FREE TRAINING SESSIONS

During this time of restricted group activities, we are offering free at home training to keep you focused and continuing to build your fitness. Please reach out if there is anything else we can do to help.

At Home

1) Movement Flow
2) Skill Work
3) Conditioning
4) Finisher / Muscle Endurance

You can do these either all together in a single session or spread them through the day.

Home sessions older than 3 weeks available to members.

C2 Bike

If you have a C2 bike at home, now is a good time to learn how to use it to its full capacity.

C2 Bike Week 1

C2 Bike Week 2

C2 Bike Week 3

The entire 9-week plan is available to members.

Assault Bike

If you have an Assault bike at home, learn how to use it to its full capacity.

Assault Bike Week 1

Assault Bike Week 2

Assault Bike Week 3

The entire 9-week plan is available to members.

Running

Since most gyms are closed this is a good time to work on your running (if you’re allowed out).

Running Week 1

Running Week 2

Running Week 3

The entire 8-week plan is available to members.

If you want the full home sessions or want to continue the bike or run plans past week 3, please log in to the members area. If you’re not yet a member, check out our new At Home membership level.

Free Home Workouts – February 6th – 12th 2023

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Monday – Conditioning (Intervals)
Tuesday – Workout
Wednesday – Run (Intervals or Easy Run) OR Gymnastics
Thursday – REST
Friday – Workout
Saturday – Conditioning (Intervals)
Sunday – REST

As is shown on Monday, a full day consists of four parts:

1) Movement Flow
2) Skill work
3) Conditioning
4) Finisher / Muscle endurance piece

Wednesday and Friday include one part of the full session that is available to members.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

FLOW

A) Warm-up Flow #1
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence).

SKILL

A) 3 Rounds
20 to 40-second Handstand walk on the spot*

* Shoulder taps as shown on the video are optional if you want to challenge the skill further.

Rest 1-minute between sets

CONDITIONING

A) 6 – 8 Intervals (alternate A1 / A2)
A1. 2-minute AMRAP
8 Single-arm DB hang clean and jerks, alternating
8 Goblet squats
8 Burpees over the DB

Rest 1-minute before A2

A2. 2-minute AMRAP
8 Single-arm DB snatches, alternating
8 DB overhead squats
8 Burpees over the DB

Rest 1-minutes before A1

# of intervals. Only do the final two intervals if you can maintain the same intensity as on the previous ones

DB. 1 x 22.5/15kg (50/35lbs) or what you have available

STRENGTH

A) Every 5-minutes for 15-minutes
10-15 DB Stiff-legged deadlifts @ tempo 30×1
10-12 DB bench/floor presses @ tempo 30×1
8-10 DB plank drag throughs

Tempo (DL/DB Bench press). 30×1 = 3-seconds down : no pause @ bottom: explode up : 1-second hold

DB weight. Use the heaviest DBs available that you can do for unbroken sets.

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

We’ll continue with the 2-minute intervals this week. Your aim is to push to a tough pace you can repeat two or three more times for each interval. You want to avoid excess rest between sets and movements, so take quick breaks as needed in order to keep your pace throughout.

Set the target of staying within a few reps of your 2nd interval of each part on the remaining ones.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

CONDITIONING (OPTION #1)

Warm-up

800m Jog
+
2 Rounds of:
10 Hip extension/abductions
10 Banded squats
10 e/side Banded lateral steps
10 e/side Band rotations, change stance each round
+
2 Rounds of:
10m A-march + jog back
10m B-march + jog back
10m “Frankenstein” + jog back
200m Run
+
800m Run @ progressively faster pace, building to your race pace for the final 200m

RUN OPTION #1 – RUN (Intervals)

A) Run intervals
9 Sets of:
300m @ Progressively harder pace (start @ 5km pace and build up)
100m @ Walk/jog for recovery

Option. If you cannot run, you could do the same with any “cardio” equipment you have available (row, ski, air bike, C2 Bike etc.). Use 5km pace for ski/row and 10km for bike erg as reference points for pacing.

RUN OPTION #2 – LONG RUN (Fartlek)

A) 30 to 45-minute Run @ Fartlek (speed play)
Do a steady 10 to 20-second acceleration, ending as a sprint, every 5 to 10-minutes (or each time there is a hill) before returning to easy pace (and nose breathing).

Take an opportunity for some easier aerobic work after the last two harder days. Focus on maintaining a good posture and arm swing as you run. Your aim is to do nose breathing only (in + out) and if you’re tracking your HR, this should be a “Z2” effort (it should feel like an easy effort, although nose breathing might present a challenge of its own).

Option. If you cannot run, you could do the same with any “cardio” equipment you have available (row, ski, air bike, C2 Bike etc.)

GYMNASTICS (OPTION #2)

A) Handstand walk follow along session
Work through this 30-minute HSW focused gymnastics session with Ben and Sammy.

SESSION NOTES

Today’s running options are:

1) Run intervals (300m Work : 100m recovery jog/walk) at progressively faster paces. Start with your estimated 5km pace and build up slightly on each set for as long as you can (then maintain when you cannot go faster). Use the 100m recovery strategically by choosing to either jog or walk depending on how much recovery you feel is needed.

2) “Fartlek” means “speed play”. This session will help you combine harder repeats with more sustained effort running. Your main pace should be a relatively easy pace that would allow you to hold a conversation with someone. Then, every 1km, you’ll do a harder 200m repeat where you build up pace.

Today’s gymnastics option is a handstand walk focused follow along session.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

RECOVERY FLOW

A) Hip Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your hips some love.

A) Shoulder Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your shoulders some love.

WORKOUT

A) For time
100 Double-unders
20 DB squat cleans
10 Shuttle runs
100 Double-unders
20 DB hang to overheads
10 Shuttle runs
100 Double-unders
20 DB thrusters
10 Shuttle runs

DBs. 2 x 22.5/15kg (50/35lbs) or what you have available

Movement options
Double-unders → Reduce reps (100 -75 – 50 reps OR 50 to 75 reps each time) → Speed rope steps → Single-unders

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Each new section begins with a big set of double-unders. Do your best to remain relaxed and try to control your breathing through the double-unders. You want to complete each 100 in minimal sets, without hanging on for too long and forcing the need for more rest later.

Move right to the DBs to begin your set of 20 reps. Have a game plan for how you intend to break up each DB movement and stick to it. Your goal should be to get through each round in 1-3 sets with short breaks in between. Only hang on for unbroken if you know it won’t impact your pacing as you progress (the thruster is where it might be worth trying to push to hang on).

Keep a steady, but fast pace though the first 2 rounds of the shuttle run. The final shuttle run is where you should be trying to sprint to the finish.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

RECOVERY FLOW

A) Hip Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your hips some love.

A) Shoulder Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your shoulders some love.

Free Home Workouts – January 30th – February 5th 2023

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

As is shown on Monday, a full day consists of four parts:

1) Movement Flow
2) Skill work
3) Conditioning
4) Finisher / Muscle endurance piece

Wednesday and Friday include one part of the full session that is available to members.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

FLOW

A) Warm-up Flow #3
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence).

SKILL

A) Turkish get-up exploration – 3 to 5 sets on each side:

Arm bar – Turkish sit-up – Get-up w/ strict press @ transitions – Bent press – Hang clean & press – Hang snatch – Windmill

CONDITIONING

A) 6 – 8 Intervals (alternate A1 / A2)
A1. 2-minute AMRAP
3- 6 – 9 – etc
DB squat
1 – 2 – 3 – etc
Wall walk

Rest 1-minute before A2

A2. 2-minute AMRAP
8 DB hang power cleans
8m DB front rack lunges
8 Burpees

Rest 1-minute before A1

# of intervals. Only do the final two intervals if you can maintain the same intensity as on the previous ones.

DBs. 2 x 22.5/15kg (50/35lbs) or what you have available

Movement options.
Wall walk → Wall climb halfway up (or as far as you can control the movement in both directions)

STRENGTH

A) 3 Rounds @ your pace
8-12/side (standing) DB see-saw press
10 – 15 Cyclist goblet squats @ 2020 tempo
30s/side Single leg hip thrust

Tempo. 2020 = 2-seconds down : no pause @ bottom: 2-seconds up : no pause @ top

DB weight. Use the heaviest DBs available that you can do for unbroken sets.

