This section is currently being updated for the 2022 Season.
We look forward to serving you.
Our Twelve Weeks Together
STRUCTURED, SCIENCE BASED, PROGRESSIVE
YOUR SEASON STARTS HERE
Overview
This training program is designed to last 12 weeks and was designed by Joey Stabile of Cycling Fusion and Sally Edwards of Heart Zones. The program follows sound base building principles which are designed to provide progressive training to anyone who desires to become more fit and have greater aerobic capacity. The beauty of indoor training is that by having control over our environment, we can design and execute very specific training protocols with specific targeted results. Our training primarily utilizes heart monitors which allows you to use any indoor bike or an outdoor bike on a stationary trainer that does not have to be a smart trainer.
The program is designed with three training rides (structured workouts) per week with a few “Race Ready” rides that will occur on realistic courses. Each week we will have a longer ride and two shorter (45 - 60 minute) skills ride designed to be done midway through the week.
Week One
Welcome to the first week of Base Training 2021. This week, and next week, we are going to be setting up our Heart Zones and establishing baselines for the training work. This week, we will be doing the Foster Talk Test to identify our T1 and T2 thresholds and then calculate our Heart Zones. This is a critical week as we will use these zones to guide our training over the next 6 weeks until we re-examine them.
Here is a great article on Threshold Training by Sally Edwards. CLICK HERE
The Rides for this week:
Ride A 60 Minute Ride - Foster Talk Test & Quick T1 Evaluation
Ride B 45 Minute Ride - T1 Confirmation
Ride C 45 Minute Ride - T1 Confirmation
The first ride is the Talk Test and a quick T1 confirmation. Ride two this week will focus on narrowing in on T1 from the High values and ride three this week will focus on narrowing in on T1 from the low values. Please, take your time and be sure that you have your T1 and T2 established to the best of your ability. It can be tricky if you have not done this in the past, but it will come. None of these rides are overly taxing, so feel free to re-do them as needed.
The forms for this week are:
2021 T1 Talk Test Conf Form Ride 1a
2021 Talk Test Protocol & Zone Calc Form
How To Calculate Training Zones
2021 T1 Validation Form-Higher
Week Two
Welcome to the second week of Winter Training 2021. Last week we dialed in our HR Thresholds; this week we are going to establish our power baselines. Power baselines can be challenging, especially if you are at home and do not have a bike that has the ability to show power.
If you have a bike that shows power, this is a relatively simple process and you can use the forms as is. You will pick a target power for the test in question and work to maintain that power for the entire period. You may find as you get into the segments that you need to adjust your estimate either way (up or down), and that is ok. Once the test is complete, write your average power and average HR in the form.
If your bike does not have power, we have 2 options for you. Option 1 is for bikes that have a console that shows your gear number. If you have a bike that shows your gears, we are going to use the gears as our indicator of “power.” The way the test will work for you is that you will pick a target gear for the test in question and work to maintain that gear and constant cadence for the entire period. (NOTE: You must keep a constant cadence for this method to work.) You may find as you get into the segments that you need to adjust your gear either up or down, and that is ok. Once the test is complete, write your gear and average HR in the form. When we do this test again you will can use 1 of 2 ways to evaluate change: either do the test at a higher gear, or use the exact same gear and look for a lower HR.
Option 2 is for bikes that do not show your gear number and have knobs to twist for resistance. If you have this type of bike we are going to use the number of 1/2 turns of the knob (once zeroed out) as our indicator of “power.” The way the test will work for you is that you will first zero your bike. You do this by turning the knob until the pad (or magnet) just comes into contact with the wheel. This is zero. Then, pick a target tension (as indicated by the number of 1/2 turns) for the test in question and work to maintain that tension and constant cadence for the entire period. (NOTE: You must keep a constant cadence for this method to work.) You may find as you get into the segments that you need to adjust your turns either up or down, and that is ok. Remember to adjust in complete 1/2 turns. Once the test is complete, write your number of 1/2 turns and average HR in the form. When we do this test again you will can use 1 of 2 ways to evaluate change: either do the test at a higher number of 1/2 turns, or use the exact same number of turns and look for a lower HR.
The Rides for this week:
Ride A 60 Minute Ride - 1 min, 3 min, 5 min and 20 min Power Tests
Ride B 45 Minute Ride - Zone 2 ride with Video
Ride C 45 Minute Ride - Zone 2 ride with Video
The forms for this week are:
Week Three
Welcome to the third week of Base Training 2021. Last week we established baselines for our 1 minute, 3 minute, 5 minute and 20 minute power efforts. This week we are going to explore Zone 2 and establish our optimum cadence range for Zone 2. This is great low zone work that will benefit you greatly when we get outside.
If you have a bike that shows power, this is a relatively simple process and you can use the forms as is. You will establish a target heart rate that you can maintain for the entire optimization drill. Then, we will maintin that HR at different cadences and our most efficient cadence will be that which produced the highest power, even if it was only a few watts higher.
