialling requires a combination of Strength Endurance and Lactate Threshold Training.
Strength Endurance Effort
To start ride 4-6 weeks block of base training at E2 @ 100 rpm building to 150-350 km per week (depending on your event, grade and fitness). Combined with this training you want to also do strength endurance efforts of 2-5 mins reps in a big gear low cadence around 60-70 rpm either up hills or into head winds seated in your E3 zone. It’s important to not go out too hard initially and to build up strength gradually over the 4-6 week period. Watch your knees while doing strength endurance training! You want to slowly build strength in your tendons and muscles over time. If you don’t you will cause yourself an injury!
If you have a good base and strength endurance then you can skip this first part and go onto the Lactate Threshold Training...
Lactate Threshold Training
As part of your riding for the next 4-6 week block after your base block you want to focus your training on riding at your LTR (Lactate Threshold Rate). Do two of theses efforts described below with a week with one strength endurance effort described above.
This is hard training but very rewarding. Ideally best done on a wind/home trainer or ergo.
- Perform a warm-up for 10 mins @ your E1 @ 100 rpm then increase the gear and ride at your E2 @ 100 rpm for another 10 mins.
- Then increase the gear and ride at the low end of E3 @ 100 rpm for 5 mins finishing the last 30s to 1 min going flat out.
- Recover for 5 mins @ 100 rpm in your REC zone.
- This is the end of your warm up then put it in a bigger gear and ride at your LTR for 5 mins on then REC zone for 5 mins.
- Do two sets of these. The idea is to build the duration and reps up to the expected time of your TT event.
- Cool down is 10 mins in your REC zone @ 100 rpm.
Do two of these a week (or any one of the workous from the indoor cyclng trainer DVD's noted below) with one strength endurance effort from the Spinervals Strength Builder 5 Pack plus two Matt Brindle Power-Up Functional Strength efforts (progressing from beginner program to intermediate program two).
When you go to race, perform the same warm up as you have done in the training above. Make sure that you time it so that you arrive at the start line within the five mins after you have completed your warm up.
For more information regarding specific training programs for Time trialling please check out our Remote Coaching Program click on the following link:
http://www.cycling-inform.com/development/cycling-coaching-services
Here are some great time trial DVD's to train with when doing time trial indoor cycling workouts on an indoor trainer:
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