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim on today’s intervals is to push to a tough pace you can repeat two or three more times for each interval. You want to avoid excess rest between sets and movements, so take quick breaks as needed in order to keep your pace throughout.

Set the target of staying within a few reps of your 1st intervals on the remaining ones.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

CONDITIONING (OPTION #1)

Warm-up

RUN OPTION #1 – RUN (Intervals)

A) Run intervals
2 Sets of (1000, 800, 700m) Run @ 5km pace

Rest 45-seconds between repeats
Rest 5-minutes between sets

Option. If you cannot run, you could do the same with any “cardio” equipment you have available (row, ski, air bike, C2 Bike etc.). Use 5km pace for ski/row and 10km for bike erg as reference points for pacing.

RUN OPTION #2 – LONG RUN

A) 30 to 45-minute Run @ easy pace

Take an opportunity for an easier run. Focus on maintaining a good posture and arm swing as you run. Your aim is to do nose breathing only (in + out) and if you’re tracking your HR, this should be a “Z2” effort (it should feel like an easy effort, although nose breathing might present a challenge of its own).

Option. If you cannot run, you could do the same with any “cardio” equipment you have available (row, ski, air bike, C2 Bike etc.)

GYMNASTICS (OPTION #2)

A) Handstand skills
A1. Wrist warm-up*
* Follow along with the video, spend more time on any of the drills that feel challenging to you

A2. Handstand circuit – 3 rounds of:
10 Prone PPT pulses & hold last rep (10-sec)
10 elbow plank PPT pulses & hold last rep (10-sec)
20 to 30-sec sideways wall handstand
20 to 30-sec of handstand flutters

(Rest as needed b/t exercises)
Rest 1 to 2-minutes between each round

B) Handstand workout
3 rounds of – 20-seconds on : 10-seconds off
Front support wall walks
45-degree handstand shoulder taps
Scapular wall angels
Standing 45-degree hip taps
Standing reverse 45-degree shoulder peeler hold
Supine hollow hold with wrist flat to the wall

No rest between the rounds

C) Horizontal straight & bent arm strength complex
3 to 4 rounds of:
5 Scapular push-ups
5 Planche lean slides
5 Planche push-ups
5 Battle rammers
5 Pike compression slides

(No rest b/w each exercise)
Rest 30 to 60-seconds between each round

SESSION NOTES

Today’s running options are:

1) Intervals – Each repeat within the set is run @ your 5k pace. The short rest between repeats will challenge your stamina/endurance but if you choose the right pace, you should be able to hang on for all 3 runs as the distance decreases each set. Think “relaxed, intentional effort” (rather than trying too hard, getting too tense and fatiguing/slowing yourself down).

2) 30 to 45-minute easy run, ideally somewhere in nature.

Today’s gymnastics option is handstand and planche focused circuits.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

RECOVERY FLOW

A) Hip Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your hips some love.

A) Shoulder Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your shoulders some love.

WORKOUT

A) For time
9 Strict handstand push-ups
12 DB Devil’s presses
40 Pistols, alternating
15 Strict handstand push-ups
9 DB Devil’s presses
30 Pistols, alternating
21 Strict handstand push-ups
6 DB Devil’s presses
20 Pistols, alternating

DB weight. 2 x 22.5/15kg (50/35lbs) OR what you have available

Movement options
Strict handstand push-up → Kipping HSPU → Standing HSPU variation of choice
Pistols → Reduce reps (30 – 20 – 10 reps) → Pistol to a box/couch or similar OR with support (hold on to something) OR Skater pistol squat. On the skater variation, use as much or as little assistance from the back foot as needed.

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

This workout combines an ascending rep scheme of strict handstand push-ups with a descending rep scheme of Devil’s press and pistols. Approach the strict handstand push-ups based on your proficiency and capacity. Recognize that the reps will increase, and shoulder fatigue will become a factor with the Devil’s press, so starting a bit more conservative is likely a good strategy.

Find a consistent, steady rhythm for both the Devil’s press and pistols. You want to move through the bigger sets without taking any unnecessary breaks, and then you can start to pick up your cadence on the final round if you can.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

RECOVERY FLOW

A) Hip Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your hips some love.

A) Shoulder Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your shoulders some love.

Free Home Workouts – January 23rd – 29th 2023

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

As is shown on Monday, a full day consists of four parts:

1) Movement Flow
2) Skill work
3) Conditioning
4) Finisher / Muscle endurance piece

Wednesday and Friday include one part of the full session that is available to members.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

FLOW

A) Warm-up Flow #2
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) for 1 to 2 rounds

SKILL

A) Ring muscle-up drills – 3 Rounds of
5 Chicken dips
8 Box Russian dips
10 Back support step ups

Rest 60-seconds b/t rounds

Note. Use two chairs if you do not have access to boxes (secure them well so they don’t slip)

CONDITIONING

A) 6 x 3-minute AMRAP
2 Wall walks
8m DB front rack walking lunges
4 DB squat cleans
8 Line facing burpees

Rest 2-minutes between AMRAPs

DBs. 2 x 22.5/15kg (50/35lbs) or what you have available

STRENGTH

A) 3 Rounds @ your pace
8-12/side (standing) DB see-saw press
10 – 15 Cyclist goblet squats @ 2020 tempo
30s/side Single leg hip thrusts

Tempo. 2020 = 2-seconds down : no pause @ bottom: 2-seconds up : no pause @ top

DB weight. Use the heaviest DBs available that you can do for unbroken sets

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim on today’s intervals is to push to a tough pace, but where you can repeat your efforts five more times. Hold a tough sustainable pace where you can keep the work unbroken as much as possible every time. Look to match your score with a few reps every time.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

CONDITIONING (OPTION #1)

Warm-up

RUN OPTION #1 – RUN (TEMPO)

A) Run intervals
2 Sets of 3 x 800m Run @ 5km pace

Rest 45-seconds between repeats
Rest 5-minutes between sets

Option. If you cannot run, you could do the same with any “cardio” equipment available (row, ski, air bike, C2 Bike etc.). Use 5km pace for ski/row and 10km for bike erg as reference points for pacing.

RUN OPTION #2 – LONG RUN (Fartlek)

Option. If you cannot run, you could do the same with any “cardio” equipment you have available (row, ski, air bike, C2 Bike etc.)

GYMNASTICS (OPTION #2)

A) Handstand push-up follow-along session
Work through this 40-minute HSPU focused gymnastics session with Ben and Sammy.

SESSION NOTES

1) Run every 800m @ your 5k pace (estimate). The short rest between repeats will challenge your stamina/endurance but if you choose the right pace, you should be able to hang on for all 3 runs each set. Think “relaxed, intentional effort” (rather than trying too hard, getting too tense and fatiguing/slowing yourself down).

2) “Fartlek” means “speed play”. This session will help you combine harder repeats with more sustained effort running. Your main pace should be a relatively easy pace that would allow you to hold a conversation with someone. Then do a steady 10 to 20-second acceleration, ending as a sprint, every 5 to 10-minutes (or each time there is a hill) before returning to easy pace (and nose breathing).

Today’s gymnastics option is a HSPU focused follow along session

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

RECOVERY FLOW

A) Hip Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your hips some love.

A) Shoulder Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your shoulders some love.

WORKOUT

A) 5 Rounds for time
60 Double-unders
5 Shuttle runs*
20 Pistols, alternating
5 Shuttle runs

*1 shuttle run = 25’/7.62m out and back

Movement options
Reduce rounds → 3 or 4 rounds
Double-unders → Reduce reps (40 to 50 reps) → Speed rope steps → Single unders → Jumping jacks (60 reps)
Pistols → Reduce reps (10 to 15 reps) → Pistol to a box/couch or similar OR with support (hold on to something) OR Skater pistol squat. On the skater variation, use as much or as little assistance from the back foot as needed.

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your goal is to push to a threshold pace you can sustain the whole way with minimal rest and transition time. Stay relaxed on the rope and aim to complete each double under set unbroken.

