By Choice

Rides, spins and leaves

It was our choice. We rode inside this damp and dark Sunday. Ninety minutes worth of steady-state low intensity cardio. The movie that I picked as entertainment as we rode was old, silly and, at times, painful to watch. Despite some eye-rolling groans, sucking of teeth and general malaise, it was time well spent. If you want to see a movie and be entertained, inspired or challenged, go spend ten bucks and sit on your butt mindlessly ramming stale popcorn. However should you choose to burn a thousand calories, increase your endurance and prepare yourself for future rides where enjoyment and adventure overcomes a sore fanny, tired muscles and lack of endurance, you must, we must, we must all, adhere to the three pillars of cycling improvement:

1) High Intensity intervals. We preform many variations on this training theme every time we meet in the club for spin class. It is a perfect environment outfitted with the tools necessary for safe and reliable improvement while a peloton of peers provides camaraderie and accountability. We do them three times per week.

2) Sub-threshold steady-state. We call them 2x20s and they are the silver to the gold of the HIT standard outlined above. One must know one’s FTP, functional threshold power, number, as measured by watts, and then execute 85% (the sub) twice for twenty minutes with a five minute break between. We use a combination of CompuTrainer and Wahoo Kickr smart trainers for this drill which we preform at least two times per week in the early evening.

3) The final format required of cyclists, triathletes and literally anyone wanting dramatic improvement on their current state of cycling acumen - or general good health and optimum fitness - is the routine affectionately known as the long steady distance. You simply must stretch it out, reduce power and find your groove-zone efficiency level necessary for a successful long-ish ride or run. We traditionally do rides outside in a group on the weekends, often stopping for coffee and and a snack along the route. Ninety minutes to three hours is the accepted standard.

If you are serious about upping your cycling game these are the three tried and true standards. This time of year, our rain got here a touch earlier than expected, the clubs cycling center and our facility, The PowerBarn offer indoor options.

Next week I will pick the cinematic entertainment with a little more finesse. But the idea remains the same; Sit, spin, endure, find the sweet-spot and search for the dynamic flow-state that will push you past your current comfort zone and well into another. A meme I saw today sums this nicely:

You’ll never know what you are capable of until you leave your comfort zone by choice or by force.

Let’s go by choice.