Day 16: Winter Strength Builder Bike
Build leg strength ahead of the 2020 season with this staple bike session from coach Rachel Joyce.
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This week’s bike workout comes from coach Rachel Joyce. This trainer workout provides a time efficient way to build leg strength. It’s also a great way to mimic outdoor hill climbs at that time of the year when it’s tough to get outdoors because of ice and snow. Hold onto this one as you head into the main season as it’s a great workout to turn to when you need an efficient midweek session you can squeeze in before or after work. Coach Joyce says it’s important to focus on form during the four intervals: engage glutes and maintain a strong core.
Winter Strength Builder Bike
Warm up
12 mins warm up to moderate as 4 rounds of (1 min 85-90 rpm, 1 min 75-85rpm, 1 min 65-75 rpm)
4×20 seconds seated sprints with 90+ cadence 40 seconds easy spin recovery
2 min ride
Main Set
4×6 mins strong but controlled effort as follows. (Take 2:30 recovery 80+rpm easy effort between each set.)
#1
3 mins 70-80rpm
2 mins 60-70rpm
1 min 55-60rpm
#2
1 min 70-80rpm
3 mins 60-70rpm
2 mins 55-60rpm
#3
2 mins 70-80rpm
1 min 60-70rpm
3 mins 55-60rpm
#4
3 mins 70-80rpm
2 mins 60-70rpm
1 min 55-60rpm
Cooldown
8 mins every 2nd minute “spin up” 10-15 secs to 100+ cadence
Meet Your Coach
Rachel Joyce took up triathlon in 2005 and what started as a hobby turned into a passion. In 2008, Rachel made the bold decision to resign from her job as an attorney to give making it as a professional triathlete her best shot. Since then, she’s climbed to the top of her sport. Known as Joycey on the race course, she has captured a world title, 6 iron distance titles and stood on the podium 3 times at the Ironman World Championships, Hawaii.
In 2017, Rachel returned to racing after taking 2016 off to have her son and went on to win 2 Ironman races less than a year after giving birth and in doing so qualified for the World Championships. Outside of training and racing, Rachel is a passionate advocate for equality and increasing participation in sport by women. She is a founding member of TriEqual and sits on the Women For Tri Committee of Advisors. Together with Diana Platin, she runs Reinas, a female leadership coaching business.