Find a steady, consistent pace on your pistols that allows you to just keep moving each round. Do your best to avoid taking any excessive breaks between reps the whole way.

The key to finishing fast will be what type of pace you can sustain on your shuttle runs. You want to focus on a quick change of direction with each turn and not let the “run” become a fast walk.

For the full At Home program and access to our video library and mobility plans, please go to the members area or sign up here.

RECOVERY FLOW

A) Hip Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your hips some love.

A) Shoulder Recovery Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to give your shoulders some love.

C2 Bike – Week 1

Welcome to the 1st week of your new C2 bike conditioning plan!

If you have a bike at home, now is a good time to really learn how to use it to its full capacity.

Here’s what we are going to work towards this week:

1) Learn how to set your bike up for good mechanics
2) Improve your pedalling efficiency
3) Get used to working at 90rpm and above
4) Develop a feel for different paces on the bike
5) Prepare for baseline testing on WK2

If you’re not used to working with a higher cadence (rpm) on the bike, this week will offer some new challenges. You will most likely be riding most sessions at lower damper settings than you might have been using so far.

With that in mind, each session has two options for the cadence and you can drop them down another 5 rpms where needed (do your best to stick with them though as this will help you build up your efficiency and mechanics).

SESSION OVERVIEW

#1 – Long HIIT, 3-4 x 6-minute intervals
#2 – Easy ride, 45+minutes
#3 – Short HIIT, 30:15 intervals
#4 – “FTP” intervals, 3 x 10-minute intervals

Do the training in this order if possible and leave a rest day between sessions #2, #3 and #4.

A few terms to know:

FTP. Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the highest average power output you can maintain for 60-minutes. A common test for FTP is a 20-minute max effort (with some simple math). It is a useful metric to track your bike-specific endurance and to prescribe training sessions (see below).

FTP Rx. Intended power output in % of FTP. If you have not yet tested your FTP (we will do that on week #2), you can think of it as about 95% of the hardest pace you could keep for a 20-minute effort (or 100% of a full hour, see above). Our focus this week is on exploring the cadence (rpm, see below) so it is fine for you to base the intervals on this and effort based Rx.

Rpm. Your pedalling cadence is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Low cadence (high resistance) pedalling relies on muscle endurance while higher cadence (lower resistance) pedalling is considered generally more efficient. Being able to maintain 90 rpm is a good first reference point to work towards.

#1 – FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

#2 – WARM-UP

Damper setting. 3 – 5, Adjust down as needed for higher rpm parts

#3 – CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 3 to 4 Intervals
6-minutes @ hard pace (90-100rpm / 80-90rpm)
2-minutes @ easy recovery pace

FTP (Rx). 104 – 110% FTP for “hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all 4 intervals
Damper setting. Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (1 – 5 range)

Feel. The first interval should feel controlled then each one will be incrementally harder until you have to really fight on the last one to keep your pace (there might be a small drop off here but not a big one).

# of intervals. If you’re new to C2 bike, 3 intervals will be plenty. Do the 4th one if you feel you’ll be able to maintain the same output as in the previous ones.

#4 – COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting. 1 to 3

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your heart rate should end up high (90+% max HR on a bike), especially on the final two sets. The key is to not overdo the 1st interval but set the tone for a hard but repeatable pace (so that the final interval will give you a good fight).

These sessions will help you push up both your VO2max and power at your threshold.

#1 – FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

#2 – WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

#3 – CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 45+ minute ride @ 85-95rpm / 70-85rpm

FTP (Rx). 55-70% FTP
Damper setting. Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (1 – 3 range)

Feel. You should be able to watch a movie while doing this. The challenge should be mainly to maintain the cadence while going at an easy enough pace.

#4 – COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim is to bike for at least 45-minutes but you can go up to 75-minutes today.

This low-intensity session will improve your efficiency on the bike and help build your aerobic base. Working on staying above 85rpm will also improve your technique and make it easier for you to stay relaxed when pedalling at higher intensities.

#1 – FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

#2 – WARM-UP

Damper setting. Adjust down as needed for higher rpm, baseline setting: 3 – 5

#3 – CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 3 sets of 10 – 12 intervals
30-seconds @ very hard pace (90-105rpm / 80-95rpm)
15-seconds @ rest

2 to 3-minutes rest between sets

FTP (Rx). 120-140% FTP for “hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all 4 intervals
Damper setting. Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (3 – 5 range)

#4 – COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting. 1 to 3

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

The short “30:15” intervals have been getting a lot of attention in the research over the last 5-years for their success in improving well-trained athletes VO2max and work capacity at LT (lactate threshold).

The key physiological driver for adaptations in these sessions is time spent at HR > 90%VO2max (meaning your HR should and will be high). You can think of the pace as “repeatable/recoverable red zone”. These sessions will be challenging but you should leave knowing that you could have done one more interval in each set if needed.

#1 – FLOW

A) Warm up Flow #2 (VIDEO) – Work through the sequence once, pausing for a bit longer in tight positions

#2 – WARM-UP

A) C2 Bike
8-minutes @ easy
+
4 rounds of:
30 sec @ 45-65 rpm w/ damper at 8 – 10 (go as high as you can)
30 sec @ 70-90 rpm w/ damper at 1
+
3-minutes @ easy

Damper setting: 3 to 5 for “easy” pace

#3 – CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 3 x 10-minute sets
1-min @ Hard pace (90rpm / 80+rpm)
2-min @ Moderate pace (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)
1-min @ Harder pace (90-95rpm / 80+rpm)
2-min @ Moderate pace (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)
1-min @ Hardest pace (90-100rpm / 85+rpm)
3-min @ Moderate pace (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)

Rest 5-minutes between sets

FTP (Rx).
Moderate = 90-95% FTP
Hard = 100-105% FTP
Harder = 102-107% FTP
Hardest = 105-110% FTP

Damper setting. Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (2 – 5 range)

Feel. These should feel more controlled than the 6-minute or 30:15 intervals (you should finish the session feeling that you could have done a 4th set if needed). Focus on the changes in pace by adjusting your cadence and the damper setting.

#4 – COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting. 1 to 3

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

In this session we want to work on staying slightly above and below your FTP (the highest average power output you can maintain for one hour max effort). A common test for FTP is a 20-minute max effort (estimated FTP is about 95% of avg. watts here).

This is relevant because 20-minutes is long enough to force you to find a pace where there is balance between production and elimination of lactate. Being able to move at a fast pace without accumulating lactate is important for all longer endurance events.

We will be testing your FTP next week to give you some more precise numbers. We’ll use those numbers to better prescribe the training intensities and to measure progress in the upcoming weeks.

C2 Bike – Week 2

Welcome to week two of your C2 bike conditioning plan!

Last week was about getting a good bike set up, improving your efficiency and exploring the higher cadences. This week we’ll establish some baselines that we’ll use to personalise your training sessions and to track your progress over the next weeks.

Here’s what we are going to do this week:

1) 20-minute “field test” for FTP (Functional Threshold Power)
2) 1-minute max calories for AnCap (Anaerobic Capacity)
3) 3000/2500m for time (Max Aerobic Power)

Each test is a maximal effort in different time domains and looking at three different metrics: avg. watts (20-min test), calories (1-minute test) and pace/time (3000/2500m test).

Separate the tests by at least one day (e.g., do them on Monday, Wednesday, Friday). You want to feel as fresh as possible for each one of them.

Make sure to check out how to align your feet, knees and hips for efficient mechanics in this weeks video.

A few terms to know:

FTP. Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the highest average power output you can maintain for 60-minutes. A commonly used test for FTP is a 20-minute max effort, which you’ll be doing this week.

AnCap (Anaerobic Capacity). AnCap refers to the highest amount of energy you are able to produce using the anaerobic energy system. This system is used to produce high power output during shorter work periods, and relies on burning carbohydrates (without oxygen) as fuel. The anaerobic system is the dominant energy system for work periods shorter than 60 to 90-seconds.

Max Aerobic Power (MAP). Max aerobic power is the highest amount of energy you are able to produce using the aerobic energy system. This system burns carbohydrates (using oxygen) as fuel. It is limited by the amount of oxygen your body is able to transport to the working muscles. The aerobic system will be the most important for work periods longer than 90-seconds.

