3 one-hour workouts to improve speed, strength and endurance

Most amateur cyclists -road and mtb- have less time than they would like to ride a bike during the week. But if we want to improve our performance or at least maintain it, we know that we have to train a couple of times or three times a week at least. Here we propose 3 different workouts of only one hour, so you don't "lose" much time on the bike.

If you only have one hour, try one of these specific workouts

In addition to the little time it will take you to perform each of these workouts, the good thing is that you can choose a different one each day. And although some are really intense, don't worry because they shouldn't leave you very exhausted and you can continue with your daily tasks and responsabilities.

They can be performed with both a road bike and an MTB, and ideally to have total control over the intensity, is to do them on flat stretches or with gentle climbs.

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1.Power training

In this session the goal is to achieve a pace that we can maintain continuously, if there are peaks of effort in which our pace decreases, we will have to try with lower paces.

• 15 min of warm-up where we will gradually increase the heart rate. Intermediate plate and high sprockets.
•  3 series of 2 minutes each at strong and sustained paces, leaving 90 seconds of rest between series. We lower sprockets to adjust the effort.
• 4 minutes at intermediate recovery pace.
• 3 series of 1 minute at a strong and sustained pace, with a 1 minute rest between series. We lower sprockets to increase the effort.
• 4 minutes at intermediate recovery pace.
• 3 series of 30 seconds at maximum effort, leaving 30 seconds of recovery between repetitions. Remember that even though we are at high peaks of effort we have to maintain the pace.
• 15 minutes of cooling down where we manage to gradually lower the heart rate

2.Speed and pedaling

With this session more than seeking a physical improvement it is intended to optimize performance. A cadence meter is needed and it is important that throughout the training we are focused on maintaining a round pedaling.

• 15 min of warm-up where we will gradually increase the heart rate. Intermediate plate and high sprockets.
• 4 minutes of pedaling at an intermediate pace but alternating high and low cadences.
• 2 series of 2 minutes at 100 RPM and another 2 minutes at 80 RPM. Total 8 minutes.
• 10 minutes at intermediate recovery pace.
• 2 series of 2 minutes at 100 RPM and another 2 minutes at 80 RPM. Total 8 minutes.
• 15 minutes of cooling down where we manage to gradually lower the heart rate.

3.Endurance

This may be the hardest and most intense session -it is also very effective-, the use of a heart rate monitor is necessary and it is not advisable for beginners or cyclists who should not reach a high level of heart rate.

• 15 min of warm-up where we will gradually increase the heart rate. Intermediate plate and high sprockets.
• 15 minutes at 75-80% of our maximum heart rate.
• 10 minutes at 80-85% of maximum heart rate, you can lower a sprocket to achieve it.
• 5 minutes at 90% of maximum heart rate, lower sprockets to achieve the level of effort
• 15 minutes of cooling down where we manage to gradually lower the heart rate.