Bring your bike to a whole new level: 
A primer for PreSeason Bike Focus
by Ian Murray

At TRIATHLETIX we put our athletes through 8 weeks of dedicated focus on just one sport. We combine that with some resistance work that can be done in the gym or at home. This PreSeason phase of training can launch your results in triathlon to a whole new level.   

The 8 week PreSeason bike program will ask you to ride 4-5 times a week. Some rides are as short as 60-75 minutes, many can be done indoors on a trainer, and most of the workouts have one, singular intention. Some key workouts you would expect to see are:

Spinups
A 75 minute ride on flat at a fairly low intensity. The ride begins and ends with a long warm up and cool down, and holds some focused efforts in the middle. A spinup is a cadence based effort that works primarily on neuromuscular fitness. On a flat road pedaling smoothly at 90 rpm, begin to progressively increase cadence for 20 seconds. Go to a point where you are spinning fast but still smooth – no hopping about in the saddle (this is your maximum sustainable cadence and will improve with practice). Then hold that smooth, fast cadence for 20 seconds. start with 5 x 40 second spinups with a full 4 minute recovery between   

Hill Repeats
A 75-90 minute ride with a long warm up and cool down. These Hill Repeats are a strength workout that also includes a focus on coordination. Find a hill that is 6-10 minutes long and as consistent in its grade as possible. Ride up that hill in comfort, keep heart rate low, ride it over-geared so that you are pedaling at ~60rpm. Focus completely on your pedal stroke and try for “perfect circles”: power in the pedal from 1 o’clock to 5 o’clock (that’s the easy part), from 5 o’clock to 7 o’clock (as if you are scraping something nasty off the bottom of your shoe),  from 7  to 11 (pull up on the pedal), and advance the foot across the top from 11 to 1. Concentrate on each phase of the pedal stroke and on blending them seamlessly for smooth power. Start with 4 climbs of 6 minutes with 3 minutes of easy spinning recovery between each climb.

Aerobic Long Ride
A 2 hour to 4 hour ride in total comfort on rolling terrain that works to establish, confirm, and improve both the aerobic fitness level and economy of motion of the athlete. This ride appears easy on paper but requires a level of concentration that makes it a bit more challenging: constant monitoring of cadence (hold 88-92 rpm), perfect circles, and ease of intensity is a must. Start with 2 hours and add 15-20 minutes each week.

Progressive Leg Speed
A 75 minute ride with moderate warm up and cool down. Progressive Leg Speed works the neuromuscular pathways for more fluid pedaling. On a flat road start off at 85 rpm and add 5 rpm every 30 seconds until you reach your maximum sustainable cadence (if you are hopping about in the saddle you’ve gone too far). Take a full 4 minutes recovery between each. Start off with 4 repeats.