#theSETup | ep. 4 | Spring Cleaning

As spring approaches, so does the beginning of most peoples' race season! Simultaneously, workouts tend to –or at least should– begin to become more specific and intense in nature. This is the perfect time to do some "spring cleaning". What I mean by that is dialing in the energy systems, effort, and requirements specific to your events. Here's what that might look like for the various facets with which we train:

• OTB (on the bike): begin to include one to two days of intervals in your week that tax your body's ability to ride at its maximum sustainable power (often called VO2/CP/Climbing Repeat/etc.). Shift some days from aerobic endurance miles to race-specific ones. In other words, short intervals that are really tough but repeatable: the ones that help you "deal with the burn". Ex.: 3-6 x 3-5min effort @98-100% effort. 
• Strength: shift workouts in the gym/at home to more explosive, power-oriented moves. Instead of slow and heavy lifts, we want to focus more on the ability to move faster. Some examples of this may be box jumps, weighted squat jumps, and/or plyometric-style movements.
• Fueling: you might have been able to get away with a lack-luster nutrition plan while pedaling around accumulating miles through the winter, but once you start adding interval training and/or races it will be quickly exposed! The commonality among scientific research on this subject states that around 60g of carbohydrates an hour is the upper limit of what most people can tolerate...and it is beneficial the closer to that you can get. Start practicing your nutrition habits pre, during, and post training to dial in what works for you AND to train your gut (so that come race day you don't have GI problems trying to shove gels down your throat). Especially after hard workouts, aim to get a 3:1 carb:pro ratio food in some form as soon as you can.
• Skills: don't forget them! I like to create a circuit for mountain bike workout days so that while I'm resting between intervals I have to really focus on descending technique. Come race day, you'll be noodle-armed and cross-eyed and won't want to forget those skill cues.