3 Sessions To Boost Your Performance
How to ride faster for longer: We demonstrate three different cycling sessions to best prepare you for your longest ride.
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00:00 (bike tires screeching)
00:03 - Spring and summer is the perfect time
00:05 for cyclists to do rides or events
00:08 that are that bit more challenging.
00:10 So whether that's a hundred mile ride,
00:11 a multi-day epic, or even just a long training ride,
00:15 today we're looking at endurance sessions
00:17 and how best to train for them.
00:19 So I'm joined by Coach Watto.
00:21 And I understand that you've put together
00:22 some sessions for me today.
00:24 - I certainly have, yeah.
00:24 We've got three good sessions for you to try today, Rupert.
00:28 We've got the time-strapped cyclists in mind
00:30 that most of us are.
00:31 You know, we do training for longer events.
00:33 We don't always have three, four hours a day to train.
00:35 So we're gonna go that right down.
00:37 So three sessions.
00:38 One is gonna be, I'll call it a pyramid session.
00:41 So that's gonna build up our ability
00:43 to do longer, sustained efforts.
00:46 There's a hill session,
00:47 because we're very unlikely to find a road
00:49 that's a course that's completely flat.
00:51 So we're gonna do some skills that get us over the hill
00:54 and some hard work on that.
00:55 And then we're gonna do some strength work as well.
00:58 'Cause it's quite important,
00:59 and something that's quite often neglected
01:00 is a strength work around it.
01:01 So building up a nice, solid core
01:03 and some of the leg muscles as well
01:04 that we can utilise then when we're back on the bike.
01:06 - Brilliant.
01:07 Well, it all sounds like a lot of hard work.
01:10 So we should probably get cracking.
01:12 - Yeah, let's do it.
01:12 (upbeat music)
01:15 - So, Coach, what is my first endurance session of the day?
01:21 - First session today is a pyramid session.
01:23 So the idea of this is that we're gonna
01:26 build up your endurance
01:28 by putting some harder efforts in during your ride.
01:31 So you're gonna go out in the lanes,
01:32 15, 20 minutes, half an hour,
01:34 just get all nice and loose,
01:35 get in the fresh air, you know, just enjoy yourself.
01:38 And then we're gonna put some harder intervals in there.
01:41 So you start off with two minutes.
01:44 So two minute harder interval, two minutes easy.
01:47 Three minutes harder interval, three minutes easy.
01:49 Then a five minutes hard interval, a five minutes easy.
01:53 And then we're gonna go back again.
01:54 So we start with five minutes,
01:56 three minutes easy,
01:58 three minutes, two minutes easy,
02:01 two minutes hard, it's all done.
02:03 And then we're gonna have a 15, 20 minute, half an hour,
02:05 and then you're gonna go home.
02:06 Yeah, the intensity is gonna be
02:09 around about an eight out of 10 effort.
02:11 So it's not flat out, it's not a sprint,
02:14 it's manageable, we've gotta get through it,
02:16 but you're gonna feel it.
02:17 You're gonna feel it in the legs,
02:17 you're gonna feel it in the lungs,
02:19 and you're gonna push hard through it.
02:21 And that.
02:22 - Brilliant, okay, so the perceived wisdom
02:24 behind this session, as I understand it,
02:26 is that when you're doing this for an hour
02:28 and a half, you can obviously ride at your max threshold,
02:32 but then when you're doing your 100 mile ride
02:35 with your mates or your riding buddies,
02:37 because you'll knock that pace down,
02:38 you won't be riding so difficult,
02:40 you can do it for a longer period of time.
02:43 - Absolutely, that's exactly what we're trying
02:45 to get out of this session.
02:46 So that we want the 100 miles to be sociable,
02:49 nice and enjoyable, out in the lanes.
02:52 It's not the distance that tends to get people,
02:56 it's the intensities.
02:57 So if we can train to a high intensity in training,
03:00 and ride at a lower intensity for the longer ride,
03:02 then it's that much more manageable.
