Sweet Spot Sevens
1) April already! In the Washington DC area, the weather has been gorgeous, with outdoor riding possible most days. As an indoor cycling instructor who rides outdoors, I understand why my class size shrinks around this time of year. About one third of my folks are finding their personal happy on an outdoor bike. Chapeau! See you when it rains:)
2) Most indoor cyclists are self-taught. It’s rare to hear a discussion about the nuances of cycling … or even the basics of cycling. “Use your body weight” is the phrase I hear most. But when do we update our knowledge base? When does it get ‘deeper’?
3) Current trends in the fitness industry suggest there will be no “deeper” unless you find it yourself. The notion of progression really isn't a part of gym culture. The best members are new members and if it seems too hard . . . well, you won't get many new folks (did someone say pickleball?).
4) The month of April provides such an opportunity. We graduate from five to seven minute efforts. We'll chase 2 (uggggh, 2.5) miles in seven minutes, one minute on one minute off intervals, alternate cadence, and other efforts. I mean, seven minutes of continuous pedaling isn't that long. We'll find some space for high-intensity intervals, but our primary focus remains endurance and aerobic work.
Illustration: Frank Overton / FasCat Coaching Blog
5) Speaking of aerobic work, we introduce a new(-ish) term: Sweet spot training (SST). Your sweet spot is achieved when working between 84 and 97% of your functional threshold (or 75 - 85% of your max heart rate). Steady, consistent efforts in this zone balance the training impact and recovery time... hence the “sweet spot.” Every endurance athlete has a notion of how hard is too hard. Indoor cycling often turns a blind eye to this concept, as everything is supposed to be hard. This Wall St. Journal article suggests this trend may be ending.
Stress/Performance Curve (not only cycling-related)
Source: Source: http://www.intraawareness.com/body/cardio/
7) The underlying goal of sweet spot training is honing your ability to identify and maintain intensity. Using either heart rate or power (which is better . . .there is a debate), you must be able to maintain a pace. It’s not a sprint, it’s more of a marathon.
I purposefully design the class to give you options. I recently repeated a class and asked for heart rate data. Pretty cool to see
When you swing your leg over the bar of a bike, you engage with a joy machine. And joy looks/feels different ... it's very individualized. It's something I push in my indoor cycling classes. Lots of options and a chance to find YOUR HAPPY space... and hopefully pedal away from it.
8) Love this campaign. I’ve implored my riders to chase a goal beyond the gym. In the thousands of years of humanity, repetitive indoor activities was never the goal. We are outdoor beings! LETS GO!!!! Start training.
I just loved Nike’s campaign around this notion from a few years back. Using heart rate as a feedback loop to track progress is one way to move beyond just exercising.
Yes, fitness can be fun, but achievement is so much better.
9) We close with the introduction of a new type of cyclist. Every team has a road captain. Kind of like a point guard or a player/coach, they direct the team on the road. Usually a senior rider with loads of experience, they make the split second decisions of what/if to attack, who will chase down a break, or who will drop back and get water. While the team director is in the car behind the race, usually watching on TV, that feed is always on a delay. The team captain makes the decisions the team car cannot. All riders have earpieces and can talk to their teammates.