CME-1 Mini-Interval Pyramid Z4 1'-5'-3'-1'
Workout intended for: racers, strong recreational riders
Total Workout Time: 63 Minutes
This is a mini-interval pyramid / ladder workout with a quick descend to cool down. This workout will stress your muscular endurance and teach your body to adapt to various "mini-endurance" durations of slightly higher intensities. These will help when trying to bridge short gaps to other riders, help with maintaining your pace for those shorter climbing efforts encountered on rolling terrain, and those mini accelerations needed to keep up with the various dynamics when riding with a group or with other riders.
Warm-up: Begin with a progressive 15 minute warm-up. You will bring up your HR to Z3 before you begin the main workout. You have the choice of riding positions, sitting, aero or in the drops.
Warm-up Example:
Z1 for 5' – Cadence between 80-95
Z2 for 4' – Cadence between 95-115
Z3 for 3' – Cadence between 95-115 (higher cadence preferred)
Z2 for 2' – Cadence between 90-110
Begin main workout or if needed warm-up a bit longer
Main Workout: 38 minutes
Main workout Notes:
1. Begin the main workout with a 1' Z4 intensity followed by a 1:1 recovery in-between intervals. Continue with the workout until you top out at the 5' interval. Complete the 3' and 1' interval descent to begin the cool-down phase (noted below).
2. Depending on your biomechanics some of you may do the intervals at 100+ RPMs while others may be around 92-95 RPMs. At a minimum, this workout should be maintained above 90 RPM's.
3. Stay relaxed and concentrate on smooth pedaling during the intervals, think about "complete circles".
4. The timed interval begins once you shift up to the harder gear (for each interval), not when your HR reaches Z4. Downshift to an easier recovery gear once you have completed each interval. Note: your HR will still be elevated during the early portion of your recovery time, this is OK. We are measuring the interval times by the increase in workload, not by the amount of time your HR is in the training zones.
Workout Example:
Interval #1: 1' in Z4 x 1' recovery in Z2
Interval #2: 2' in Z4 x 2' recovery in Z2
Interval #3: 3' in Z4 x 3' recovery in Z2
Interval #4: 4' in Z4 x 4' recovery in Z2
Interval #5: 5' in Z4 x 5' recovery in Z2
Interval #6: 3' in Z4 x 3' recovery in Z2
Interval #7: 1' in Z4 x 1' recovery in Z2
Main workout complete – begin cool-down
Cadence for main workout:
Z4 efforts = 90-115 rpm (higher the better)
Z2 efforts = 80-105 rpm
Cool-Down: Z1 for 10 minutes
Cadence for cool-down: 80-100