I’ve been focusing on cycling since my last race in September. I am a time challenged single father, so I try to cram my workouts into a long (1 1/2 or 2 hr) lunch. I got a lance armstrong book that had a seven week plan to improve your cycling. One of the workout includes 20 or 30 minutes of tempo, which in the book is described as lower cadence of around 75 and higher heart rate at zone 4 or a little higher. I’ve been doing them and they do make me stronger, but what are they really for? Strength? Teach you to endure pain? Speed?
Any suggested workouts from the ST group? I race sprints, so I’m trying to increase my speed, but my brother talked me into doing the Stagecoach Century in San Diego in January, so I’m really just trying to build endurance right now. I’m averaging 90 to 100 miles a week now. Any help would be appreciated.
Jim
The Tempo rides you cite are from Chris Carmichael’s training plans.
Tempo rides train you to ride at a lower effort (and lower HR and Lactate Level) at every intensity–especially Sub-Threshold (all aerobic). It builds your upper-end endurance. The relatively low cadence (70-75 RPM) keeps your Heart Rate down while loading your leg muscles more. To be effective you really need to do these without any interruptions (no stop lights or downhill coasting) and without standing for more than a few seconds.
As I understand, Carmichael’s intensity “zones” are (from bottom to top): Recovery, Foundation, Endurance, Tempo, Steady State Intervals, 40K Time Trial, Climbing Repeats, Power Intervals, and Sprinting.
Of all the Carmichael training tools, I’ve found that Tempo rides get me fit faster than anything else. I will work up from 20 minutes sustained two times per week, increasing 10 or 15 minutes per session up to 90 minutes sustained at least twice per week. I’ll build up to this for three to six weeks at the end of my Base Build/Foundation period and before starting Mid-Season Interval work.
It does teach you to endure a moderate level of pain and to force yourself to stay down on the ever-more-uncomfortable saddle. I think they make me mentally strong as well. I know that if I can get through 90 minutes (last year 2 hours) sustained Tempo, then the 4 x 20 minute Steady State Intervals later in the season will be a relative breeze.
You’ll get to a point of diminishing returns, so Tempo rides are best done as a block of three to six weeks. They’re really to PREPARE you for sustained speed. The base work gets you ready for Tempo, and the Tempo gets you as strong and aerobically fit as possible for the rest.
Again, I credit the Tempo rides block with having the greatest impact on my late-season racing speed and endurance.
Mark,
Do you have any idea what the power range would be for CTS tempo, for example as a percentge of FTP? (or as a percentage of anything else that has a protocol to determine)? I rooted around Google for a few minutes and it looks like a 20-minute max effort is one of his set points, so tempo power range as a percentage of 20-minute max effort would be fine. Or anyone else who knows, chime in.
Thanks,
Dan
Tempo power is 85% of Carmichael’s Field Test protocol:
(Average wattage of two, 8-minute or 3-mile, all-out/maximum efforts) x 85%
.