Yes it’s still -10 outside, yes I jumped over a snow bank just to get to my door this evening, but I’m still going to do some heat acclimatization with Xert’s Hot Blooded workout. Why do I bother with this in the middle of February, you ask? That’s because I’m doing my training camp Down Under this year. I’ll be forgoing the relatively mild temperatures of the Carolinas for the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-summer heat.
I didn’t start with an epic 2-hour sauna ride, but in sticking with the theme of smart and efficient workouts, this gives you a pretty good bang for the buck. Combining some sustained intensity with minimal recovery and maybe an extra layer or two would be enough to do the trick. Well, that and I decided to put my bike directly under the vent where the heat comes out in my place.
The workout this week ramps up the intensity and gives you equal parts of “recovery.” We’re going to italicize that because as you’ll find out quickly, there’s no relief coming your way during those intervals. Some of those recovery intervals are even as high as 100% of your FTP. When you’re in the middle of this workout it will feel like there’s no way out, I suggest becoming familiar with the bias button on the Zwift companion app and toggling that up or down to get you through some of the hardest parts. Pay attention to your cadence, if it drops to low you can begin to adjust the effort below 100%. Luckily with the CycleOps H2, there’s a built-in cadence sensor, so there’s no need to root through your box of dongles and batteries to find your old crank arm mounted sensor.
WU:
1:30 @54% FTP
0:30 @ 72% FTP
1:30 @54% FTP
0:30 @72% FTP
1:30 @54% FTP
0:30 @72% FTP
1:30 @54% FTP
0:30 @72% FTP
1:30 @54% FTP
0:30 @72% FTP
You’ll see that in the Main Set, there is really no time off, so when you combine this with either an extra layer of clothing or reduced ventilation, it really increases the RPE (rate of perceived exertion). So keep the towels ready and be prepared to mop up after.
MS
60s @85% FTP
60s @68% FTP
60S @93% FTP
60s @77% FTP
60s @100% FTP
60s @85% FTP
60s @106% FTP
60s @93% FTP
60s @100% FTP
60s @85% FTP
30s @93% FTP
30s @77% FTP
30s @100% FTP
30s @85% FTP
30s @104% FTP
30s @93% FTP
30s @107% FTP
30s @100% FTP
30s @110% FTP
30s @92% FTP
90s @100% FTP
90s @85% FTP
30s @112% FTP
30s @92% FTP
30s @105% FTP
30s @98% FTP
30s @91% FTP
30s @85% FTP
30s @68% FTP
60s @75% FTP
60s @60% FTP
60s @70% FTP
60s @60% FTP
60s @70% FTP
60s @60% FTP
10 minute cooldown
The plan is to get at least a few more of these done before heading off to the sunnier climates of Sydney. And since the temperature swing between Toronto and Sydney will be close to 40 degrees, I’d like to make sure that temperature is not the biggest limiting factor for my riding. Ideally, with these heat acclimatization workouts, it’ll just be my legs and whatever poisonous spiders or snakes or scorpions that island has to throw at me.
