Bike floggings and FTP

I am not a cyclist. I survive the bike portion of triathlons, but I am not a cyclist. I am actually quite pitiful on the bike, but less pitiful than I used to be. At least now I can survive tough workouts like the one below.

[Workouts are done at a small fitness studio with seven Computrainers set up in a row. There are a couple of large flat-screen monitors on the wall that display the outputs of all seven trainers. You can watch your output, or get depressed by looking at the output of some of the other cyclists who really are cyclists. It would be painfully boring, if not impossible, for me to do this alone in my living room. In addition, the equipment is expensive and I don't want to pay for it.]

-- Warmup --
5 min zone 1
15 min zone 2
2 min zone 1
5 min FTP
3 min zone 1

--- Repeat 5x ---
3 min 110-115% of FTP
2 min zone 1
2 min 110-115% of FTP
2 min zone 1
1 min 110-115% of FTP
2 min zone 1

FTP means "Functional Threshold Power", or how hard can you go for a particular period of time. This is measured using a power meter - in our case, a Computrainer. A Computrainer is a power meter that is built in to a typical bike trainer, and sends data to a computer where you can see your output in real time.

FTP is calculated by doing a time trial, usually for 20 minutes, while hooked up to a power meter. You go as hard as you can for 20 minutes, with as steady an effort as possible. 95% of your average power output is your FTP.

So why care about FTP? Because this gives you a measurable number for planning a workout. The best way to improve is to train using intervals of varying degrees of effort, not pushing hard all the time. For improvement on the bike, you want to work out using different percentages of this number, both above and below. For example, my current FTP is 141 (low because I'm just not that strong on the bike, yet). This means that my zone 1 (easy/resting, <57% of my FTP), is anything with a power output of 79 or less. This zone is where I go to rest and recover from harder efforts. Zone 2 is slightly harder, and is good for warming up. And so on.

The workout above is a great example of a steady 30-minute warm-up before the hard effort begins. Start easy, increase the effort a little, do one short burst to wake the body up, then rest a bit. The real work begins with the first 3 minutes of hard effort, and continues for the next hour. Three minutes may not sound like much, but it is, especially the 5th time around, after 48 minutes of interval work.

On a side note, training with a group is the only way to go for me. Even if it means occasionally overhearing things that make me wince. For example:

Outrageously fit/strong 50+ male cyclist #1: What do you weigh now that the holidays are over?
Outrageously fit/strong 50+ male cyclist #2: Around 150. Trying to get it down a little. What about you?
Cyclist #1: Oh I'm at 144 right now.
Me, thinking: Dear god, that's what I weigh. Are you kidding me?

Sigh.

Many thanks to Whitney and Chad at The Fitness Lab for the guided floggings.

Visiting the Pain Cave

This week I spent some time in the Pain Cave, that place where endurance athletes tend to dwell. And it's been fabulous!

I know I'm there when I find myself chanting the mantra, "I'd rather it suck now, than during a race. I'd rather it suck now..." The Pain Cave is that special place where, intellectually, you know your body is adapting to stress, you are forcing change to happen, and upon exiting, you will feel its benefits. Non-intellectually you just wish it would end but don't dare stop until it's time. It's a place that demented people like me voluntarily enter on a regular basis, a place dedicated to self-torture...or a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, depending on one's perspective. If I have any hope of completing Ironman Louisville AND not having it be an all-day suckfest, I must spend some serious time in the Cave.

This week's visit began with a 2-hour slog session on a treadmill last Sunday. I suppose I could have run outside, but simply didn't feel like dealing with the cold, the ice, and the slush. (Kudos to those runners who braved the elements: you have my profound respect.) I don't do many long runs, but have a marathon coming up soon (Feb 20), so wanted to visit the Cave before the race. That was followed by a killer bike class three nights in a row, Tues-Thurs. There were also the Weds/Fri morning floggings by my trainer Carrie at the gym (see Wednesday's workout at the bottom of this post).

The bike class is through the Indy Cycling Academy, a couple of guys who really know their stuff. It's on your own bike, on trainers. Each class begins with 30 minutes of core exercises (off the bikes), then we hop on the bikes for an hour of serious sweating. As a dedicated non-cyclist, this class is kicking my butt all over the place. It's a bit like drinking from the fire hose, only harder. If I survive the full two months and don't improve, there is simply no hope.

As for my trainer Carrie, well...she can flog like no other.

The next few days are out in the fresh air, away from the darkness of the Cave. I think a beer is in order.

Wednesday's Full-Body Flogging
Remember, this is all in 30 minutes, with minimal to no rest.

- Run .25 mile on treadmill as fast as possible. Substitute elliptical if necessary.
- Pushups 20x
- Alternating lunges with medicine ball (10lb). Start with medicine ball over head, step forward, bend at elbows and do tri-dip over head with ball. Straighten arms up over head as you return to standing position. 20x
- Alternating lunges with dumbbells (15lb). Do the lunge, return to standing position, then do bicep curl. 20x
- Squat to front-raise. Holding dumbbells (7.5lb), do a squat. While going down into squat, raise arms straight out in front of you. Lower arms as you stand up. 20x

REPEAT ALL

Then REPEAT ALL but do 12x instead of 20x for everything.

