6 Killer Cycling Workouts
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There’s a misconception among cyclists that anything less than two hours on the bike isn’t a good workout. But that’s simply not true. Chad Timmerman, the head coach for cycling training app TrainerRoad, says that his ideal workouts are “high density,” meaning they pack a ton of hurt into a short window of time. To do this, Timmerman relies on hard efforts with short rest intervals for carefully targeted workouts where everything has a purpose and no time is wasted.
We talked to Timmerman and four more professional cycling coaches who work extensively with amateur athletes on how to improve the most in the least amount of time. They handed over their favorite workouts so you don’t have to think up a program, all you have to do is get on and suffer. Whether you want to build top end speed, a strong diesel engine, or climbing power, these workouts will help you do it.
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Power Pyramids
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Timmerman says that this workout pushes your functional threshold power — the effort that you could sustain for one hour. “They’re short, fast efforts, but they get progressively less friendly with the rest,” he says. Essentially, the intervals will get longer but the rest periods won’t. “So you’re really stressing your system to get your heart rate back down.” And, once you master this workout as written, he suggests cutting the rest time even further. “The point is to condition your body to the abuse of the final miles of a race, when you’re either drilling it or trying to recover,” says Timmerman.
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This is a fairly difficult workout; if you’re not in great shape, expect it to hurt, a lot. In fact, the workout suggests three 14-minute sets, but you may need to start with two. As you progress, add in the third set and then begin trimming your rest from 30 seconds down to 25, 20 or even 15 seconds.
Warm up with 10 minutes of easy spinning, followed by three 1-minute-long efforts with 30 seconds in between. These efforts will bring your heart rate up and get you ready for the hard work ahead.
Ride for two minutes at a near all-out effort. Timmerman says it’s about a 9 on a scale from 1–10.
Rest for 30 seconds.
Ride for two and a half minutes at slightly easier effort, an 8 on a scale of 1–10.
Rest for 30 seconds.
Ride for three minutes at 7 on a scale from 1–10.
Rest for 30 seconds, then repeat the intervals but reversing the order to start with the three-minute effort. Again, only allow yourself 30 seconds rest between each interval.
Rest for five full minutes between sets, then repeat the entire pyramid two full times.
Finish with at least 10 minutes of easy spinning in a light gear. You should be absolutely worked by the end. “Because it starts and finishes high, it should be a real struggle,” says Timmerman.
Maximum Aerobic Intervals
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This workout is a favorite of Monterey, California-based coach Chris Burnham. He says this workout builds a strong aerobic base without making you ride for hours and hours on end. "The 30 second efforts at the end are to completely exhaust maximal aerobic ability and drive a bigger aerobic adaptation,“ says Burnham. He adds that only the first two will be anaerobic, "after that the athlete has to create power through high aerobic pathways resulting in a big training load.”
Warm-up well with 10–15 minutes of riding at a conversational pace.
Next, do four intervals of 12 minutes just below your threshold power. Aim for about an 8 on a 1–10 scale.
Recover for six minutes between efforts with an easy spin, making sure to take in fluids.
After your last rep, ride for 30 minutes at an endurance pace. This should be a pace you could talk at, but you shouldn’t be dawdling. Somewhere around a 6 on a 1–10 scale. Maintaining a high cadence, 95 RPM-plus during this part of the ride.
Finally, do eight maximal intervals (as hard as you can go) of 30 seconds each with 30 seconds recovery. “Your power will drop off during this set but maintain a 100 percent effort on your work intervals,” says Burnham.
After the last interval, cool down for at least 10 minutes.
Burnham says you can add or subtract another 12-minute set to the beginning of the workout depending on your fitness, or you can lengthen the endurance portion for a longer ride.
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Strength Builder
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Most cyclists need to work on strength, but lifting weights isn’t enough. To really create force, you need to build power on the bike. Connecticut-based coach Aidan Charles says this workout does exactly that. For maximum effect, find a slight grade lasting at least four minutes. Otherwise, use your trainer set to a heavy resistance.
To begin, warm up with at least 10 minutes of riding at endurance intensity (a 6 out of 10), then 10 minutes at low-tempo pace (7 out of 10).