03:04 - Absolutely perfect, I think that is exactly what I need.
03:07 So let's get into it and give it a whirl.
03:09 - Sounds good.
03:10 (upbeat music)
03:13 - So the bike I've been using
03:20 to complete these training sessions
03:22 is the Cannondale Synapse High Mod Disc
03:24 with SRAM Red eTap.
03:26 The Synapse is well known for its versatility,
03:29 its excellent handling,
03:31 as well as its performance pushing capabilities.
03:33 It really is an all out brilliant bike.
03:36 But it's also exactly what you would look for
03:39 in the perfect example of an endurance bike.
03:41 A bike that is going to keep you riding for longer.
03:44 For starters, it's super lightweight,
03:47 weighing just 7.3 kilograms in this size 56
03:50 that I have here.
03:52 It then also has disc brakes for more controlled braking
03:55 and clearance for wider tires.
03:57 It even has a removable seat stay bridge
03:59 so you can fit a mud guard should the weather turn sour.
04:03 But what elevates this bike to an all day super weapon
04:07 is Cannondale's genius use of carbon fibre.
04:10 It's called Cannondale Save System,
04:12 and basically different parts of the frame
04:14 can flex to absorb road chatter
04:16 and the horrible bumps that you might find
04:18 when riding along.
04:19 Keeping you in the saddle for longer
04:21 and keeping you faster for longer.
04:23 Which after all, is the most important thing anyway.
04:26 (upbeat music)
04:28 So that was session number one done.
04:36 What a killer it was, thanks for that coach.
04:38 And now we're on to session number two,
04:41 which is about climbing.
04:43 And we're gonna use this hill behind me.
04:44 I'm not a particularly good climber.
04:46 So what have you got in store?
04:48 How much is this going to hurt?
04:49 - You're gonna feel it.
04:51 Yeah, you're definitely gonna feel it.
04:53 So the idea of this is it's hill repeats
04:56 and it doesn't get any more difficult than that.
04:58 You're just going up a hill multiple times
05:00 and practicing your climbing style
05:03 and also getting the physical benefits
05:06 of going hard up a hill.
05:07 So we're gonna start with about six reps,
05:10 six reps of a hill, going up, recovery on the way down,
05:14 spending anywhere three to five minutes recovering
05:16 before you go and start the next descent.
05:19 And then you can build it up as you get stronger and fitter.
05:21 You can build it up to 10 reps, 12 reps,
05:24 however you can manage and feel.
05:26 But the more you do, the stronger you're gonna get.
05:28 - Brilliant.
05:29 And as my understanding is,
05:30 this is an important session
05:31 for when you're riding upwards of a hundred miles,
05:34 because if you're doing that type of distance,
05:36 you're almost guaranteed to come across a climb
05:38 of some sort, probably multiple ones,
05:40 depending on where you live.
05:42 And what this will help me be able to do is,
05:45 even if I'm 60 or 70 miles into my climb,
05:48 I'll still be able to get up it
05:50 because I'll have that conditioning
05:51 and I'll have practiced it.
05:52 And this will have given me that extra fitness and power
05:55 that I need to get over it.
05:56 - Absolutely.
05:57 So there's no completely flat roads in Britain.
05:59 We're not, it's not a mountainous territory,
06:01 but there's no completely flat road.
06:02 So we're always gonna find something.
06:04 And if you're going on a course that's 80, 90, 100 miles,
06:07 then you're gonna find, you're gonna find hills.
06:10 - Definitely, to train it, it puts it in the bank.
06:12 You condition for it and you know how to do it.
06:15 And then you can cope with it much better
06:17 than if it's a sudden surprise.
06:20 So that's why it's very important to do hill repeats.
06:23 And it's very important to practice hills
06:24 so that when you get to ride them yourself,
06:27 you know what to do.
06:29 - Brilliant.
06:29 And what type of technique am I looking for on the bike?
06:32 - It's common to bob, you know,
06:34 as it starts to get hard on your bob.
