Quick Cycle Training Tips - Improve Your Fitness Fast

If you're short of time and want some quick tips on how to improve your fitness, ex-pro cyclists Daniel Lloyd and Simon Richardson show you how to use sprints on a turbo trainer or static exercise bike to get fit fast.

If you've got a heart rate monitor, riding sprints at 90-100% capacity for 15 seconds, then 30 seconds - 3 minutes at 80-90% of maximum - mimicking short steep climbs, then riding at VO2 max for 3-8 minutes is a great way to get into shape. If you don't know your VO2 max, don't worry, we'll be covering how to calculate it later on in the year.

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Leave us a comment below!

[markp.]

Man how things have changed! It's a pleasure to see how you have evolved!

[ShelterDogs]

Thanks ecke. Since I wrote that a week ago I came across something called "The Ultimate VO2 Max Training Session." In a nutshell: 10 min. warmup, 2 min. VO2 max, 8 min. threshold, 10 min. easy strolling, then repeat once. I don't have a power meter, so I'm going by heart rate. For the anaerobic threshold portion I go 80% of my maximum heart rate. And for VO2 I go about 92%. I keep looking back and forth at my heart rate monitor. Not optimum, but it'll have to do.

[McBlacky]

basicaly rest periods are twice the interval, but after maximum effort much longer are required. Cadence may vary and it produces different effects, you can do vomax at 100 as a cadence training but also at 60 at a power training both with similar effort. Generaly 4 intervals are recommended, ahorter intervals could be repeated after 20-30 minutes of easy ride. Vomax effort measured to your HR is a bit tricky to define exactly, even when you know your thresholds.

[BeamRider]

The average watts change for the different time intervals, for what you can sustain for those times.

[ShelterDogs]

Hi Flash. Yes, I know, but I was looking for something specific to train smarter for the test. One website said to pedal your hardest for 3-5 minutes, then go a regular pace for 3-5 minutes. You would do about 4 cycles of this. I'm gathering information at the moment.

[ecke]

at that level pretty much any training you do will improve you.But a good start could be something like 2 days of endurance rides + 2-3 days of interval work per week. and depending on time throw in some easy rides as well.
1 interal session could be the Vo2 session with interals like you described. another with longer intervals at just below threshold something like 8-15 min with a quite short rest (2-5 min) and the endurance rides are typically below 75% of max. Cheers

[BeamRider]

I use the stationary cycle at the gym periodically to see if I'm improving. I can hold 330 W for intervals of 3 mins and was doing 260-300 W for 6 mins when I was tired the other day.
Otherwise you need a power meter on the rear hub or crank.
If you can't do that, see if the climb speed on different hills you know can improve, maybe you can climb at 22 km/h all the way up a hill, and next week you can do 23 km/h if you improve your watts/kg. Go to the burn point and back off a touch.

[McBlacky]

Watts has to be measures to weight or watts training has to be matched to individual´s FTP. In this case VO2max is somewhere at 106-120% of FTP, anaerobic at 120-150%, sprint is max in any scheme.
Listed 700w for 30-180seconds and 450 for 3-8 minutes are completely out of window as the first one is connected to FTP 510w, while the latter to 400w.
Not even supercharged dopers had FTP of 510w (70gk rider) while 400w is possible at the top level.

[bionique]

The best thing you can do is also to test yourself at peak like 1min 5min and 20min/TP then you set your training intervals

[BeamRider]

Get a stopwatch over a set course of varying lengths, such as 200m, 1 km, 3 km. comprendere ?

[CantEtCheese]

I wouldn't say so since heart rate is dependent on so many different things. A watt is watt where ever you go.

[BeamRider]

They are training 3 zones. 1 Sprint 15 sec. 2 Anaerobic for 30-180 sec. 3. VO2Max for 3-8 minutes. All Maximum efforts for those times.

They are very good : 1. 1000W 2. 700 W (maybe only 30 sec - 1min). 3 400-450.

What can you do ?

[fletcheroo]

Hey Daniel Lloyd whens Krypton factor coming back!

[ViveSemelBeneVivere]

#GCN Was this the first episode with Si in it? Two young lads there! 😃

[paulopacifici]

The video is great but I'm missing the numbers of times each training!

[michaelchanky]

Hi, GCN . 
Do you really suggests cyclist should have jogging training in regular day ?

[prorok]

So.... when You doing Your VO2 max intervals at 450W(omg!) it means that You can easily pull over 500W at maximaml 5min effort.  Thats a world class score, get back into peloton !!!Now!! 

[ryangoing]

Are those average watts the same type of wattage measured on a spin bike or cycle ops machine? I have fairly strong legs and I am lucky if I can max out over 420 on those things.

[emilegoguely]

I think those power figures might be a little exagerated or on the road numbers, that did not look like 1200 watt ;)
Nice video!

[Mendip]

Is it possible to translate the wattages you are quoting to Heart Rate values?