Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Wednesday Bike

It is frigid outside right now. Negative 2 by my thermometer. I feel yesterday's run a little bit today so I decided to bike instead of run. The roads are a sheet of ice and we have close to half a foot of snow so running wouldn't be very effective anyway.
This is an old Computrainer workout from my own training archives-
WU) 30:00 with a slow build to HR 135-140. I had to hit 150 watts just to get my HR over 135 which is good to see.
MS) 6 X 3:00 ME (low cadence of 20-30 revs) at 250-280 watts/ 1:00 wall-sit/ 1:00 at 100+ revs (50 watts).
CD) 15:00 of core work.

The ME work is going to leave me sore I think. The way to get the most out of the big gear work is to focus force at the tops and bottoms of the stroke. At the tops it felt like my hip flexors were going to shoot out of my hips. And the wall-sits are just brutal. You sit as low as possible (90 degrees) and just hold it. I don't actually use a wall, the stabilization required to stand free has benefits, particularly if you use a close (~6") foot stance, and is also more difficult. If you want extra difficulty- start by standing straight up, then slowly lower yourself to a low squat (the descent should take ~30"), then jump from the low squat as high as you can... land and start lowering again. Eccentric contraction strength is often overlooked yet hugely important in running. Think downhill running.

6 comments:

Dave said...

Sweet workout! For the ME set, if you don't have a trainer and/or powertap to measure watts, can you just use candence as a measure? Or are watts the key? I'm not gonna be doing much running for the next week or so, and this workout looks like a lot of fun.
Thanks for sharing!
Dave

Lucho said...

Yes- in fact it's a better workout outside on a steep hill because you engage all the support muscles in your core too. You want to spin high cadence between every ME to change the muscle firing. We used to build up to ~3:00 (hours) of ME work up in the mountains.

Matt said...

There you are, it's all about "ME" again. Cool header image. Be nice to see those Dale E. shades on the big dog with a discernible 'stache.

Keep hitting hit, T. 2010 is going to be BIG.

Lucho said...

Thanks Matt. I'm looking forward to '10.

Fred (aka ace) said...

Lucho, the fact that you can do those wall squats sans "wall" (with or without the trainer set) says a lot about your muscular integrity or the balance between strength and length you possess. And then the core access to create the necessary pelvic tilt to stabilize the core and keep it upright? Most runners or cyclists just can't sit that deeply because of muscular imbalance and shortness, or they lack the core access/strength. The squat is challenging with the wall, but if you can keep your torso upright and sit deeply that's intense. Gonna have to add that to my core/leg work for the winter.

Lucho said...

Ace- I started wall sits during trainer rides back in ~1999 and included them very frequently for years after. I also spent ~2 hours per week in the gym for about 7 years working on everything. Once I started to understand the value of true core work and integrating stabilization in to it that comprised a majority of my routine. I used to be pretty strong for my 145 pound frame. It's always been a priority to be functionally strong and since I've been just running I see it slipping and want to get it back. I don't see the unsupported wall sits as being that difficult, it's possible that my spine isn't erect enough but I certainly don't slouch.