As Jennifer Sage (IndoorCyclingInstructor.com) and I were discussing Jumps and the safety and movement of the body, another discussion started concerning sprinting in the indoor studio. Here is Jennifer’s questions that prompted this dialog and article:

“With the lack of side to side movement in the indoor bike, you wouldn’t condone the same relative side to side movement of the body when someone is sprinting indoors?”

[To Jennifer] Well I again agree with you 100%. The art and technique of sprinting has been utterly destroyed in the indoor studio. This is the main reason why I DO teach it. It is funny that you brought this up because I just finished a week of Explosive Power sessions with the riders in all my clubs. It is a total eye-opener for them. I teach them the form, the target energy system (ATP PC) and strategies for executing various types of sprints. We spend quite a bit on the importance of recovery and how to use it as an indicator of proper intensity and recognizing signs that the body can continue or is too fatigued. I use a bunch of cool teaching aids and analogies that make it fun and interesting for the non-cyclists (80% of the class). I’m always surprised that people tell me afterwards that it is one of the best classes they have every taken.

Here is the basic outline of the class which I think will do a better job of answering some of the questions you had in your email. I’ve taken extra time to write this because I know you are a great instructor that not only understands this stuff but appreciates it.

WARM-UP

We perform a gradual / progressive warm-up for approx 15min. The ride starts on a flat road and then progresses to a rolling terrain to allow riders to come out of the saddle on a few of the hills and continue to raise their heart rate to a RPE of 75-80%. We talk through the workout and issue warnings for anyone who may be dealing with injuries (knees, back, neck, etc.). Everyone is always encouraged to work at their own pace (fitness level) and remember that FORM always comes first. If you can’t maintain good form, you should not maintain the intensity.

FORM SPRINTS

Just like on the road. We perform 4-6 sprints at an 80% effort. We discuss the limitation of the indoor bike. I give them a formula for executing the sprint which we practice. Here is the formula: As I count down (4…3…2…1…) the riders are adding the necessary resistance for the sprint. Once they have added the resistance they come out of the saddle THEN the sprint starts. Coming out of the saddle before sprinting compensates for the lack of fore-aft movement of the indoor bike and takes pressure off the lumbar spine.

During the form sprints the riders are encouraged to experiment with different amounts of resistance and various leg speeds (I recommend UNDER 100rpm). They MUST be in control at all times. I also give them instruction on proper use of the toe cages. I’ve seen riders slip out of their pedals many times. So many people don’t know how to proper adjust and position their foot in the cages. A pet peeve of mine.

We also cover movement of the body (side to side) when out of the saddle. I encourage riders to move their body naturally side to side. This is always a training issue because you don’t want people swinging back and forth too much. Certainly NO WHERE NEAR the movement in that photo I sent you of Tom Boonen. On an indoor bike, I find a rider can move approximately 2-4 inches in either direction. This applies to ANY out of the saddle effort. We work on this during our form sprints. Riders are given 1 minute between form sprints to recovery.

If a rider does NOT move their body out of the saddle (and even in the saddle – I’ll address this later), additional stress will be placed on the neck, shoulders, arms, back and chest. Besides hindering their biomechanics, this lack of movement (that may people incorrectly think is proper form) will fatigue the upper body muscles, waste energy (the muscles need fuel to contract), waste oxygen (fuel requires oxygen to burn) and can even restrict breathing (tight muscles wrap and place pressure on the rib cage hindering expansion and movement restricting lung capacity). Most people are total convinced after that speech. I encourage people to remain as relaxed as possible. Tight muscles hinder joints which hinder movement. Not good. We also deal with issues of leaning too far forward or backwards.

GENERAL PURPOSE SPRINTS

After the form sprints, we recover for 3-4 minutes and prepare to sprint for real. Riders are encourage to continue to work on their form, amount of resistance and leg speed and learn as they go. We will recover 2 minutes between each 15sec sprint and then recover another 4 minutes after a set of 4 sprints. I EMPHASIS THE RECOVERY after the set. We are dealing with extremes…..Extreme Effort…..Extreme Recovery. You can’t have one without the other. Ironically, the recovery is there to make the ride HARDER. Since they know I will give them time to fully recovery, they are now free to give all they’ve got without the fear of having to sprint again too quickly. I remind them that when I’m coaching a rider or team on the road, we will recover for 4-6 MINUTES between sprints. We make a slight adaption for the indoor studio. Rider are also encourage to SKIP a sprint if they are not recovered enough and then jump back in when ready. This is one of the issues I see, when instructors without cycling knowledge, attempt to do sprints in their classes. They don’t teach form (or correctly) and have little concept of the body’s physiological thresholds and capacity. They will have riders sprinting every 15 seconds. After the first sprint, riders are just flailing at the pedals aimlessly (with terrible form).

CRITERIUM AND HILL SPRINTS

After the appropriate recovery, we will perform 2 more sets of sprints. Next up are Criterium sprints which are 30 seconds long. I again give riders a formula for executing a successful 30 SECOND sprint. After the usual countdown and first coming out of the saddle, riders do the following: (1) Ramp up speed for the first 10 seconds, (2) maintain 95% intensity for 10 seconds and (3) pull the trigger and go all out for the final 10 seconds. This is to help them make use of the ATP PC system which only has 6-10 seconds of go juice. I want them to hit the finish line at full tilt and not start out at full tilt and fade at the line. I give them the visual that we are approach a left hand turn as I count down (4…3…2…1). They are adding the necessary resistance as they approach the turn. They then come out of the saddle and sprint down the final straight-a-way. If someone has never sprinted for 30-seconds before, it is quite an education and I warn them of such.

HILL SPRINTS

We conclude this particular workout with a 7-minute climb on which they will sprint the last 15-seconds of each minute. There is no real recovery since we are still maintaining the climb between sprints (different than hill repeats). To keep it interesting, we alternate climbing in and out of the saddle, one minute at a time. This gives them an opportunity to sprint or accelerate standing or seated. Here is where I emphasis upper body movement when riding IN THE SADDLE. Again, people incorrectly believe that the body should remain still. I prefer the term “quiet”. There should be some movement (but not 4 inches). Riders that do not rider outdoors are not aware that the bike will rock slightly side to side when they are seated and applying greater force to the pedals. We just don’t often notice it because our body is actually not moving – the bike is. The same issues will apply as when trying to remain still out of the saddle. The movement should be natural and the rider needs to remain relaxed. This is why I love coaching. I love enhancing their riding experience, helping them achieve better performance and a safer more natural ride.