CTS Cycling for Fitness

I was looking for a recovery workout, but I should have researched this before giving it a shot. It was definitely a lot tougher than the name implied. The generic format of the workout was as follows:

• Brief warmup followed by several high intensity, low RPM efforts (55-60)
• 2 X 7 minute tempo efforts with various steady state and surging efforts
• 5 minute tempo effort with 12 second sprints at the top of every minute
• 3, 2, and 1 minute high intensity efforts
• Average HR: 141 BPM for 62 minutes

Workout comments: I hurt my knee yesterday playing basketball in our first game in the Manayunk Sport and Social league. I think I hyper-extended it after sprinting after a loose ball. I sat out for a few minutes but it definitely felt OK to play on after that. I did feel some pain and soreness this morning when I put weight on it, and felt a recovery day on the bike might be in order.

The name of this workout did not convey the intensity level it contained. The variability of intensity levels throughout the longer tempo pieces kept things interesting and they were over before I knew it. Most of these intervals were focused on increasing one's ability to generate power throughout the pedal stroke. My HR was hovering around 160 BPM during the majority of the intervals, rising to match the surge intensities that were instructed. I bought this indoor training close to 5 years ago, and can honestly say I have gotten more use out of it over the past few weeks than I have since I bought it. Having these video workouts is such a convenience.

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.