Trainer beatings week of Feb 23

Both workouts use the Kinesis wall for a few things. What's a Kinesis wall? Go here to find out.

Thursday: Fun with ankle weights. Wear 5 lb ankle weights for entire workout.

• squat 5x, swivel to side lunge and dip 5x, back to center 5x, other side 5x, center, side, other side, center
• hopscotch through ladder to end, come back with lateral jump two forward, one back. Repeat.
• knee high jog to end of room
• cable standing chest press 15x
• plank with feet on shorter stool, rock forward and back on toes 50x
  
  
• stand facing Kinesis wall, grab cable that sticks out along floor, step back while pulling cable back to lateral pull. 15x each side

--- repeat all ---

Tuesday: Lots and lots of sweat

• suicide drill, 3x. [Sprint to first point, touch ground, turn around and come back, run to next point (further away), touch ground, turn around and come back, run to farthest point, touch ground, turn around and come back.]
• facing Kinesis wall, squat then stand up while doing flye, 20x
• step-up, bicep curl to shoulder press, step-down, 20x on 1' stool
• facing away from Kinesis wall, step-out to reverse flye, 1 minute
• plank with feet on step, step feet down and back up while in plank, 1 minute
• pistol -- wall sits with exercise ball, 3sec in sitting position, 19x, sit 10sec on 20th time.

Repeat all, then...

• standing tri rope extension, facing away from machine, 20x

Today's beating

I knew when I saw the evil twinkle in my trainer's eye this morning that it was going to be a tough 30 minutes.

• Suicide drill, 3x
• Kinesis wall, squat to flye, 20x
• Step-up, bicep curl to shoulder press, step-down, 20x on 1' stool
• Kinesis wall, step-out to reverse flye, 1 minute
• Plank with feet on step, step feet down and back up while in plank, 1 minute
• Pistol -- wall sits, 3sec in sitting position, 19x, sit 10sec on 20th.

--- repeat all ---

• tri rope extension, facing away from machine, 20x

I suggest coffee first

This morning's workout. If I hadn't already had coffee, this would have shoved me into being awake pretty quickly.

• lunge to knee raise, 20x each side
• ladder on floor:
• pop squats
• jumping jack back (legs only)
• pop squats
• tri dips, 20x
• plank slide to hurdles
• hop over hurdles
• pushups, 20x
• bicep curls with resistance band, 20x

Repeat as many times as possible. Did 4x in 30 min.

Still sore from the PREVIOUS workout

Thursday a.m. training...try to ignore the soreness in the right extender from the LAST beat-up session. Today's 30-minutes of torture included:

• Squat with medicine ball (one with handles) in one hand, do shoulder press as you stand up. 20x each side
• Jump up and down on Reebok bench (on high step setting) 25x
• Chest flyes on pec-dec 15x
• Bicep 21s (10 each second time)
• Pullups 15x
• Ham curls on ball 20x
• While still on floor from ham curls, do tri extensions with barbell 15x

Repeat all.

Thoroughly enjoyed the TNT group swim after work. Mix of drills, distance, and speed. Felt great and we all had a good time.

A good endurance workout

Here is another gem from my sadistic trainer. This workout really hits the quads and hip extenders, adductors, and abductors. Because all of it is done in 30 minutes, there is no time for rest. My legs/hips were toast.

• incline pushups on Reebok bench 20x
• plank raise one leg 30s then other leg 30s
• incline pushups on bench 20x
  
• plank side leg raises 30s each side
• mountain climber 1 minute
• burpee to frog hop to end of room and back.

Repeat all.

Carrie's killer gimp workout

I'm currently sidelined from running/jumping for at least another couple of weeks, but that hasn't mattered much to my trainer. She continues to come up with sadistic workouts. This one was a prime example of her capacity to torture. I hope I remember this one correctly. It was quite traumatizing.

-------------------

Wear 5lb ankle weights for entire workout.

• pop squats 45 seconds
• alt lunge to crane 15x each side
  
  
• pushups 20x
• centipede: stand up-bend over-walk hands out to pushup. down to end of room and back
• crab walk down room and back (sit on floor, push up on hands and feet, and go)
  
  
• plank drag feet behind to end of room and back
  
• bear walk down to end of room (hands on floor in front of you)
  
• frog-hop back

My trainer's killer endurance workout

I have a kick-ass trainer -- she kicks my ass all over the place twice a week. Today's pleasure was a most effective endurance workout. She calls this her "chutes and ladders" workout...but it's nothing like the kids' game!

The basic sequence is this (there are drawings below):

• backwards lunge to knee raise, 20x each side
• pop squats through ladder, step in-out-in-out on the way back, pop squats through ladder again
  
• sprint to end of room
• feet on Reebok slippers (or anything that you can slide across the floor), get in push-up position, walk on hands 2/3 way down room to short hurdles (dragging feet behind you)
• jump over hurdles (7 of them)
• 15 pushups

Repeat 5x in 30 minutes.

Lunge to knee lift

Hop squats through ladder

Walking plank

Hurdles