We recently heard from one of our sponsored triathletes, Sarah Piampiano. She's heading into post-season training and shared one of her favorite indoor trainer sessions.
One of my favorite sessions right now is my Friday morning trainer session, which focuses on neuromuscular firing. The first week I did this set I found it incredibly challenging, but in the weeks following, my power output went up and I was able to extend the intervals from 30 seconds to the full 40 or 45 before failing. Give it a go! Believe me - it is harder than it looks!
Trainer Session: Neuromuscular firing/stimulus
Warm up: 35 minutes
15 minutes spin easy
15 minutes as:
4' mid zone 2, building cadence by minute from 80 rpm to 100+rpm
1' low Z2 recovery
4' at steady state cadence, building power from mid-zone 2 to high zone 3 or low 4
1' low Z2 recovery
4' starting at mid-zone 2 and steady state cadence, building power and cadence by minute to mid- to high zone 3 and to 95-100 rpm
5 minute light spin
Pre-main set: 8 minutes
8 minute build: 2 minutes to the last 2 minutes at mid-high zone 4
Main set: 50 minutes
2 times through:
5x: 0:30-0:45 at zone 5 and high cadence
- give yourself a :15 second ramp in before starting the interval
- the goal is to go until you fail. In your first attempt, if you can go the full 45 seconds, your power is too low.
2 minute easy spin between each
1x10 minutes at mid-high Z2 steady state
Cool down: 10 minutes
5-10 minute spin
Total time: 1 hr 45 minutes
Sarah Piampiano (pictured above at the 2014 US Pro Championship in St. George, Utah) is a Maine-born kid who breathed sports from an early age. Following a 3-season collegiate career in ski racing and cross country running, she worked as an investment banker before competing in her first triathlon in 2009 after a bet with a friend. Since then she's made the journey from newbie triathlete to Ironman 70.3 Champion and one of the top athletes in the sport. You can follow her journey on Twitter @SarahPiampiano or via her website www.sarahpiampiano.com