rkwaki

Yes. I don't ride a trainer but a spin bike. I do sprint intervals structured on what my finishing kick is (15 seconds). As I am on my spin bike I can spin my legs out as fast as possible (~180 rpm) and focus on efficient pedal technique at high rpm plus they kill me - 15 seconds on - 45 off and repeat for 6 intervals, rest 10 minutes and repeat.

mike868y

cool, good to know.

I'm doing way more structured stuff this season then ever before and for certain intervals it seems like the trainer is the best option. Vo2s are fun to do on hills but to get to a good hill, do the intervals and get back I'm looking at a 3.5 hour ride which doesn't always fit into my schedule. Plus, for only 2 hours the trainer honestly isn't that bad.

Allegheny Jet

Last night's roller workout had me do 4 X 8' Z4 intervals @ 280 -315 watts with a cadence of 95 to 105. Had to start each interval with 1 min OTS, then go seated. I need to work on the OTS while on the rollers. I put the bike in the biggest gear and rode @ 60- 70 rpm which is less power than my interval goal. Any faster cadence would make the bike unstable by rocking it forward/backward on the rollers.

I might experiment with a folded towel when I do Friday's roller workout that includes ILD sets with 250-500 OTS revolutions between sets. I’ve tried different tire pressures that might allow me to put more effort into the OTS work with no luck. I think I need more resistance from the rollers when standing, like my fluid trainer provides.

rkwaki

I agree. I use my spin bike to work on:
1. Pedal technique - it is like a fixie so it forces the work and forces me to pedal better. I do 5 minute one legged drills at ~100 rpm then switch feet
2. Cadence - as it is a fixie I can spin up to 180 without worrying about stability or anything breaking
3. TT Technique - as I can easily adjust saddle height, for/aft postion and handlebar height I can get it just right and try it - also allows me to work on staying in that position

kleinboogie

Not sure. 204 lbs right now, was 217, 6'2". Pretty sure I need to be around 190 lbs to feel good while racing.

kleinboogie

Question about rollers. I don't have one yet but I saw someone at Red Trolley warming up on one sideways on a moderate sloped hill.

1. Is there an advantage to warming up on rollers vs. a trainer?
2. How the heck do you stay up on one, on a slope?

Thanks.

rkwaki

5'11" = right now - 214
Finished last race season at 199

If you want some sprinting help I would be glad to pass along what info I can.

kleinboogie

I am a sponge, send it on. Thanks!

I guess by big I mean I have a gut and an ass I'd like to see less of. Probably the guys behind me to, if there were any.

rkwaki

Haha it comes with time. I will send you a message I sent another member for starters.

bostongarden

Glad to see some good rides and workouts going on. I think I am nearly done with having the flu, sheesh. Today is my 8th day off in a row. Sounds strange to say this, but, I'm not stressing over it and it felt right. Hope to be back on the trainer tomorrow. srm going in sooner than later for service.

LowCel 

Holy fish sticks today's workout hurt. 10x20 seconds high cadence seated sprints.

This time (2/08/11) c/w - 119/626, 119/666, 119/585, 119/582, 114/552, 117/564, 114/605, 116/541, 114/546, 115/546 - avg 117/581

Last time (1/11/11) c/w - 121/384, 123/401, 123/495, 135/553. 118/490, 120/536, 115/537, 118/554, 121/564, 120/526 - avg 124/504

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/67344232

rbart4506

That's where I'm blessed...I have a nice 5min hill right out my front door...Of course the Elite guys around here are doing it in 3.5mins, but hey it works for me...

mike868y

yea there are lots of 1-3 minute hills real close to me but finding a good consistent 4 minute hill is tough.

kensuf

Just shy of 2.5 hours with 6 sprints. The last one was a gut buster. My legs feel surprisingly good after last weekend.

mike868y

I did some intervals. they hurt.

mattm

Trainer last night, trainer tonight.

Ankle is a little tender, but mostly from the way you have to clip out of Speedplays (e.g. big ankle twist). I'll get over it.

echappist

Given your strength in TT's, any tips for someone who can neither TT nor sprint?

All i do right now is the get in the biggest gear available and turn the crank drill in order to get a better jump, but the watts are pretty atrocious: 650W on flat ground, maybe 800-900W on a sprinter's hill. I'm pretty sure i can generate more, but i need to learn the basics of what gear to start in and how long i should give myself to reach top end speed. For real sprints, it often feel as if it takes me a good 5-6 seconds just to get my legs moving and that's obviously not good.

ridethecliche

Rip your bars off.

