Winter HIIT spin training regime question
Hi all,
I've recently begun going to the rec center to get a more specific work out during the winter season so I can build distance this spring. They have spinning bikes there and am strengthening my VMO (physio suggested) for better knee tracking. I also cycle commute about 1 hr a day.
I finished the fall doing a 200k ride and several centuries which was a fairly easy doable distance but would like to work up the distance. I want to try a four day, 1000km ride (300/200/300/200) by next summer. I'm very comfortable with slow endurance training and theory from LD running years ago but don't know too much about what a good HIIT spinning regime might look like to achieve better bike endurance without camping out at the center for hours at a time. I could probably spend 1 hr on one or two spin bikes without getting the boot.
Tuesday I did 30 minutes at 90rpm (8th gear) and then 5x30seconds (15th gear) with 30 second rest intervals back at 8th gear. I could have worked harder at the 30 minutes but felt my legs working to failure by the end of the intervals. I know 8th and 15th are meaningless terms but the idea is there.
I've read about determining LTHR and plan to try to do that but for now am just working at maintaining cadence at various levels of resistance. Probably/maybe I will buy a HR monitor as some of the bikes don't register HR it seems.
Any experience with basic spin programs designed for endurance would be welcome.