Medium duration is 3-5mins. Effort is maximal for the duration = Zone 5 or VO2

Zone 5 basically describes the range of maximal sustained effort your body can do for 3-8mins, 3mins at high-Z5 -> 8mins at low-Z5.

During this workout do 3-6 efforts in this range. A lighter version of this workout would be 3x3min, while a heavier version would be 6x5min.

Take full recovery between efforts. This should be at least the duration of the ON effort, up to 10mins or so.

Rowing Machine: 20-30mins
Upper Body Weights: (3 sets of high reps at moderately low weight: 15-20)
Bench Press, Overhead Press, Deadlift, wrist/forearm exercises

3 sets should be fatiguing, but not crushingly difficult.

This workout can be both long and hard because you'll have a couple days to recover before racing on the weekend.

Adjust the duration based on residual fatigue but get out there and get some time in before you decide you are too tired to make this a good workout.

Total duration can be 2-3hrs, go at least 2hr unless you are just completely wreaked. It's okay to ride with some fatigue.

Efforts should include 2-5 x 10-20min efforts in Zone 4. Longer efforts can be lower in the range (95% of FTP), while shorter efforts should be higher in the range (100-105% FTP).

Full recovery between efforts -- 10-20 mins.

Like Monday, this day is for recovery. If you went hard the last 2 days you should be ready for a little rest.

Ride at a mellow pace, Zone 1 - 2, for 60-90 minutes. Don't assume every week will be the same. Some weeks you'll feel like you need to take it super-easy and others you won't be so tired. But, even if you feel good, you will probably pay for it on the weekend if you "train" today.

Rest is critical to get the benefits of the hard work you've put in. You also need to consider that you'll be doing a lot of quality training and racing over the next several weeks. You MUST get rest during the block to be able to maintain consistency from week-to-week.

Rowing Machine: 20-30mins
Upper Body Weights: (3 sets of high reps at moderately low weight: 15-20)
Bench Press, Overhead Press, Deadlift, wrist/forearm exercises

3 sets should be fatiguing, but not crushingly difficult.

This is a relatively easy ride with a few efforts to open up the legs for the race tomorrow. The routine is somewhat flexible and should be adjusted for residual fatigue, i.e., a little lighter if you feel tired.

The GOAL is to be fresh for tomorrow and open your legs and body up so they are ready do a good effort.


Ride should be at low-Z2 with the following efforts: 1 x 5min at low-Z4, 2 x 1min at Z5, 2 x 30sec at Z6+; 3-5min easy spinning between each effort

This ride has a series of short, intense efforts with incomplete recovery. This helps your acceleration out of corners and short bursts of power to get over obstacles.

After a warm up, do 4 x 5min Micro-Interval Blocks of (20sec ON/20sec OFF). This means a maximal effort for 20secs and then 20secs of easy spinning or coasting. Take 10mins of recovery between blocks.

Try to minimize gear shifts during the on effort. Start the effort slightly over-geared and only shift once or twice during the effort.