Sprint drills can be beneficial to your speed work and doing them inside on a trainer or indoor bike may actually be better than doing them outside. Doing sprint drills outdoors can require the navigation of intersections and traffic that may cause you to slow down and disrupt your workout. Workouts are not etched in stone. You can adjust them as needed or mix them up when they become stale. Pick one or two drills to do during each workout.
Warm Up
Warm up for 15 minutes before any workout. Start with low resistance and go easy. Count the number of times your right foot makes a complete revolution for 30 seconds and multiply by two. This is your RPM. Start with an RPM around 70. Every minute, increase your RPM by a few revolutions and slightly increase the resistance every 5 minutes. By the end of the 15 minutes your heart rate should be elevated and you should be sweating slightly.
Up-the-ladder Drill
With a ladder drill you do a speed segment and an easy segment and increase the time and intensity with each new speed segment. Do the speed segments with a cadence of 90 to 100 RPM and slight resistance, and the easy segments at 70 to 80 RPM. Each segment should be hard but not exhausting. A ladder drill will look like this: one minute hard, one minute easy; two minutes hard, two minutes easy; three minutes hard, three minutes easy; four minutes hard, four minutes easy; five minutes hard, five minutes easy.
Down-the-ladder Drill
Down-the-ladder drill would immediately follow an up the ladder drill. After you finish the 5 minute segment of the up the ladder drill, follow the segments in reverse to go back down the ladder: four minutes hard, four minutes easy; three minutes hard, three minutes easy; two minutes hard, two minutes easy; one minute hard, one minute easy
Threes
Ride hard for three minutes; your cadence should be around 90 to 100 RPM. Keep your pace for the three minutes steady, but slightly increase the intensity throughout the segment. After three minutes, pedal easy for another three minutes, keeping your cadence around 60 to 70 RPM and maintaining a steady pace. Repeat this three times.
High-intensity Sprints
These short sprints push your system to an anaerobic level. They will improve short, intense bursts of speed and are best used when training for competition. Ride hard for one minute -- as hard and fast as possible. You should be completely out of breath and exhausted by the end of the 60 seconds. Ride easy for the next five minutes. Work at a very easy pace and allow your heart rate to come back down and breathing to improve. Repeat three to five times.
Cool Down
Cool down after every workout. Cycle for five to 10 minutes at a very easy pace with little or no resistance. Allow your heart rate to come down and your breathing to steady.
Member Comments