Instant 100-200W right there if you do it right.

Seriously.

Form sprints, where you start at almost a standstill in the little ring and middle of the cassette. Rip your bars off to get going, pedal hard as hell till you spin out at 130+RPM standing.

Leadout drills. Find a downhill ->flat or ->slight uphill, come down the hill at 30ish, drill it till you're spun out.

Do those 2x a week.

Not much of a energetic burden, but if you do 5-10 each time you do them, you'll see the numbers inching up. Seriously.

And yeah, I don't ride a bike right now, but I've hit 1400W in a sprint at a weight of 148ish. That's what helped me get there.

Granted, when I first tried one on my SRM, I hit 1000W pretty comfortably and I'd see the mid-high1200's at the end of a race.

kensuf

I'm better at long TT's. I suck horribly at sprinting. So I'm pretty much slow twitch muscle. What I'm saying is based on that, and just what I'm doing (which seems to be working).

RTC nailed some stuff about sprinting, but one thing I think he understated is leg speed. Remember power is strength (gearing) x cadence. If you're getting bogged down and taking 5-6 seconds to get up to speed, you're doing it wrong and have lost the race..

You need to be getting darn close to spinning out the gears in the sprint. Perhaps start your jump without even shifting, but at a cadence of between 95-100 when you jump and just go.

Personally, to improve my sprinting I've been working on my cadence. I've gotten to the point where I can comfortably hold about 160rpms without bouncing around (I posted something a couple weeks back in this thread about some of the drills I've been doing to get the leg speed up). And I've also changed my "sprint" strategy, I used to "shift early and often" which just led to getting bogged down quickly, now I'm letting my legs get up to speed, which is in the 120s for me.

I still am not throwing out huge watts in a sprint, but it's getting better.

Drills:

39x17 form sprint, spin the legs out, only shift once or twice.

53x19 sprint, you're only allowed to shift twice so spin that out as much as possible

53x17 sprint, you're only allowed to shift once, so you better be spinning.

53x16-14 sprint, no shifting, just wind it out as much as you can so you get a feel for how fast you can move those legs.

ridethecliche

Form sprints=cadence work

130+RPM.

At the end of the day, you have to figure out which cadence works best for you. You're either going to be able to muscle through a sprint, or you're going to have a finesse to it to make up for the lack of that. Both work, but I think the second is smarter in the long run.

Also, learn to rock the bike. It sounds silly, but I started doing the drills I listed after I got advice from CDR and WR. In the same workout, I added 100-200W when I took their advice, made sure everything was torqued right, and set out to rip off my bars and get used to rocking the bike hard in a sprint. It helps you eeek out every last bit of it. If you're not doing it right to begin with, that adds up to a lot.

kensuf

Now TT's are just about being able to suffer and knowing where you'll blow up, then backing off just a hair. There's nothing magical about them, it's just being strong enough mentally and physically to do them.

echappist

thanks for the suggestion guys.

i've been focusing on my weak FTP (about 3.72 ish) for a long time that i haven't bothered to hone my top end. I missed the memo that i should be hitting the weight room in late autumn (more like avoided it b/c of no time), and took a Cat-2 sprinter friend's suggestion that i should work on overcoming a lot of resistance (alas going up a sprinter's hill in a 50x13). Given the time constraints, i think the sprint practices will be integrated into my long rides on the weekends and one ride in the middle of the week.

They aren't fun, but alas are necessary...

ridethecliche

If you don't think sprints are fun, you're probably not a sprinter.

stien

Did some intervals on the trainer tonight, and I actually had fun. I nearly skipped it but thought about how bad of shape I'm in compared to last summer.

Tweaked my fit a bit since tonight was the first time I've been able to ride next to a mirror. It's nice. Actually slammed my stem (already flipped down) and retained a good elbow bend but my back is still rounded. Thinking I might need a longer stem? (100mm now). Actually shook off lower back pain that I had been getting with my stem flipped down on top of the stack. Funny.

Getting an Edge 500 used!

Also whilst checking myself out while riding I noticed my hips moving a little, I didn't think this was supposed to happen. Might try lowering my saddle a bit. Your thoughts appreciated.

aicabsolut