Rpm. Your pedalling cadence is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Low cadence (high resistance) pedalling relies on muscle endurance while higher cadence (lower resistance) pedalling is considered generally more efficient. Being able to maintain 90/85+ rpm is a good first reference point to work towards.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Damper setting. 3 – 5, Adjust down as needed for higher rpm parts

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – Maximal (steady) 20-minute effort for average watts/pace

Brief. Your goal is to test the highest STEADY pace (avg. watts) you can maintain for 20-minutes.
Setup. Work through the PM monitor on the bike as follows:
1) “Select workout”
2) “New workout”
3) “Single time (20:00, split time 4:00)”

Damper setting. 3 to 5 range

Feel. This should feel like an all out effort. Try to empty the tank completely in the last few minutes to get the best score possible

Strategy. Aim to maintain the same pace from 0:00 to 18:30/19:00 then push with what you have in the end. See “checkpoints” for details. Remember that we are looking for consistent effort (same watts through the 20-minutes). Start too hard and you’ll die out, too easy and you are not testing your actual limits. You can pace your effort by focusing on RPMs or the watts (set your screen accordingly)

Checkpoints.
@ 0:00 – 08:00: Start at a pace where you feel like you are in control. You should be breathing hard but the legs should not yet feel heavy in this first part.
@ 08:00 – 15:00: This might be the toughest part mentally. It is normal to start to feel tired here and it’s easy to slow down because there is a lot of time left. Try to not think too far ahead but work to keep the pace you started at.
@ 15:00 – 19:00: Hang in there! You’ve come a long way now, hold your pace!!!
@ 19:00 – 20:00: This is the final sprint. Try to increase your cadence and push all the way through the last minute.

4. COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting. 1 to 3

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Tracking. After the test you should take note of the following:
– Average watt for the 20-minutes
– Average pace in for the 20-minutes
– Average RPM for the 20-minutes
– Total distance covered in 20-minutes
– Total amount of calories in 20-minutes

– If you have a heart rate monitor you should wear it and note you average heart rate for the 20-minutes (remember to start and stop the watch when you start and stop the test to only get the heart rate during the 20-minutes of work)

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) C2 Bike
9-minutes @ easy pace
+
30 sec @ 100-105 rpm / 85-90rpm
30 sec @ 80-90rpm / 70-80rpm
25 sec @ 100-110 rpm / 85-95rpm
35 sec @ 80-90rpm / 70-80rpm
20 sec @ 100-115 rpm / 85-100rpm
40 sec @ 80-90rpm / 70-80rpm
+
3-minutes @ easy pace with a 10-second standing acceleration every minute @ damper 5-7 for men and 3-5 for women.
+
2-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting. 2 to 4 range, except for final 3-minutes of 10-sec accelerations (5-7/3-5)

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 1-minute for max calories

Damper setting. 5-7 for men or 3-5 for women.

Feel. This should be your BEST effort and feel extremely uncomfortable.

Brief. Your goal is to test your MAXIMAL output for 1-minute effort. You MUST go hard from the beginning and then hold on (whatever you do, DO NOT STOP!). While we are testing for calories (and not average watts) the intent is very much to continue to put in effort (suffer) through the whole minute!

Setup. Work through the PM monitor on the bike as follows:
1) “Select workout”
2) “New workout”
3) “Single time (01:00)”

Strategy. 1) Sprint, 2) Don’t die, 3) Die a little, 4) it’s ok JUST DON’T STOP!!!!!. See checkpoints for details.

Checkpoints.
@ 0:00 – 0:20: HARD EFFORT, PUSH (You might start standing to ramp the bike up, then shift to sitting @ 0:10 – 0:15)
@ 0:20 – 0:40: It’ll start to really suck, FIGHT to keep as high a pace as possible!!!
@ 0:40 – 1:00: You’ll feel like running through mud, YOU MUST KEEP PUSHING AS HARD AS YOU CAN!!!! Whatever you do, DO NOT STOP!!!! Show what you’re made off and FINISH STRONG!!!!

Rest 3-minutes then carry on to part B

B) C2 Bike – 30 to 45-minute recovery ride @ 80-90rpm / 65-85rpm

FTP (Rx). 55-70% FTP
Damper setting. Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (1 – 3 range)

Feel. You should be able to relax and watch a movie while doing this.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Tracking. After the test you should take note of the following:
– Total amount of calories in 1-minute
– Average watts for the 1-minute
– Average pace in for the 1-minute
– Average RPM for the 1-minute
– Total distance covered in 1-minute

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Damper setting. Adjust down as needed for higher rpm, baseline setting: 2 – 4

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 3000 (men) / 2500m (women) for time

Damper setting. 3-5 for men or 2-4 for women.

Feel. This should be your BEST effort and feel extremely uncomfortable.

Brief. Your goal is to test your MAXIMAL output for a 4 to 7-minute effort. You have to go hard from the beginning and then hold on.

Setup. Work through the PM monitor on the bike as follows:
1) “Select workout”
2) “New workout”
3) “Single distance (3000 or 2500m)”

Strategy. Start @ a pace you think you might be able to keep for the entire distance. Remember that we are looking for consistent effort (same watts/RPMs), too hard and you’ll die out, too easy and you are not testing your actual limits. You can pace your effort by focusing on RPMs or directly with watts.

Checkpoints.
@ 1500/1250m – You should feel like you might just be able to keep the pace until the end but it’s going to suck. If it’s feeling a bit easy, pick up your pace by few RPM
@ 2000/1600m – You should be digging deep to maintain, if you can pick up the pace at this point, you started too slow, time to make up for it!
@ 2400/2000m – You should be barely holding on to your pace, time to FIGHT for it. Put your head down and increase the pace.

4. COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting. 1 to 3

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

The distance is adjusted for men / women to keep the efforts in a similar time range.

Tracking. After the test you should take note of the following:
– Time to complete the distance
– Average pace
– Average watts
– Average RPMs

C2 Bike – Week 3

(CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR TEST RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK)

Welcome to week #3 of your new C2 bike conditioning plan!

If you missed weeks 1 and 2, go back and start from the beginning as some of the sessions in this week are based on the previous two weeks.

Here’s what we are going to work towards this week:

1) Improve your pedalling efficiency
2) Improve your cadence (rpms – pedalling speed)
3) Develop a feel for different paces on the bike
4) Keep building volume at both high and low intensities

We will keep working on higher cadence and lower damper setting to further improve your efficiency on the bike.

Each session still has two options for the cadence and you can drop them down another 5 rpms where needed (do your best to stick with them though as this will help you build up your efficiency and mechanics).

A few terms to know:

FTP Rx. Intended power output in % of FTP (avg. watts from last week’s 20-minute max effort bike).

FTP. Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the highest average power output you can maintain for a 60-minute all out effort. It is a useful metric to track your bike-specific endurance and to prescribe training sessions. A common test for FTP is a shorter, 20-minute max effort test (which we did last week). In this program, the term “FTP” will then refer directly to your average power output (avg. watts) from the 20-minute test (instead of your estimated 60-minute output that is commonly used).

RPM. Your pedalling cadence is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Low cadence (high resistance) pedalling relies on muscle endurance while higher cadence (lower resistance) pedalling is considered generally more efficient. Being able to maintain 90/85+ rpm is a good first reference point to work towards.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up before getting on the bike.

2. WARM-UP

Damper setting: 2 – 4, Adjust down as needed for higher rpm parts

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 3 to 4 Intervals
7-minutes @ 103 – 108%FTP (90-100rpm / 80-90rpm)
2-minutes @ easy recovery pace

FTP (Rx). 103 – 108% FTP for “hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all 4 intervals
Damper setting: Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (1 – 5 range)

Feel. The first interval should feel controlled. Then each one will be incrementally harder until you have to really fight on the last one to keep your pace (there might be a small drop off here but not a big one).

# of intervals. If you’re new to C2 bike, 3 intervals will be plenty. Do the 4th one if you feel you’ll be able to maintain the same output as in the previous ones.

4. COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting: 1 to 3

B) Hip Rotation Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence)

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

This week we are offering specific FTP Rx based on the test you did last week. Do your best to stay within the prescribed %FTP and cadence (rpm).

