Weight program: Introduction Week 3 of 4
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 40min @ 92% FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: Off
Saturday: 1:00h Indoor Z3 ride
Sunday: 1:15h Tacx Z2 ride
Total Bikescore/TSS: 215
Total Training Time: 4:30h bike+1:15h Weights
Weekly Summary
A Bit of Tempo
Riding the indoor trainer is monotonous by definition, even so like all things annoying it only lasts for a week…or two-ish. For me after the last 2 weeks of the familiar trainer whirr and buzz, I was starting to get the feeling I needed to spice things up.
Although the snow gods have not been very generous so far this winter, the gods of freezing temperatures have not disappointed. Sooooo….after 2 weeks of mostly Z2 rides, it is time to bring the intensity up a notch – or in technical terms – add some Z3/Tempo workouts. What a better time to do one than on a Saturday. A little more sweat and voila! Little things like that, make the training week go by faster=)
Why Zone 3 Tempo Workouts?
Besides ‘spicing things up’ Z3/Tempo workouts have one very big advantage…Ok two big advantages.
One – they are rarely longer than 1:30h – perfect for doing them on the trainer/rollers and Z3 trainings represent the most you can make with your fitness in a limited time. Tempo training represents the so-called “Sweet Spot” – not a lot of pain, lots of gain.=)
As a conclusion, if you seem to be getting bored by doing Z2 rides or are crunched for time, Tempo is the power zone for you!
A note of caution: Yes, Z3/Tempo workouts do improve your condition significantly, however, they do put more strain on your body, making proper recovery even more important. You can’t go doing Tempo workouts day after day!
The Dream is Alive!
You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.
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