As we head into the fall/winter, many of us want to maintain our fitness or increase strength/speedwork in in the off-season. While riding as often as possible certainly helps, maximal fitness is best achieved by developing a training plan that targets specific components of our muscular and metabolic engines, by working on our weaknesses, and by applying the appropriate mix of training stress and recovery. Very experienced riders may do this naturally, or "by feel", without the use of training aids such as heart rate monitors or power meters. However, those riders are the exception rather than the rule, and so for the rest of us, the following are some general guidelines.
Know your zones
The first step in defining your individual training zones is to do an actual test. Published charts based on age and gender are often way off. The first step is to find your Functional Threshold Heart Rate (or Functional Threshold Power, FTP if using a power meter). This is not exactly the same as your "Lactate Threshold" or "Anaerobic Threshold" but it is close enough for training purposes.
To find it, warm up well for 20 minutes, including 5 minutes where your breathing is heavy, then go as hard as you can for 20 minutes. You should be breathing hard and conversation should be difficult. I like to do this test on Mercer Island where you can ride hard for 20 minutes without stopping. A trainer works, but make sure you are not overheated, which can skew the results. If you are using heart rate, your Functional Threshold Heart Rate is the average for the last 10 minutes of the test. If you are using power, it is the average power for the whole 20 minutes times 0.95. Remember not to start off so hard that you fade drastically at the end. Try to ramp up to an effort you can hold for the whole 20 minutes.
Zone | HR (% FTHR) | Power (%FTP) | Interval Time |
VO2 Max | >106% | 105-120% | 3 - 8 minutes |
Threshold | 95-105% | 90-105% | 10 - 40 minutes |
“Sweet spot” | 90-94% | 88-94% | 10 - 40 minutes |
Tempo | 84-94% | 75-90% | 20 - 120 minutes |
Aerobic Threshold | 83% | 75% | > 1 hour |
Endurance | 69-83% | 55-75% | NA |
Recovery | <68% | < 55% | NA |
VO2 Max zone
This is defined as > 106 % of your FT Heart Rate or 106-120% of your FT Power. Riding in this zone really hits your your anaerobic metabolism and is the best way to build a “bigger engine”. If you find yourself lagging on the typical one mile climbs on the Eastgate rides, but would like to be putting the hurt on Kern, you need to train in this zone. Here we are talking about classic high-intensity intervals lasting 3-8 minutes, with recoveries of the same duration. Start with 3 minutes and work up gradually to longer intervals. Try for a total of 15-20 minutes of interval time in a workout (e.g. 6 x 3 min or 5 x 4 min). I find these easier to do on a hill, but they can be done on the flats. If you are using heart rate, you may not hit your target heart rate until near the end of the interval. That's OK. The interval starts when you start mashing the pedals, but if you don't get to your target heart rate, mash harder the next time. Your breathing should be ragged. If you are using power, put your computer on "lap average" and try to hit your target by the end. Doing VO2 max intervals is the absolute fastest way to get stronger, guaranteed, but they hurt, and you shouldn't try them 2 days in a row.
How big is your engine? If you are using power and know your best 5 minute power output, you can estimate your actual VO2 max. Email me if you would like the formula.
Threshold zone
This is defined as 95-105% of your FT Heart Rate or 90-105% of your FT Power. Want more mitochondria? Work at threshold. If you are getting ready for time trials, long climbs (e.g. RAMROD) or long fast pace lines (e.g. STP), you want to put in some work here. If you have been neglecting this area this spring, you need to start with some 5-10 intervals, but the classic Threshold zone workout is 2 by 20 minutes, with 10-20 minutes of easy spinning in between. Same as above, if you are using heart rate it may take at least several minutes to get to your target, but the interval starts when you start pedaling hard. If using power, your average for the 20 minutes should be near your target. As you get stronger, and with repeated testing, you will see your threshold power increase and your threshold heart rate move closer to your max heart rate (which won't change much with training). Don't forget to recalculate your zones when this happens!
Do these once or at most 2 times a week. Also, check your heart rate at the end of the interval and again at 2 minutes into recovery. Ideally, you should see a drop of 40 points or more. If not, you may want to consider doing more work in Tempo/Endurance (see below). Another tip is that working just under your threshold zone (90-94% of FT HR or 88-94 FT Power) is called "the Sweet Spot". Training in the sweet spot is one of the best overall uses of your time because it induces a good training stress without the fatigue of threshold workouts, and thus can be done more often.
Tempo/Endurance zone
This is defined as 70-94% of your FT HR or 55-90% of your FT Power. I've grouped them since the training is similar. In a brisk Eastgate pace line, I am typically doing Tempo when I am drafting and threshold when I am pulling. Endurance pace is when we are riding 3 abreast at 18 mph and chatting. The intersection of the two zones (83% of FT HR and 75% of FT Power) is called "Aerobic Threshold" and is a great place to target long steady rides. Riding at aerobic threshold non-stop for 1-2 hours, something we rarely do on group rides, is not as easy as it sounds and is very beneficial for building endurance and for completing long events. Triathletes know that no matter what their VO2 max or FTP is, their performance relates most directly to how long they can hold their Aerobic Threshold power. If you happen to have a power meter, compare your heart rate and power during the first and last 15 minutes of the ride. If your heart rate/power ratio has risen by more than a few percent (this is called aerobic decoupling), this is a sign that you need more aerobic work. Aerobic threshold rides can be done several times per week.
Rest and recovery
Build recovery time into your schedule. This is when you get stronger. The older you are, the more recovery time you need. Every third or fourth week, cut your volume (but not intensity) by 30-50%. To get ready for a big event, cut back your hard workouts to every third day for a couple of weeks leading up to the event. Hard workouts done within 2 weeks of an event do very little for your fitness but can create enough fatigue to impair your performance. On your off days, either don't ride or take your bike for a walk by staying in your small chain ring, keeping your heart rate below 68% of FT Heart Rate and just enjoying the ride.
Ride lots, and ride safe this fall!
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