Your heart rate should end up high (90+% max HR on a bike), especially on the final two sets of these intervals. The key is to not overdo the 1st interval but set the tone for a hard but repeatable pace (so that the final interval will give you a good fight).

These sessions will help you push up both your VO2max and power at your threshold.

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to loosen your hips up before you get on the bike

2. WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 60+ minute ride @ 55-70%FTP (85-95rpm / 70-85rpm)

FTP (Rx). 55-70% FTP, adjust the cadence down as needed but only if your pace is still too fast at damper setting 1
Damper setting: Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (1 – 3 range)

Feel. You should be able to watch a movie while doing this. The challenge should be mainly to maintain the cadence while going at an easy enough pace.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO)
Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim is to bike for at least 60-minutes but you can go up to 90-minutes today.

1. FLOW

A) Squat Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to loosen your hips up before you get on the bike

2. WARM-UP

Damper setting: Adjust down as needed for higher rpm, baseline setting: 3 – 5

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 3 sets of 6 – 8 intervals
40-seconds @ 115-135%FTP (90-105rpm / 80-95rpm)
20-seconds @ rest

2 to 3-minutes rest between sets

FTP (Rx). 115-135% FTP for “hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all 4 intervals
Damper setting: Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (3 – 5 range)

4. COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting: 1 to 3

B) Lunge Flow (VIDEO)
Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

The short “40:20” intervals (and their cousin, 30:15) have been getting a lot of attention in the research over the last 5-years for their success in improving well-trained athletes VO2max and work capacity at LT (lactate threshold).

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (VIDEO)
Follow along (pause the video where needed as you’re learning the sequence) to loosen your hips up before you get on the bike

2. WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 60+ minute ride @ 55-70%FTP (85-95rpm / 70-85rpm)

FTP (Rx). 55-70% FTP, adjust the cadence down as needed but only if your pace is still too fast at damper setting 1
Damper setting: Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (1 – 3 range)

Feel. You should be able to watch a movie while doing this. The challenge should be mainly to maintain the cadence while going at an easy enough pace.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (VIDEO)
Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim is to bike for at least 60-minutes but you can go up to 90-minutes today.

1. FLOW

A) Warm up Flow #2 (VIDEO) – Work through the sequence once, pausing for a bit longer in tight positions

2. WARM-UP

A) C2 Bike
8-minutes @ easy
+
4 rounds of:
30 sec @ 45-65 rpm w/ damper at 8 – 10 (go as high as you can)
30 sec @ 70-90 rpm w/ damper at 1
+
3-minutes @ easy

Damper setting: 3 to 5 for “easy” pace

3. CONDITIONING

A) C2 Bike – 2 x 15-minute sets
1-min @ 100-105% FTP (90rpm / 80+rpm)
2-min @ 90-95% FTP (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)

1-min @ 102-107% FTP (90-95rpm / 80+rpm)
2-min @ 90-95% FTP (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)

1-min @ 105-110% FTP (90-100rpm / 85+rpm)
2-min @ 90-95% FTP (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)

1-min @ 102-107% FTP (90-95rpm / 80+rpm)
2-min @ 90-95% FTP (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)

1-min @ 100-105% FTP (90rpm / 80+rpm)
2-min @ 90-95% FTP (85-90rpm / 70-80rpm)

Rest 8-minutes between sets

FTP (Rx).
Moderate = 90-95% FTP
Hard = 100-105% FTP
Harder = 102-107% FTP
Hardest = 105-110% FTP

Damper setting: Adjust to maintain prescribed RPM (2 – 5 range)

Feel. These should feel more controlled than the 7-minute or 40:20 intervals (you should finish the session feeling that you could have done a 3rd set if needed). Focus on the changes in pace by adjusting your cadence and the damper setting.

4. COOLDOWN

A) C2 Bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

Damper setting: 1 to 3

B) Lunge Flow (VIDEO)
Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

We are progressing from 12-minutes on WK1 to 15-minutes. In this session we want to work on staying slightly above and below your FTP. Building volume at these intensities will improve your FTP over time.

Assault Bike – Week 1

Welcome to the 1st week of your new Assault bike conditioning plan!

If you have an Assault bike at home, now is a good time to really learn how to use it to its full capacity.

Here’s what we are going to work towards this week:

1) Learn how to set your bike up properly for good mechanics (Video coming…)
2) Develop a feel for different paces on the bike
3) Prepare for baseline testing on WK2

A few terms to know:

FTP. Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the highest average power output you can maintain for 60-minutes. A common test for FTP in cycling is a 20-minute max effort (with some simple math). It is a useful metric to track your bike-specific endurance and to prescribe training sessions (see below).

FTP Rx. Intended power output in % of FTP. If you have not yet tested your FTP (we will do that as part of our testing on week #2), you can think of it as about 95% of the hardest pace you could keep for a 20-minute effort (or 100% of a full hour, see above). Our focus this week is on exploring different paces to give you some idea on what you can hold for the tests next week.

RPM. Your pedalling cadence is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). Air bikes use air as resistance, and because they don’t have any gears, both the resistance and power output increase with increasing RPMs.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) Air bike
5-minutes @ easy pace, nose breathing only
+
5 rounds of:
10-second acceleration to a pace you think you could keep for 5-minute max effort
50-seconds @ easy pace
+
2-minutes @ easy pace

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air bike – 3 to 4 sets of:
3x
1:30 @ Hard pace (see notes)
0:30 @ 5 RPM lower than the hard pace

Rest 2-minutes between sets

FTP (Rx). 100 – 105% FTP for “Hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all 3 or 4 intervals

Feel. The first interval should feel controlled then each one will be incrementally harder until you have to really fight on the last one to keep your pace.

# of intervals. 3 sets of intervals is a good dose. Do the 4th one if you feel you’ll be able to maintain the same output as in the previous ones.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Air bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your heart rate should end up high (88+% max HR on a bike), especially on the final two sets. The key is to not overdo the 1st interval but set the tone for a hard but repeatable pace (so that the final interval will give you a good fight).

These sessions will help you push up both your VO2max and power at your threshold.

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air bike – 8 Rounds of:
4-minutes @ easy pace
15-seconds left leg only
15-seconds right leg only
15-seconds legs only
15-seconds arms only

FTP (Rx). 55-70% FTP on the “easy pace” parts. On the legs and arms only you should try to stay within 0-5 RPM lower than the pace you kept on the easy part.

Feel. You should be able to watch a movie while doing this. The challenge should be to keep moving well on the legs and arms only parts.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

You might have never spent this long on an air bike in a single go before. Hang in there! There are lessons to be learned that can only be learned by putting in the time on the seat.

This low-intensity session will improve your efficiency on the bike and help build your aerobic base. Working on using legs and arms only will also improve your technique and make it easier for you to stay relaxed when pedalling at higher intensities.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) Air bike
5-minutes @ easy pace, nose breathing only
+
2 rounds of:
15-seconds left leg only
15-seconds right leg only
15-seconds arms only
15-seconds @ 5RPM above 5-minute pace
60-seconds @ easy pace
+
3-minutes @ easy pace

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air bike – 3 sets of
10 – 12x
30-seconds @ very hard pace
15-seconds @ rest

2 to 3-minutes rest between sets

FTP (Rx). 120-140% FTP for “hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all intervals on all 3 sets

4. COOLDOWN

A) Air bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Assault Bike – Week 2

Welcome to the 2nd week of your new Assault bike conditioning plan!

If you have an Assault bike at home, now is a good time to really learn how to use it to its full capacity.

We’ll start this week by establishing some baselines that we’ll use to personalise your training sessions and to track your progress over the next weeks.

Here’s what we are going to do this week:

1) 5-minute MAP (Max Aerobic Power) test
2) 20-minute “field test” for FTP (Functional Threshold Power)
3) 1-minute max calories for AnCap (Anaerobic Capacity)

The twist here is that we’ll do all of those tests in a single session (it’ll be great!). We can then dedicate the rest of the week to training.

Make sure to read the notes for the testing session carefully so you can 1) record the correct data/results, 2) perform at your best!

