2 hours 20 minutes

Bike vert total: 2200 feet

Stairs vert total: 480 feet

12 min. Warmup

2 x 20 min. Climbing (on bike) at tempo HR/wattage

4 x stairs carrying bike (120 vertical feet per trip up stairs)

-varied bike carries:

-overhead

-zercher carry

-side carry

THEN:

Rode to park:

10-1 pushup/pullup for time

Rode home.

Wow, that was a humdinger.

Give it a shot.

NOTES:

*Training has now moved into a maximal-effort/maximal power/speed development phase in anticipation of entering the final stages of preparation for competition. It’s a bit late in the year for this given that most bike racers in California have been at it since January, but this training program has been geared towards goals later in the year.

*Stairs following the climbing workout on the bike is meant to simulate the challenge of having to push or carry the bike during mountain bike races. Which inevitably happens. One of the training objectives on the plate here is a 12-hour mountain bike race in late August. We didn’t give the stair work a shot without first taking time to build joint integrity and strength in connective tissue as well as knee/hip stability through exercises on the TRX and with KB’s, DB’s, and sandbags.

*bike carries are an effort similar to carrying any heavy, awkward object or a Farmer’s Walk or Suitcase with dumbbells, sandbag, KB, etc. Except you don’t have to carry any extra equipment with you (save a pair of running shoes or trainers). Just get off your bike and carry the thing. It’s a hell of a workout. The hardest carry to execute is the overhead carry where you push press the bike overhead so it’s horizontal then hold it overhead with your arms extended while you walk up the stairs. Guaranteed to have sweat pouring down your face by the end of the workout.

ON A MORE GENERAL NOTE: these workouts are posted here to give you a glimpse into our applied science experiment—combining the latest, most cutting edge Functional Strength Training principles with periodized training for competitive cycling.

But they’re also here to inspire you and to help you realize that you don’t need a gym or much in the way of special equipment to get fit. Be creative, work with what you have, and if you need something, try to make it yourself.

There’s not much in the way of cycling/endurance sports specific Functional Strength Training information out there. Our experience has been that FST will give you a discernible edge over anyone who is just riding their bike for training. A big edge.