For the next 3 weeks, I'm on a program that looks like this (with definitions below):
Monday: Rest or Active Recovery
Tuesday AM: 1:00:00 to 1:15:00 Trainer ride, Pedal Speed intervals, 10 minutes of core/BOSU work
Tuesday PM: 15:00 Stair Mill warmup; Weight lifting, Anatomical Adaptation.
Wednesday AM: 1:00:00 - 1:15:00 Trainer ride, Heart Rate Ceiling of 140, 10 minutes of core/BOSU work
Wednesday PM: Some other aerobic exercise, spinning, elliptical, walking, etc.
Thursday AM: 1:00:00 to 1:15:00 Trainer ride, Pedal Speed intervals, 10 minutes of core/BOSU work
Thursday PM: 15:00 Stair Mill warmup; Weight lifting, Anatomical Adaptation.
Friday: Rest or Active Recovery
Saturday: 2 hour ride with Long Intervals (possibly one of them will be the West River Time Trial).
Sunday: 2 to 3 hours, "Ride as I feel". If I feel tired, take it easy (cut it short, if necessary). If I feel good, go harder, just avoid any structured interval. It's a great day for group rides, dueling with random riders on the road, or just a long scenic recovery ride.
Active Recovery: VERY easy riding, meant to loosen up the muscles and promote blood flow to them. Heart rate ceiling is 120 BPM, though below 115 is better.
Anatomical Adaptation lifting: 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps. Once I can do 3x15 of a certain weight, increase the weight and go back to 3x12. Normal progression is often 12-12-12, 15-12-12, 15-15-12, then 15-15-15. Lifts cover the whole body, alternating between upper and lower body and recovery times of 60 to 90 seconds between sets to achieve full recovery between exercises and include:
Squats
Chest Press (bench press with dumbbells)
Leg Press
Fly
Leg Curl
Shoulder Press
Calf Raise
Lat Pull Down
One-arm row
For all upper body exercises, remember to keep core tight!
Goal of this phase is to toughen tendons and connecting tissue and to "remind" muscles how to lift correctly and generate more force. Done properly, this phase will help in preventing future injuries, a sort of "prehabilitation". No exercise is done to failure or exhaustion. Proper form and technique must be maintained at all times.
To help me out when I travel for work, I have a membership with LA Fitness, which has branches in most major cities. As a backup plan, I've worked out a dumbbell only routine that could be done in most hotel gyms.
The lifting/strength work is based on Tudor Bompa's books on Periodization, which I cannot recommend strongly enough for anyone interesting in increasing performance.
Pedal Speed Intervals: intervals of 6 to 10 minutes (start at 6:00 an increase 2 minutes per week) of 110 to 120 RPM, keeping below a heart rate ceiling of 150 BPM.
Long Intervals: Progression from Ventilatory Threshold to Lactate Threshold, always with recovery equal to time of one interval. Start at 2x15:00 at Ventilatory Threshold. Build to 2x20:00, 3x20:00. 2x30:00, then, if successful on all previous intervals, attempt 1x60:00. Restart with Lactate Threshold intervals, 3x8:00, then 3x10:00, 4x8:00, 3x12:00, 4x12:00. 3x15:00, and so on.
After this, I move to on a combined Adaptation and Max Strength Phase, while continuing a Long Interval riding routine (more on that program when it starts).