A few terms to know:

AnCap (Anaerobic Capacity). AnCap refers to the highest amount of energy you are able to produce using the anaerobic energy system. This system is used to produce high power output during shorter work periods and relies on burning carbohydrates (without oxygen) as fuel. The anaerobic system is the dominant energy system for work periods shorter than 60 to 90-seconds.

Max Aerobic Power (MAP). Max aerobic power is the highest amount of energy you are able to produce using the aerobic energy system. This system burns carbohydrates (using oxygen) as fuel and is therefore limited by the amount of oxygen your body is able to transport to the working muscles. The aerobic system will be the most dominant energy system for work periods longer than 90-seconds.

MAP/FTP Rx. Intended power output in % of MAP or FTP (avg. watts from 5-minute (MAP) and 20-minute (FTP) max effort bike tests).

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) Air bike
7-minutes @ easy pace, nose breathing only
+
5 rounds of:
15-second acceleration to a pace you think you could keep for 5-minute max effort
45-seconds @ easy pace
+
3-minutes @ easy pace

3. TESTING

Your goal is to give your BEST effort in each one of the tests, independent of the others = Focus on one thing at a time, you’ll have some time to recover between each test.

Part #1 – Max Aerobic Power (MAP)

A) Assault bike – Max steady 5-minute effort for average watts

Brief. Your goal is to test the highest STEADY pace (avg. watts) you can maintain for 5-minutes.
Setup. Set your Assault bike to “Target time” of 5:00, the test starts when you press “ENTER”

Strategy. Start @ a pace you think you might be able to keep for the whole 5-minutes. Remember that we are looking for consistent effort (same watts/RPMs through the 5-minutes), too hard and you’ll die out, too easy and you are not testing your actual limits. You can pace your effort by focusing on RPMs or directly with watts.

Data (collect this).
Watts. Your average watts (NOT total watts) for the 5-minutes
RPMs. Your average RPMs
Calories. Your total calories

Checkpoints.
@ 2:30 – You should feel like you might just be able to keep the pace until the end but it’s going to suck. If it’s feeling a bit easy, pick up your pace by 1 – 2 RPM
@ 3:00 – You should be digging deep to maintain, if you can pick up the pace at this point, you started too slow, time to make up for it.
@ 4:00 – You should be barely holding on to your pace, time to FIGHT for it

After you finish the 5-minutes (what to do before the next test):
1. Record your results (take a photo of your AB screen, make sure it’s displaying the avg. watts, NOT max watts, when taking the photo).
2. Walk around for 5-minutes to recover
3. Pedal @ easy pace for 2-minutes
4. Recover for 1-minute THEN move to part #2 for the next test

Part #2 – Functional Threshold Power (FTP)

B) Assault bike – Max steady 20-minute effort for average watts

Brief. Your goal is to test the highest STEADY pace (avg. watts) you can maintain for 20-minutes.
Setup. Set your Assault bike to “Target time” of 20:00, the test starts when you press “ENTER”

Data (collect this).
Watts. Your average watts (NOT total watts) for the 20-minutes
RPMs. Your average RPMs
Calories. Your total calories
Average HR (optional – if you have an HR monitor). This is a rough estimate of your HR @ your LT (Lactate Threshold)

Strategy. Aim to maintain the same pace from 0:00 to 19:00 then push with what you have in the end. See “checkpoints” for details. Remember that we are looking for consistent effort (same watts/RPMs through the 20-minutes), too hard and you’ll die out, too easy and you are not testing your actual limits. You can pace your effort by focusing on RPMs or directly with watts.

Checkpoints.
@ 0:00 – 10:00: Start with and maintain 80% of your 5-minute pace (watts), for example: if you got avg. 395 watts, your pace here would be 316 watts (approximately).
@ 10:00 – 12:00: Adjust your pace as needed to where you feel like you can maintain it for the remaining time
@ 15:00 – 19:00: Hang in there! You’ve come a long way now, hold your pace!!!
@ 19:00 – 20:00: Try to increase the pace and finish strong!

After you finish the 20-minutes (what to do before the next test):
1. Record your results (take a photo of your AB screen, make sure it’s displaying the avg. watts, NOT max watts, when taking the photo).
2. Walk around for 2-minutes to recover
3. Pedal @ easy pace for 2-minutes
4. Recover for 1-minute THEN move to part #3 for the next test

Part #3 – Anaerobic Capacity

C) Assault bike – Max ALL OUT 1-minute effort for average watts

Brief. Your goal is to test your MAXIMAL output for 1-minute effort. You MUST go hard from the beginning and then hold on (whatever you do, DO NOT STOP! This will kill your average watt output and invalidate the test)
Setup. Set your Assault bike to “Target time” of 1:00, the test starts when you press “ENTER”

Data.
Watts. Your average watts (NOT total watts) for the 1-minute
RPMs. Your average RPMs
Calories. Your total calories

Strategy. 1) Sprint, 2) Don’t die, 3) Die a little, 4) it’s ok JUST DON’T STOP!!!!!. See checkpoints for details.

Checkpoints.
@ 0:00 – 0:20: HARD EFFORT, PUSH (You might start standing to ramp the bike up, then shift to sitting
@ 0:20 – 0:40: It’ll start to really suck, FIGHT to keep as high a pace as possible!!!
@ 0:40 – 1:00: You’ll feel like running through mud, YOU MUST KEEP PUSHING AS HARD AS YOU CAN!!!! Whatever you do, DO NOT STOP!!!! Show what you’re made off and FINISH STRONG!!!!

After you finish the 1-minute:
1. Record your results (take a photo of your AB screen, make sure it’s displaying the avg. watts, NOT max watts, when taking the photo).
2. Walk around for 2 to 5-minutes to recover
3. Pedal @ easy pace for 3 to 5-minutes to cooldown
4. You’re done! Congrats!!!

SESSION NOTES

Today, we will test your grit, your conditioning and ability to suffer (productively) on the Assault bike. We have three tests (5-minutes, 20-minutes and 1-minute), each done for max average watts.

We use the watts as
1) they allow for an athlete to athlete comparison (both absolute and adjusted to bodyweight)
2) Can be used for % based prescriptions for conditioning (unlike calories and RPMs which don’t work so well).
3) Force a more steady effort on all tests (short sprints won’t work here as they might do with calories)

We, of course, will also want you to track your total calories for each effort (as this will further help you think about pacing in workouts).

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air bike – 9 rounds of:
4-minutes @ 55-70% FTP
20-sec left leg only
20-sec right leg only
20-sec arms only

FTP (Rx). 55-70% FTP should feel like an “easy pace”. On the legs and arms only you should try to stay within 0-5 RPM lower than the pace you kept on the easy part. You calculate this off your avg. watts on the 20-minute max effort test ( = your FTP, Functional Threshold Power).

Feel. You should be able to watch a movie while doing this. The challenge should be to keep moving well on the legs and arms only parts.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

You might have never spent this long on an air bike in a single go before. Hang in there! There are lessons to be learned that can only be learned by putting in the time on the seat.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air bike – 3 sets of
6 – 8x
40-seconds @ 98-103%MAP (watts)
20-seconds @ rest

3-minutes rest between sets

MAP (Rx). 98-103% MAP should feel like a “very hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all intervals on all 3 sets. You calculate this off your avg. watts on the 5-minute max effort test ( = your MAP, Max Aerobic Power)

4. COOLDOWN

A) Air bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Assault Bike – Week 3

Welcome to the 3rd week of your Assault bike conditioning plan!

If you have an air bike at home, now is a good time to really learn how to use it to its full capacity.

Now that we have established some baselines last week, it’s time to get to work to push those numbers up over the next 5-weeks.

Here’s what we are going to do this week:

1) Keep Improving your pedalling efficiency
2) Get used to applying the paces from the test results to training (to find the right intensities for each session)
3) Continue developing the feel for different paces on the bike
4) Keep building volume at both high and low intensities

Make sure to have your testing results for 5-minutes (MAP) and 20-minutes (FTP) handy and read the notes for each session carefully (so you can find the right intensity and intent for each one).

