Mostly Strength

Six 3:00-5:00 intervals to a 90s playlist. Except for the first 5:00 effort which I coached below threshold, I had riders aiming for at threshold or just above (hard). This ride is primarily in the saddle. Ride abbreviations are in the header. As always, make it your own and have fun! Download this Ride Download…

Alternate between hills and HIIT! Four sets of hill efforts, five 1:1 HIIT sets and a mix to finish with one of my favorite “finish songs”.  This is a challenging ride so, as always, coach riders to manage intensity.  I’ve built in a few specific refuels and the hills can be below threshold. “Pace” in…

Ten intervals to test rider’s ability to ignite and control intensity. Coach the power of recovery, the “impact inventory” of resistance changes, and transition preparedness, including movement in and out of the saddle. Ride notes: The interval timing is not an exact match to the song length, but it’s close. Also, I use a 7…

Eight strength intervals to build muscular endurance and mental tenacity. Each interval starts with a seated, sort-of-hard intensity, progresses to an equal duration hard effort, and ends with a 30 second harder intensity out of the saddle. The last interval has the longest durations and a 1:00 challenge to finish. You can spotlight a specific…

Four sets of ladders that challenge riders to build resistance/intensity over 3+ minutes, hold RPM and intensity steady for another 3+ minutes, then incrementally decrease what they added. Coach your riders to increase resistance at the start of each song to find a sort-of-hard intensity and then increase intensity at approx. :45 intervals to get…

It’s Tabata time (sort of)! After an extended warm-up, coach riders through seven 2:30 Tabata efforts and one 3:00 challenge. Between, riders have 3:00(ish) to recover, refresh and prep for the next interval. Why not the typical 4:00 Tabata intervals? Two reasons: it was easier to find shorter songs that fit the bill, and to…

Twin Peaks is a nod to the mountain stages of the Tour de France Femmes, celebrating with three challenging climbs – approx. 11:30, 10:30, and 7:00, with a moody, inspirational playlist.  Climbs in my certification (Spinning®) are 60-80 RPM, intensity – hard to very hard, seated or standing.  As long as riders were in the…

Ask riders to commit to a 45:00 climb using their imaginations to paint an ascent with winding 180 degree bends – switchbacks – that make a climb -or descent! – longer, but doable. I coach the switchbacks to be out of the saddle in hand position 3 (standing climb) to meet the challenge and coach…

Following an extended warm-up, riders find anaerobic Threshold, then take on three core challenges. Interval 1 – hit and hold Threshold then accelerate over Threshold for 30-45 seconds at the end; Interval 2 – accelerate in the middle; Interval 3 – accelerate in the beginning then come back to Threshold. The point of this profile?…

We’re doing it again – nine sets of intervals! I loved Jeannine Lissner’s submission for our Threshold Duration Ladder profile naming contest so I used it to inspire this profile. These are 1:1 intervals at threshold (equal time at threshold/equal time recovery) then 1:2 ratio when riders are over threshold. I was in the mood…