06:35 But when you're bobbing, you're gonna start to lose
06:38 some of your efficiency.
06:40 So you wanna keep it nice and tight
06:41 'cause it's the hips and the legs
06:42 that are gonna be doing all the work.
06:44 Gear selection is very important as well.
06:46 So you wanna be changing gear before you have to.
06:48 So as it, legs start to lock, you're changing up,
06:51 changing up, you know, you've got 11 gears on the back,
06:53 or most people have 11 gears on the back.
06:55 You've gotta use them, yeah?
06:56 And do that.
06:57 And then the pedal stroke as well.
06:59 So you're not just pushing down with your foot,
07:01 you're pulling back as well.
07:02 So you get a nice pedal stroke
07:04 and that'll carry you up the hill.
07:06 - Brilliant.
07:06 Okay, well, this sounds like a lovely tough session.
07:09 So I reckon we should just get into it and give it a whirl.
07:11 - Yeah, let's do it.
07:12 (upbeat music)
07:36 - So that's the first two sessions completed
07:39 and they were great.
07:41 Really enjoyed those.
07:41 - Enjoyed them, yeah?
07:42 Brilliant.
07:43 - I think they're really useful, actually.
07:44 Especially the climbing one.
07:45 Always something I need to work on.
07:47 But now I understand that you've got
07:49 a circuit session for me to do.
07:51 - Certainly have, yeah.
07:52 It's a circuit based on building up some strength,
07:55 core strength and leg strength off the bike as well.
07:59 This is really, really important
08:00 'cause the more stable that we are,
08:02 the better that'll transfer over onto bike.
08:05 - Sure, so by the sounds of it,
08:07 flexibility is as important as strength
08:09 when it comes to cycling.
08:10 - 100%, yeah, yeah.
08:11 Because we've gotta be agile on the bike.
08:14 As we pointed out in the hill session,
08:16 we don't wanna be moving around on the bike.
08:18 The only thing we want to be moving really is our legs,
08:21 which is pushing the pedals around,
08:23 which is our engine to get us where we need to go.
08:26 So if we can be agile and flexible,
08:28 then that can only be a good thing again.
08:30 - Perfect.
08:31 Well, I think we should take a look at them
08:32 and look at the form and how you're meant to do them.
08:35 - Absolutely, yeah, I'd love to do that.
08:36 - Brilliant.
08:37 - Okay, so what we're gonna do,
08:38 we're gonna start off with the lunges.
08:40 So if you move to the side like that,
08:42 so what you need to do is you're gonna take
08:45 a big step forward and you're gonna stretch out the quads,
08:49 doing a step forward.
08:50 But the form of this as well is we don't want to be
08:53 your knee going over the edge of your toe.
08:56 So a nice big step forward and then like that.
09:00 - Okay. - Yep.
09:02 Keeping your back nice and straight.
09:04 How's that feel?
09:05 - Yeah, I can really feel it in the hamstring, yeah.
09:07 - That's looking better, forward again.
09:09 Keep it nice and straight and stand up.
09:11 Okay, so what we're doing, we're doing,
09:15 let's try with, start with eight on each leg
09:18 and then you can build it up then,
09:19 so you can do it to eight, nine, 10, 12, whatever,
09:22 as you get fitter and you get more accustomed
09:24 to the exercise.
09:25 But remember, keep it low early on
09:27 because we're gonna be doing four exercises in a row
09:31 and we're gonna do three sets of that.
09:32 So we wanna make sure that we get through
09:34 the whole routine.
09:35 And then we can build it up week by week.
09:36 Okay, so the next one, we're gonna go into a plank.
09:38 You've ever done a plank before?
09:39 - I have done a plank.
09:40 - Okay, so if you wanna go into the plank position for me.
09:43 - So how would I do a plank?
09:46 - So plank position, exactly what you've got there.
09:48 So arms nice and straight, back nice and straight.
09:53 That's good.
09:55 So what you should be doing is feeling it
09:57 on your abs there now, yeah?
