your August training guide

TRAINING GUIDE
Phase 3: August
Strength
Develop power and endurance
Now that you have completed the cardio and muscular endurance conditioning recommended in
the last set of tips, this next phase of training will allow you to maintain those endurance benefits and
use the conditioning as your foundation in developing the strength required to power up difficult hills.
You will also improve your ability to sustain these somewhat intense efforts, especially during the
last 30 kilometres of the ride (for the 100 km riders) into Toronto. This stretch begins north of the
Newmarket area.
Focus of this phase: strength development and strength endurance
• Development of absolute strength in the major muscle masses of the lower body that will
deliver the force on the pedals to ride consistently and comfortably into headwinds and
repetitively up the hills north of Toronto.
• Development of the strength endurance to sustain these efforts, especially during the last 30
kilometres of the ride for 100 km riders and last 15 kilometres for 50 km riders.
Training Recommendations
• Continue to ride at least 4 times per week
• Save the Muscular Endurance maintenance for your weekend riding. Follow the same weekend riding
suggestions detailed in Phase 2 training recommendations.
• On Day 1 of the weekday ride, follow this protocol:
• Find a long hill. The one behind Glendon College on the Lawrence extension is a great one.
• The one at the horse stables behind Sunnybrook Hospital in Sunnybrook Park is another.
• Do a 15-to-20-minute spirited warm-up in a moderate gear (relatively easy).
• After the warm-up, choose a moderate gear in your chainring.
• Ride the hill while remaining seated.
• Ride back down. Recover for a few minutes until normal, or almost normal, breathing and
heart rates are restored.
• Do this 9 more times.
• Warm down for 15 minutes. Use the easy warm-up gear.
TRAINING GUIDE
Phase 3: August
Training Recommendations - continued
• On Day 2 of the weekday rides, follow this protocol:
• Find a relatively flat, quiet road.
• Do a 15-20 minute spirited warm-up in a moderate gear (relatively easy).
• Ride at about 85% maximal effort for 10 minutes. (Note: Use the large chainring with a hard
gear on the back).
• Recover for 5 minutes until normal breathing and heart rates are restored. Do it again, using a
moderately easy gear.
• Note: This is what we refer to as a 10 minutes ON/5 minutes OFF Interval.
• Repeat the interval 5 more times.
• Warm down for 15 minutes. Use the easy warm-up gear.
Helpful technical tips:
When riding, especially in harder gears
during the strength building attributes, pull
consistently on the handlebars with a rowing
technique to efficiently transfer the power
from your legs into the pedals.
YOU DON’T HAVE
TO BE GREAT TO
START,
START
Riding harder gears as one would in this
phase of training sometimes allows for
the rider to “creep” forward on the seat,
hunching your back and pulling your neck
into your chest cavity. To alleviate this
condition or at least to delay the onset of
it, it is recommended that riders shift to a
higher gear and perform a “standing climb”
periodically.
On descents, your bike is much more stable
when you are pedalling than when you are
coasting.
BUT YOU HAVE TO
START TO BE GREAT.