One of the ways we improve our athletes’ cycling and overall fitness during the off-season is with our high intensity spin sessions. In many ways, it is a lot different than the typical spin classes. First, it’s 90 minutes, so it really tests your endurance beyond the typical 45-60 minute session.
More importantly, I simulate, as best as I can, different cycling situations. Some are what you experience in a triathlon, many are not. I include hills, plenty of hills, time trial efforts, peloton racing with long periods of up-tempo riding, not to mention bike race “attacking” out of the saddle on climbs of various grades.
What also gets incorporated is variable work/rest ratios. Many spin sessions stick to typical work/rest ratios, which works great for the general population who are working for general fitness development. As triathletes and cyclists, we are working towards a different level of fitness and need a different approach if we are going to improve our race day results.
In order to do this, I lean on the music to create the variable levels and durations of intensity. After all, when you are in a bike race, some hills are longer and steeper than others, sometimes someone in the pack will surge when you least expect it and when you might be fatigued and not really want to go hard… but on race day if you don’t go with them you will get dropped!
Here are a few different “types” of efforts I simulate in my spin classes, and the songs to make them happen. If you can’t make one of my sessions, add these songs to your ipod and try these on your own!
Long Steady Climbing
Resistance/Grade: 8-9 (on a scale of 1-10)
Effort: Steady
To simulate those steep climbs in the foothills of the Sierras, where you alternate between getting out of the saddle and sitting down and just pushing up the hill, here are a few good ones:
- Mama, Genesis
- Till I Collapse, Eminem
- Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
- Fighter, Christina Aguilera
Climbing Attacks
Resistance/Grade: 6-7 (on a scale of 1-10)
Effort: Mix of Recovery and “All-Out” Attacks
To simulate a moderate climb, start out of the saddle and find a steady comfortable pace. Visualize yourself in a pack of riders and you’re trying to attack them and break them as you move up the hill. There are moments in each of these songs where the beat changes and becomes a bit more intense. These are the times where you attack hard – start in the saddle and then stand up midway through. Get aggressive on these efforts – hammer the pedals down when you stand up. When the beat slows back down, stay out of the saddle but slow your pedals and recover. Repeat when the music changes again.
- Lunar, David Guetta and Afrojack
- Live and Let Die, Guns N’ Roses
- Blaze, Voicians
- The Beautiful People, Marilyn Manson
Up Tempo Climbing
Resistance/Grade: 6-7 (on a scale of 1-10)
Effort: Up-tempo and “uncomfortable”
To simulate a moderate climb, where you are keeping a solid effort in and out of the saddle. Visualize yourself in a pack of riders who are trying to push and race to the top of the climb. Don’t get dropped and stay aggressive on the pedals!
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Brian Tyler and Hollywood Studio Symphony
- My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, Fall Out Boy
- Uprising, Audiomachine
- Kill Me Every Time (Instrumental), Blue Stahli
Peloton Speedwork Simulation
Resistance/Grade: 3-4 on the flats and 6-7 on the short hills (Scale of 1-10)
Effort: Up-tempo and “uncomfortable”, more aggressive on the hills
Visualize yourself in the midst of the final miles of a Tour de France stage. The terrain is mostly flat, but a few short hills here and there. Stay aggressive and keep your tempo up. There are moments in each of these songs where the beat changes and becomes a bit more intense. These are the times where you want to add some resistance, get out of your saddle and attack. When the music returns to the up-tempo beat, return to the saddle, reduce the resistance and keep racing.
- Adrenaline, Zedd & Grey
- Warhead, Zircon
- Mombasa, Hans Zimmer
- Mind of a Beast, The Glitch Mob
Time Trial Simulation
Resistance/Grade: 3-4 “Flat Terrain” (Scale of 1-10)
Effort: Up-tempo and “uncomfortable”, lock into the pace (keep an eye on your cadence) and hold it.
Visualize yourself in a time trial – just you, your bike and the road. Stay focused and keep your effort up.
- One Vision, Queen
- This is How a Heart Breaks, Rob Thomas
- Voodoo People, The Prodigy
- Beneath the Rubble, Front Line Assembly