If your bike does not have power, we have 2 options for you. Option 1 is for bikes that have a console that shows your gear number. If you have a bike that shows your gears, we are going to use the gears as our indicator of “power.” The way the test will work for you is that you will pick a target gear for the test in question and work to maintain that gear and constant cadence for the entire period. (NOTE: You must keep a constant cadence for this method to work.) You may find as you get into the segments that you need to adjust your gear either up or down, and that is ok. Once the test is complete, write your gear and average HR in the form. When we do this test again you will can use 1 of 2 ways to evaluate change: either do the test at a higher gear, or use the exact same gear and look for a lower HR.
Option 2 is for bikes that do not show your gear number and have knobs to twist for resistance. If you have this type of bike we are going to use the number of 1/2 turns of the knob (once zeroed out) as our indicator of “power.” The way the test will work for you is that you will first zero your bike. You do this by turning the knob until the pad (or magnet) just comes into contact with the wheel. This is zero. Then, pick a target tension (as indicated by the number of 1/2 turns) for the test in question and work to maintain that tension and constant cadence for the entire period. (NOTE: You must keep a constant cadence for this method to work.) You may find as you get into the segments that you need to adjust your turns either up or down, and that is ok. Remember to adjust in complete 1/2 turns. Once the test is complete, write your number of 1/2 turns and average HR in the form. When we do this test again you will can use 1 of 2 ways to evaluate change: either do the test at a higher number of 1/2 turns, or use the exact same number of turns and look for a lower HR.
The Rides for this week:
Ride A 60 Minute Ride - Zone 2 Cadence Optimization Exploration
Ride B 45 Minute Ride - Zone 2 Ride with Video
Ride C 45 Minute Ride - Zone 4 Intervals
The forms for this week are:
Week Four
Welcome to the fourth week of Base Training 2021. This week’s ride is a hard ride, perhaps one of the hardest that we do because it is specifically designed for you to fail. If you make it the entire 40 minutes at the level that you selected, then you did not go hard enough. That is in fact the purpose of week four, to find your performance limit; in cycling talk, that is the point of Aerobic Decoupling.
Last Week’s Recap
Last week we tested our zone 2 efficiency, You should have learned more about yourself and where you are more efficient when riding in zone 2. Theoretically, the cadence in which you produced the most power while keeping a steady heart rate in zone 2 is where you are more efficient. The more experienced you become with your riding, the more you will start to recognize your efficiency when outside on the bike. In short, you start to recognize that you “just feel good” at this intensity and cadence while still having a higher power output. - which means you go faster without failing.
About This Week
This week’s class will allow us to test for Aerobic Decoupling. We’ll be riding above our FTP for one 40 minute interval in mid - high zone 4 (heart rate) just below your T2. While maintaining a steady power level (watts), we’ll look for an increase in our heart rate. When that increase exceeds 5%, this is the point in which we decoupled. You should recognize it because at that point you will be in Zone 5 and unable to sustain it for very long.
Test Procedure: Keep your power consistent while having your heart rate in mid - high zone 4. Lock-in that power number and hold it there for the duration of the test. Keep your cadence steady too. Watch your heart rate and when it increases 5% for up to 2 minutes (it could be less time), this is the point in which you decoupled. Reminder - if you take a drink of water, your heart rate will fluctuate. That fluctuation is not decoupling.
Real World Application: When out on a ride and you have a long climb ahead of you, understanding how long it takes for you to decouple will allow you to decide how hard you want to attack a hill climb. It’s an indicator that helps you know when to back off of the intensity so you can reach the top of the climb. Go too hard and you fail sooner. In simpler terms, its all about pacing yourself for the long haul. Knowing at what point you will decouple helps you manage your body’s capabilities better. We do this test now because over the last few weeks, we’ve been training our aerobic capacity with lower zone training primarily.
The Rides for this week:
Ride A 80 Minute Ride - Zone 4 Aerobic Decoupling
Ride B 45 Minute Ride - Zone 2 Ride with Video
Ride C 45 Minute Ride - Decreasing Cadence Muscular Endurance Intervals
The forms for this week are:
Week Five
Welcome to the fifth week of Base Training 2021. Last week we tackled aerobic decoupling, yikes, that was tough. This week we are going to begin building our endurance by exploring aerobic tempo intervals. These are moderately hard efforts designed to stress your system to force physiological adaptation.
There are no forms, no long theory explanations, let's just ride and grow.
The Rides for this week:
Ride A 80 Minute Ride - Aerobic Tempo Intervals
Ride B 45 Minute Ride - Zone 2 Ride with Video
Ride C 45 Minute Ride - Aerobic Tempo Intervals
Week Six
Welcome to the sixth week of Base Training 2021. This week we will re-evaluate your T1 and T2 values as we are just about halfway through this 12 week training program. We will use our new values to re-calculate our Heart Zones and use these new numbers for the rest of the sessions. Note, this week we increase the B and C rides to 60 minutes in length.
The Rides for this week:
Ride A 80 Minute Ride - Foster Talk Test, Quick T1 Evaluation & Aerobic Tempo Work
Ride B 60 Minute Ride - Zone 2 Ride with Video
Ride C 60 Minute Ride - Aerobic Tempo Intervals
The forms for this week are:
2021 T1 Talk Test Conf Form Ride
2021 Talk Test Protocol & Zone Calc Form