Bring your heart rate back down, and then begin the hard part of the workout by completing three eight-minute-long tempo intervals (about an 8 out of 10). Take two minutes of rest between each.
Next, on a slight uphill, do four minutes of riding in a gear big enough to force you to pedal at just 50–55 RMP. The effort level should be in your high-tempo zone — an 8 out of 10.
Take three minutes of rest, repeating for three more intervals. The key to doing this workout right is to keep your upper body relaxed. The power should be coming from your legs, not the rocking of your torso.
Finally, complete four 20-second uphill sprints. Start in a huge gear, going 5 miles per hour or slower. Get out of the saddle and accelerate as hard as you can while maintaining good form. Take at least 5 minutes of rest between each sprint so your muscles fully recover.
Cool down and spin out your legs for at least 10 minutes.
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Diesel Engine
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Pennsylvania-based coach Bill Elliston uses these intervals to “build a diesel engine,” the kind that can go all day long. “These, along with the short, high-intensity intervals, can provide the best bang for the buck and are great for general conditioning.”
Start with at 20–30 minute warm up, followed by three minutes of light-tempo riding to bring your heart rate up — about a 7 on a scale from 1–10.
Do two 15-minute or three 10-minute (you chose your own hell) blocks at just below your lactate threshold power — between 8 and 8.5 on a 1–10 scale.
Take 10 minutes to spin easily between sets, making sure you keep the legs moving and rehydrate.
Finish with a 10-minute cool down.
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Full Body Strength
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Jennifer Rulon is both a triathlon coach and a certified CrossFit coach, so she likes to find workouts that do double duty. This workout can be done inside or out, but Rulon prefers it on a trainer where you can really focus on the form drills.
Sometimes drills don’t feel like enough of a workout on their own, so this throws HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and weighted moves into the mix. Rulon says that you can load up on the weights if you’re a meathead, or do them with just your bodyweight if you’re new to strength training.
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Rulon also likes this workout because some of the HIIT sections push the body into the phosphagen energy system. This is your top-level fitness zone — the one you can only work in for a minute or two before tasting vomit. “It’s great for that extra last kick in a cycling race,” though, she says.
Warm up by spinning at a high, 90-plus RPM cadence for 15 minutes.
Cycling: You’re going to do a series of one-legged peddling drills. For each one, unclip one foot and focus on your pedal stroke for the other. Try to notice any “dead spots” or areas where your stroke falters.
Do 30 seconds with your right leg, then 30 seconds with both legs, then 30 seconds with your left leg, and, finally, 30 seconds with both legs. Repeat this progression four more times.
HIIT: Hop off your bike and do three rounds as quickly as possible.
5 push-ups
10 sit-ups
15 air squats
Cycling: Spin for five minutes at 90 RPM, then return to the one-legged drills, this time doing another five sets of the 30-second right leg, both legs, left leg, both legs combo.
HIIT: This will be a 10-minute effort that repeats every minute on the minute — you have a total of 100 lunges and 50 burpees at the end. So if you get the series done in less than a minute, you get a bit of rest. If not, just keep plowing through.
10 walking lunges (five on each leg)
5 burpees
Finally, finish with a cool down of 10 minutes of easy cycling at 90 RPMs.
Hit the Next Level
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Coach Elliston says that short, 100-percent efforts are one of the best ways to push your fitness to the next level. “These are great for being able to execute repeated efforts over and over and over.” He prescribes just a few at a time before taking significant rest so that the quality stays high.
This workout is great for anyone who plans to race, says Elliston, but it’s also ideal for recreational riders on group rides — especially if you want to move up to a slightly faster group. Do this workout a few times and you’ll stay attached to the pack when the pace picks up.
Start with a 20-minute warm-up of easy spinning, then shift into five minutes of light tempo. You should be at 85 percent of your threshold, or a 7 on a scale from 1–10.
Take three easy minutes to recover before you begin your main set.
Begin a 12-minute block of one minute above threshold (10 out of 10.) Then, do one minute easy. Each block has six minutes above threshold and six minutes easy.
Rest for five minutes between blocks.
Aim to do three 12-minute sets, start with two if you’re still getting into shape.
Cool down with at least 10 minutes of easy spinning.
By A.C. Shilton
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