A few terms to know:

FTP. Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the highest average power output you can maintain for a 60-minute all-out effort. It is a useful metric to track your bike-specific endurance and to prescribe training sessions. A common test for FTP is a shorter, 20-minute max effort test (which we did on the 2nd week of this plan). In this program, the term “FTP” will then refer directly to your average power output (avg. watts) from the 20-minute test (instead of commonly used 60-minute output).

AnCap (Anaerobic Capacity). AnCap refers to the highest amount of energy you are able to produce using the anaerobic energy system. This system is used to produce high power output during shorter work periods and relies on burning carbohydrates (without oxygen) as fuel. The anaerobic system is the dominant energy system for work periods shorter than 60 to 90-seconds.

Max Aerobic Power (MAP). Max aerobic power is the highest amount of energy you are able to produce using the aerobic energy system. This system burns carbohydrates (using oxygen) as fuel and is therefore limited by the amount of oxygen your body is able to transport to the working muscles. The aerobic system will be the most dominant energy system for work periods longer than 90-seconds.

MAP/FTP Rx. Intended power output in % of MAP or FTP (avg. watts from 5-minute (MAP) and 20-minute (FTP) max effort bike tests).

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) Air bike
5-minutes @ easy pace, nose breathing only
+
5 rounds of:
15-second acceleration up to 100%MAP
45-seconds @ easy pace
+
2-minutes @ easy pace

MAP (Rx). 100% MAP should feel like a “very hard pace”. You calculate this off your avg. watts on the 5-minute max effort test ( = your MAP, Max Aerobic Power)

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air Bike – 3 to 4 sets
3x
2:00 @ 100%FTP
0:30 @ 5rpm slower

Rest 2-minutes between sets

FTP (Rx). 100 – 105% FTP for “Hard pace”, aim for a pace you can repeat (with effort) on all 3 or 4 intervals. You calculate this off your avg. watts on the 20-minute max effort test ( = your FTP, Functional Threshold Power).

Feel. The first interval should feel controlled then each one will be incrementally harder until you have to really fight on the last one to keep your pace.

# of intervals. 3 sets of intervals is a good dose. Do the 4th one if you feel you’ll be able to maintain the same output as in the previous ones.

SESSION NOTES

These sessions will help you push up both your VO2max and power at your threshold.

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air bike – 10 rounds of:
3:30 @ 55-70% FTP
30-sec left leg only
30-sec right leg only
30-sec arms only

FTP (Rx). 55-70% FTP should feel like an “easy pace”. You calculate this off your avg. watts on the 20-minute max effort test ( = your FTP, Functional Threshold Power). On the legs and arms only you should try to stay within 0-5 RPM lower than the pace you kept on the easy part.

Feel. You should be able to watch a movie while doing this. The challenge should be to keep moving well on the legs and arms only parts.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

You might have never spent this long on an air bike in a single go before. Hang in there! There are lessons to be learned that can only be learned by putting in the time on the seat.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) Air bike
5-minutes @ easy pace, nose breathing only
+
2 rounds of:
15-seconds left leg only
15-seconds right leg only
15-seconds arms only
15-second acceleration up to 105%MAP
60-seconds @ easy pace
+
3-minutes @ easy pace

MAP (Rx). 105% MAP should feel like a “very hard pace”. You calculate this off your avg. watts on the 5-minute max effort test ( = your MAP, Max Aerobic Power)

3. CONDITIONING

A) Air bike – 3 sets of
4 – 6x
60-seconds @ 98-103%MAP (watts)
30-seconds @ rest

3-minutes rest between sets

4. COOLDOWN

A) Air bike – 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

The short “60:30” intervals (and their cousins, “40:20” and “30:15”) have been getting a lot of attention in the research over the last 5-years for their success in improving well-trained athletes VO2max and work capacity at LT (lactate threshold).

Running – Week 1

Welcome to the 1st week of your running conditioning plan!

Since most gyms are closed this is a good time to work on your running (if you’re allowed out). This program will help you improve your running efficiency and endurance which will carry over to other workouts.

Here’s what we are going to work towards this week:

1) Prepare your joints, tendons and muscles for gradually more running over the next 8 weeks
2) Improve your running technique through specific warm-up drills
3) Develop a feel for different paces
4) Work on both short, intense sessions and longer sessions at a lower intensity

If you are not used to running we recommend you start with only two sessions per week. If you have been running consistently for the last month you can start with all three sessions. This first week is an introduction to the plan. Next week we will test your 5km time to establish a starting point for the coming weeks training.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) Run
5-minutes @ easy pace
+
3 rounds of (VIDEO)
10m A-march + jog back
10m B-march + jog back
+
3-minutes @ easy pace
+
2 x 200m @ increasing speed (up to the pace you think you can hold for the intervals in today’s session=

Recover for 1-minute between the 200-meter repeats

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 3 sets of 8 – 10 intervals
30-seconds @ very hard pace
15-seconds @ rest

2 to 3-minutes rest between sets

Feel. The first interval should feel controlled. From there, each one will get incrementally harder until you have to really fight on the last one to keep your pace (there might be a small drop-off here but it shouldn’t be a big one). The pace should be higher than on the other two sessions this week.

Instructions.
– If you are running on a treadmill you should set it to 2% incline and try to find a pace where it is really challenging for you to hold on for all the intervals and sets.
– If you are running outside you should try to find a flat stretch, mark your starting point, run 30-seconds in one direction, mark where you finished, and then use that as a starting point for the next intervals when you run back to where you started the first one. If you do the first interval right it should be challenging (but still doable) to cover the same distance on all intervals and sets for the rest of the session.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Jog/walk – 5 to 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

1. FLOW

A) Warm up Flow #2 (VIDEO) – Work through the sequence once, pausing for a bit longer in tight positions

2. WARM-UP

A) Run
6-minutes @ easy pace
+
3 rounds of (VIDEO)
10m A-march + jog back
10m B-march + jog back
+
2-minutes @ easy pace
+
100m, 200m, 300m @ your 5k-pace (or if you don´t know; a pace you think you could hold for a 5k)

Rest 30-seconds between each effort.

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 3 to 4 sets of:
400m @ Hard pace
100m @ Moderate pace
400m @ Hard pace
100m @ Moderate pace
400m @ Hard pace
100m @ Moderate pace

Rest 3-minutes between sets

Alternative.
If you don’t have access to a track, treadmill or GPS watch, you can do this instead:

3 to 4 sets of:
2:00 @ Hard pace
0:30 @ Moderate pace
2:00 @ Hard pace
0:30 @ Moderate pace
2:00 @ Hard pace
0:30 @ Moderate pace

Rest 3-minutes between sets

Feel. These should feel more controlled than the 30:15 intervals (you should finish the session feeling that you could have done a 4th or 5th set if needed).

Instructions.
– If you are running on a treadmill you should set it to an incline between 2 and 4%.
– This session is a good opportunity to get a feel for your 5k-pace (which we will test next week). If you can run the 400m´s in this session at a 2:00 pace comfortably and still feel like you could have done another interval at the end of this session, then that might be a good pace to start at for next week’s 5k-test. That will give you a 25-minute 5k-time.
– If you already know your 5k-time, the 400m´s in this session should be done at around that pace.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Jog/walk – 5 to 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your heart rate should end up high (90+% max HR), especially on the final two sets of these intervals. The key is to not overdo the 1st interval but set the tone for a hard but repeatable pace (so that the final interval will give you a good fight).

These sessions will help you push up both your VO2max and power at your threshold.

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 30 to 45-minutes

Feel. This should feel almost like a warm-up. You should be able to keep a conversation with someone if you had to.

Instructions.
– If possible try to find some soft surface like grass or a track in the woods.
– If you have a heart rate monitor and know your maximum heart rate you should stay below 75% of that in this session.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim is to run for at least 30-minutes but you can go up to 45-minutes today.

This low-intensity session will improve your efficiency and help build your aerobic base.

Running – Week 2

Welcome to the 2nd week of your running conditioning plan!