09:59 - Yep.
09:59 - And-- - Feeling it on my one ab.
10:02 - On your one ab.
10:03 And you shouldn't be feeling,
10:04 the back should be nice and straight.
10:05 So that's looking good.
10:07 And then what we can do to make this a harder exercise
10:12 is if you bring your knee towards your elbow
10:14 and then take it back again,
10:17 then do it with the other side.
10:19 And back again.
10:20 They're called Spider-Man planks.
10:22 How did that feel?
10:23 - Yeah, that's tough.
10:24 (laughing)
10:25 That's tough.
10:26 - So start off with the normal planks first,
10:28 but that's just a progressional thing you can do
10:29 as you get better at it.
10:30 - Sure.
10:31 - And do that.
10:32 - I'm gonna do that now.
10:33 (laughing)
10:34 Again, sometimes you can do that
10:36 and leave it to as long as you can go,
10:38 but 'cause we're doing this in a circuit,
10:40 let's start with 10 to 20 seconds of doing a plank
10:44 and then we'll keep doing that circuit free
10:46 and then we'll see how we get to it from there.
10:48 So the next one's the hip flexor.
10:49 So what we're gonna do now is
10:50 you're gonna go back into that lunge position.
10:53 Hold it there.
10:56 And then what you're gonna do,
10:57 you're gonna stand up and bring your knee to your chest.
11:00 And then back into the lunge position.
11:02 And again.
11:03 That's it.
11:05 So we're gonna do eight of those in each leg.
11:07 Stand up, nice and straight.
11:08 Leg up, that's it, and down again.
11:11 Okay, stand up straight.
11:12 And then do the other leg.
11:14 But the beauty of this exercise, again,
11:16 is it's a real stretch out for the hips
11:19 'cause we spend a lot of time bent over on the bike
11:21 and with the hips, we can get quite sore.
11:25 So it stretches those out.
11:27 It's also stretching the glutes and the hamstrings
11:29 as well as you can feel as you're going up.
11:31 So it's a great all over workout, that one.
11:33 Okay, next we're gonna do some glute bridges.
11:35 So if you'll lie on your back for me.
11:37 Okay, knees bent.
11:42 Put your knees in, that's it, about there.
11:44 Close together, put your feet together.
11:46 Okay, and then what you're gonna do,
11:47 you're gonna raise your pelvis up as high as you can.
11:50 That's it, hold that for a second or two,
11:53 and then back down again.
11:55 And again, up, hold it for a second or two,
11:57 and back down again.
11:59 Okay, so again, we're gonna do about six to eight of those
12:02 depending on where we are with the circuit.
12:05 But what they're doing as well, good core exercise,
12:08 stretching out the core and the glutes
12:10 and the hamstrings as well.
12:11 So really giving a good workout post-bike
12:15 and hopefully unlocking those muscles
12:17 and adapting those muscles that you might be
12:21 not using as much or being a bit lazy with on the bikes.
12:23 - Brilliant.
12:25 - And that's something you can do anytime.
12:26 It shouldn't take too long.
12:28 You can do it at any time.
12:30 You can do it straight off the bike,
12:31 isn't a bad thing to do actually,
12:32 you know, while you're still warmed up
12:33 and it gives you that activation
12:35 and it's something that you can fit in quite easily
12:36 then before you have your shower and anything to eat.
12:40 - So there you go, three hopefully not so gruelling sessions
12:44 that you can all try at home,
12:46 guaranteed to help boost your fitness
12:47 and help you ride further, faster for longer,
12:50 which after all is the goal.
12:52 So thank you very much to Coach Watto,
12:54 head coach of Team London.
12:56 They're some brilliant sessions.
12:58 - Pleasure.
12:59 - Thank you very much.
12:59 But guys, if you have any sessions
13:01 that you like to do at home
13:02 or if you've got any big plans for this summer,
13:05 do let us know in the comment section below
13:08 and don't forget to like and subscribe
13:10 and we'll see you next time.
13:11 (car engine revving)