'Developing Greater Power' by Chris Carmichael

noamporat said:

Do you think he means that the above set of ..5 interval is the daily training ?

I am having trouble understanding what you are asking. Can you restate the question?

noamporat said:

Hello,

In his 'Developing Greater Power' 'Pro Cycling secret' , Chris Carmichael recommends the following 2 workouts:

1. Power Builder:
Find a moderate hill that takes about 30 seconds to climb. After a
thorough warm up, sprint 3 times up the hill. Sprint out of the saddle, or alternate one sprint
standing with the next sitting.
• Do the first sprint in a gear that allows a cadence of 100+ rpm. Make a maximum
effort. Spin gently for 5 minutes to recover.
• Do the second sprint in a bigger gear so your cadence drops to about 90 rpm. Spin for
5 minutes to recover.
• For the last sprint, use an even larger gear that limits your cadence to 70-80 rpm.
Keep pedaling smoothly even when cadence falls. Don’t degenerate into pedaling
squares.

2. Power Extender:
Find a gentle climb about a mile long. The road should have no traffic
control devices and little traffic.
• Ride for 2 minutes at your lactate threshold or slightly higher. Keep your cadence at
100-120 rpm. You’ll probably need a lower gear than you’d normally use on this hill.
Gearing doesn’t matter. Cadence does.
• Repeat the 2-minute climb 3 to 5 times. Do 5 minutes of easy spinning between each effort.

Do you think he means that the above set of ..5 interval is the daily training ? or otherwise ? like maybe repetitions ? Should the 2 workouts be performed in a sequence ?

Thanks in advance.

CC is giving two different interval workouts that can be added into your training routine to work on building better power. The 'repeat the 2-minute climb 3 to 5 times' translates as follows. Each interval is comprised of the recommended 2-minute climb followed by 5 minutes of recovery riding. Then he is saying to repeat this interval another 2 to 4 times as the specific task of that day's workout.

Climb repeats are usually high intesity workouts if done properly, so you wouldn't want to be doing these every day or necessarily back-to-back. Slotting them into your training routine along with other workouts is the best way to integrate them. Usually following high intensity training days, a day of endurance riding (medium intensity), recovery riding (low intensity) or even a rest day (off the bike), is appropriate.

Hope this helps. I can tell you this for sure though...they do. 😉

Well thanks, what I meant is ~~

is this set of 8 interval recommended to be the whole workout for that day ? or they should only be a part of the work for that day ?
-----------------------------------------------
should they all be done in a row ?

Now I see rule62's opinion - thanks ! :-)

Yeah a typical training ride for me using this type of interval would be to do 30 to 45 minutes of warm-up and endurance riding, then complete the interval work, and finish with another 30 to 45 minutes of endurance and cool-down riding.

When leading up to a goal event, I might do a couple of these days during a 6 day ride week, with some lower intensity and recovery riding spaced in between to fill out the other 4 days.

Glad to help!

noamporat said:

Hello,

In his 'Developing Greater Power' 'Pro Cycling secret' , Chris Carmichael recommends the following 2 workouts:

1. Power Builder:
Find a moderate hill that takes about 30 seconds to climb. After a
thorough warm up, sprint 3 times up the hill. Sprint out of the saddle, or alternate one sprint
standing with the next sitting.
• Do the first sprint in a gear that allows a cadence of 100+ rpm. Make a maximum
effort. Spin gently for 5 minutes to recover.
• Do the second sprint in a bigger gear so your cadence drops to about 90 rpm. Spin for
5 minutes to recover.
• For the last sprint, use an even larger gear that limits your cadence to 70-80 rpm.
Keep pedaling smoothly even when cadence falls. Don’t degenerate into pedaling
squares.

2. Power Extender:
Find a gentle climb about a mile long. The road should have no traffic
control devices and little traffic.
• Ride for 2 minutes at your lactate threshold or slightly higher. Keep your cadence at
100-120 rpm. You’ll probably need a lower gear than you’d normally use on this hill.
Gearing doesn’t matter. Cadence does.
• Repeat the 2-minute climb 3 to 5 times. Do 5 minutes of easy spinning between each effort.

Do you think he means that the above set of ..5 interval is the daily training ? or otherwise ? like maybe repetitions ? Should the 2 workouts be performed in a sequence ?

Thanks in advance.

Hmmm. These two sessions target two different systems and consequently power over different durations (a distinction which many coaches fail to make). Session 1 is a mostly anaerobic session and will improve short-term power. Session 2 looks like a rather lame threshold session; the work intervals are not long enough to overload anything really.
Before you start 'increasing power' you need to consider the underlying physiology and how best to adapt your training to meet your targets or goals.

L.

Thanks !! 🙂