CTS-Criterium

An alternative to Spinervals, Carmichael Training Systems, is another series that facilitates indoor cycling programs in DVD format. Personally, I find Spinervals to be much more novice-friendly, as the trainer (Coach Troy) specifically lays out the intensity level and gear and cog you should be pedaling in. The scenery changes with every workout, he is a much more colorful host, and the workout intervals are much more varied. The CTS host is a pretty vanilla guy, doesn't seem like he could motivate anyone, and the bland indoor warehouse they train in is pretty mundane. They do show period clips of pro races throughout the longer intervals, which I think is something both series should do much more of. No one wants to look at other individuals suffering endlessly inside. Why not overlay a trainer's voice onto some helmet footage of a great ride or race? Seems like it would go over well with the weekend warrior like myself.

However, I'm guessing that they CTS training curriculum is geared (no pun intended) much more towards the competitive athlete, maybe Class A or B. The workout intervals are longer and more consistent, and the power output is based on your own perception of intensity. In other words, use whatever gear you can to achieve max power output at 90RPM. Granted, I've only tried two of these workouts, but I can see this being the trend.

The workout for today was CTS-Criterium, which prepares you for a longer, time-trial style workout. The workout was

7 X 2 minutes with 1 minute rest between
Consistent 100% effort

3 X 2 minutes with 2 minutes rest between
30 seconds SS (95%), 30 seconds surge (100%)

5 X 1 minute with 30 seconds rest
Consistent 100% effort

Workout comments: My average heart rate was approx. 141 BPM during the 62 minute session. Considering there was about 10 minutes of warmup, 5 minutes cooldown, and 5 minutes between each workout set, I would say this is pretty high for a cycling workout.