This week we will do a 5km time trial to set a baseline for your progress over the next weeks and to help you choose the right paces for the upcoming sessions

Here’s what we are going to work towards this week:

1) Test your 5k time
2) Improve your running technique through specific warm-up drills
3) Develop a feel for different paces
4) Work on both short, intense sessions and longer sessions at a lower intensity

If you are not used to running we recommend you do only two sessions this week. In this case you should prioritize the 5k-test and the short high intensity interval session. If you have been running consistently for the last month you can do all three sessions.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Recover for 1-minute between the 200-meter repeats

3. 5km Time Trial

A) 5000m run on a track

Instructions:
– 5000m is 12.5 rounds on a normal 400m track
– If you don’t have the opportunity to run on a track you can also do this on a treadmill, air runner or just outside. If you decide to test outside you should find a set starting point and an end point that is close to 5000m, and as flat as possible.

Data (collect this).
Total time for the 5k
Time per round (if you have someone to help you write it down, or you can use a lap function on your watch if you have one)

Checkpoints.
@ 1000m – Focus on running as relaxed as possible while still holding a good pace to hit your target lap times
@ 2000m – You should feel like you might just be able to keep the pace until the end but it’s going to suck. If it’s feeling a bit easy, pick up your pace.
@ 3000m – You should be digging deep to maintain, if you can pick up the pace at this point, you started too slow, time to make up for it.
@ 4000m – You should be barely holding on to your pace, time to FIGHT for it
@ 4600m – Only one round left. Increase your frequency and give it all you got

Strategy/pacing. Start @ a pace you think you might be able to keep for the whole 5k. Remember that we are looking for consistent effort, too hard and you’ll die out, too easy and you are not testing your actual limits. You can pace your effort by looking at your 400m-times. If you have a specific goal in mind you should calculate what your average 400m time should be to reach that goal.

Example: Your goal is 25-minutes.
25-minutes is 1500 seconds (25×60)
That means you have 120 seconds per 400m round (1500 seconds / 12.5 rounds)
Running 2:00 rounds will make you reach your goal.

If you have someone to help you, write down your goal split times for each 400m and have the person tell you each round if you are on pace, in front or behind for your target time. For example: If you pass the 2000m mark at 9:55 you will be 5-seconds in front of your 25-minute goal.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Jog/walk – 5 to 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

1. FLOW

A) Transition Flow (VIDEO) – Work through the flow sequence for 6 to 10-minutes to loosen your body up

2. WARM-UP

A) Run
5-minutes @ easy pace
+
3 rounds of (https://vimeo.com/409174509/7c8a8dd183)
10m A-skip + jog back
10m B-skip + jog back
+
3-minutes @ easy pace
+
2 x 200m @ increasing speed (up to the pace you think you can hold for the intervals in today’s session=

Recover for 1-minute between the 200-meter repeats

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 3 sets of 6 intervals
40-seconds @ very hard pace
20-seconds @ rest

2 to 3-minutes rest between sets

Instructions.
– If you are running on a treadmill you should set it to 2% incline and try to find a pace where it is really challenging for you to hold on for all the intervals and sets.
– If you are running outside you should try to find a flat stretch, mark your starting point, run 40-seconds in one direction, mark where you finished, and then use that as a starting point for the next intervals when you run back to where you started the first one. If you do the first interval right it should be challenging (but still doable) to cover the same distance on all intervals and sets for the rest of the session.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Jog/walk – 5 to 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

These types of short intervals have been getting a lot of attention in the research over the last 5-years for their success in improving well-trained athletes VO2max and work capacity at LT (lactate threshold).

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

2-minutes @ easy pace
+
3 rounds of (https://vimeo.com/409174509/7c8a8dd183)
15m A-skip + jog back
15m B-skip + jog back

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 25 to 40-minutes

Feel. This should feel almost like a warm-up. You should be able to keep a conversation with someone if you had to.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim is to run for at least 30-minutes but you can go up to 45-minutes today.

This low-intensity session will improve your efficiency and help build your aerobic base.

Running – Week 3

Welcome to the 3rd week of your running conditioning plan!

This week we will keep building your volume on the running sessions, and start laying the foundation for improving your last week’s 5k time.

Here’s what we are going to work towards this week:

1) Improve your running technique through specific warm-up drills
2) Develop a feel for different paces
3) Work on both short, intense sessions and longer sessions at a lower intensity

If you are not used to running we recommend you do only two sessions this week. In this case you should prioritize the long high intensity intervals and the short high intensity intervals. If you have been running consistently for the last month you can do all three sessions.

1. FLOW

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

A) Run
5-minutes @ easy pace
+
3 rounds of (VIDEO)
10m A-march + jog back
10m B-march + jog back
10m “Frankenstein” + jog back (VIDEO)
+
3-minutes @ easy pace
+
2 x 200m @ increasing speed (up to the pace you think you can hold for the intervals in today’s session)

Recover for 1-minute between the 200-meter repeats

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 3 sets of 4 intervals:
60-seconds @ very hard pace
30-seconds @ rest

2 to 3-minutes rest between sets

Instructions.
– If you are running on a treadmill you should set it to 2% incline and try to find a pace where it is really challenging for you to hold on for all the intervals and sets.
– If you are running outside you should try to find a flat stretch, mark your starting point, run 60-seconds in one direction, mark where you finished, and then use that as a starting point for the next intervals when you run back to where you started the first one. If you do the first interval right it should be challenging (but still doable) to cover the same distance on all intervals and sets for the rest of the session.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Jog/walk – 5 to 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

The short intervals have been getting a lot of attention in the research over the last 5-years for their success in improving well-trained athletes VO2max and work capacity at LT (lactate threshold).

1. FLOW

A) Warm up Flow #2 (VIDEO) – Work through the sequence once, pausing for a bit longer in tight positions

2. WARM-UP

A) Run
6-minutes @ easy pace
+
3 rounds of (VIDEO)
10m A-march + jog back
10m B-march + jog back
10m “Frankenstein” + jog back (VIDEO)
+
2-minutes @ easy pace
+
100m, 200m, 300m @ your 5k-pace

Rest 30-seconds between each effort.

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 3 to 4 sets of:
400m @ Hard pace
100m @ Moderate pace
400m @ Hard pace
100m @ Moderate pace
400m @ Hard pace
100m @ Moderate pace

Rest 3-minutes between sets

Pace.
Hard pace = 0 to 10-seconds faster per 400m than your average 5k pace
Moderate pace = 3 to 6-seconds slower per 100m than your average 5k pace

Alternative.
If you don’t have access to a track, treadmill or GPS watch, you can do this instead:

3 to 4 sets of:
2:00 @ Hard pace
0:30 @ Moderate pace
2:00 @ Hard pace
0:30 @ Moderate pace
2:00 @ Hard pace
0:30 @ Moderate pace

Rest 3-minutes between sets

Feel. These should feel more controlled than the 60:30 intervals (you should finish the session feeling that you could have done a 4th or 5th set if needed).

Instructions.
– If you are running on a treadmill you should set it to an incline between 2 and 4%.
– To calculate your average 400m pace from the 5k test: convert your 5k-time to seconds. If you ran 25-minutes that is 1500 seconds. Then divide by 12.5 (rounds): 1500/12.5 = 120 seconds = 2-minutes per 400m
– To calculate your average 100m pace from the 5k test: convert your 5k-time to seconds. If you ran 25-minutes that is 1500 seconds. Then divide by 50 : 1500/50 = 30 seconds per 100m.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Jog/walk – 5 to 10-minutes @ easy pace

B) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

These sessions will help you push up both your VO2max and power at your threshold.

1. FLOW

A) Hip Rotation Flow (7-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow for 7 to 10-minutes to loosen your hips up

2. WARM-UP

Go straight into the main part of the session

3. CONDITIONING

A) Run – 40 to 50-minutes

Feel. This should feel almost like a warm-up. You should be able to keep a conversation with someone if you had to.

Instructions.
– If possible try to find some soft surface like grass or a forest track.
– If you have a heart rate monitor and know your maximum heart rate you should stay below 75% of that in this session.

4. COOLDOWN

A) Lunge Flow (2-minute VIDEO) – Work through the flow 2 to 3x to restore your hip range of motion

SESSION NOTES FOR CONDITIONING

Your aim is to run for at least 40-minutes but you can go up to 50-minutes today.

This low-intensity session will improve your efficiency and help build your aerobic base.