Getting Faster on the Bike
Getting Faster on the Bike
By Nancy Avitabile
If you want to get faster on the bike, a great way to improve your speed is by riding intervals. These are short, intense workouts that focus on speed. I do these at least once a week, often when I’m riding by myself. Intervals are also a way to get in a great workout when I only have an hour or so. I find a road with little or no interruptions – traffic lights, stop signs, construction, etc. I look for a flat road for the speed intervals, and a long steady hill for the hill intervals.
The theory is that you can only get faster by riding faster. Intervals highlight going faster for shorter periods of time. Hopefully, you’ll soon be able to hold a faster speed for longer amounts of time. The work portion of the interval should push you beyond your comfort zone. I use a heart rate monitor and try to get to zone 4 during these work sessions. All interval workouts start with a full warm-up and end with a cool down. I usually warm-up and cool down for about 15 minutes each.
Here are some of the intervals that I use for getting faster. Do these on a flat road:
Under-Overs
Do 2 minutes slightly under your fast riding speed and one minute above your fast riding pace. Do this three times without a break – 2 minutes under; 1 minute over. Go easy for 4 minutes. Repeat. Start with three repeats. Build to 6.
Long Intervals
Find the fastest pace you can hold for 10 minutes. Do 10 minutes at this speed. Follow that with an easy pace for 5 minutes. Repeat. Start with 2 long intervals and build to 4.
Short Intervals
The fast portion of this interval should be an all-out effort. Do 30 seconds very hard and 30 seconds easy. Repeat this 5 times. Go easy for 5 minutes. Repeat short speed intervals. Start with 3 times increase to 6. To make this more intense do the very hard 30 seconds followed by a moderate, but not easy pace.
Find a good hill for your hill repeats.
Hill Intervals
Find a steady hill that will take about 7 minutes to climb. All hill intervals should be done seated. Do 4 climbs in total – the first in the small chain ring, the second in the big chain ring, the third in the small ring, the fourth in the big ring. Recover for 4 minutes on the downhill ride each time.
These are never my most enjoyable times on the bike, but I’ve become faster and can climb better as a result of these workouts.