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4 Day Mountain Bike Stage Race - Personal Record Plan

Browse More Plans

4 Day Mountain Bike Stage Race - Personal Record Plan

Includes Structured Workouts

Structured Workouts automatically sync with compatible devices and guide you through workouts in real time.


Learn More about Structured Workouts.

Author

Lynda Wallenfels

All plans by this Coach
4.5 (8)

Length

12 Weeks

Includes Structured Workouts

Structured Workouts automatically sync with compatible devices and guide you through workouts in real time.


Learn More about Structured Workouts.

Plan Description

Our tried and tested LW Coaching 4 Day Mountain Bike Stage Race - Personal Record Plan has been updated with TrainingPeaks structured workouts to make the most of both indoor and outdoor riding opportunities. For outdoor training, power (watts), TSS and IF targets can be downloaded to your Garmin. For indoor training, download your plan to your favorite Smart Trainer app such as Zwift, Rouvy or Trainer Road.

This training plan is designed for a 3-4-day stage race consisting of three to four long hard and hilly days such as La Ruta or Breck Epic.

Prior to starting this 12 week plan you must be in the habit of riding 4-6 times per week and be familiar with mountain bike racing. Four hour rides have been a regular part of your riding routine for the past few months. This plan assumes you enter with a good fitness base and are spending the next 12 weeks putting a fine point on your ability to race fast and hard for 4 days in a row. You are peaking for this 4 Day Stage race.

This is a tough plan to ready you for a tough race.

Visit the LW Coaching website http://lwcoaching.com/ to ask training plan questions on our forum, read mountain bike specific training articles, learn new workouts and see what events our coaches and athletes have been racing.

How it Works

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Track Your Progress

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Learn More

Training Plan Sample Week

Sample Workouts - Week 100
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Monday

DAY #1 Core strength

Strength00:45:00
DAY #1

Warm-up:
- 5 minutes of easy aerobic exercise or calisthenics.

Main-set:
Repeat 2-3 times through
- 10 push-ups
- 10 pull-ups
- 10 pillar ball twists
- 10 psoas crunches to each side
- 10 regular crunches
- 10 oblique crunches
- 10 side lifts to each side
- 10 supermans
- 10 glute bridges

Exercise descriptions here https://lwcoaching.com/core-strength-for-mountain-bikers/
Details
Tuesday

DAY #2 Power and HR Performance 20 min Field Test (structured)

Bike01:30:0086 TSSStructured Workout
Heart rate, Power and Performance Field Test.

Do a long deep warm up prior to the test. Then time trial 20 minutes on a flat out-back course or up a continuous gradual climb. Pace the 20 minutes evenly with a maximal effort. i.e. go as fast as you can for 20 minutes without blowing up and stopping or slowing down significantly before the end of the 20 min test. Record average heart rate, average power and distance covered in the 20 minutes. Finish ride time with long easy cool down.

CALCULATING YOUR HEART RATE ZONES: Use the TrainingPeaks training zones calculator found in the SETTINGS > ZONES tab as follows:

1. In TrainingPeaks open your athlete account setting page and select Zones (click on your name > settings > zones).

2. Enter the average heart rate from your 20-minute test into the Threshold Heart Rate box.

3. Choose type “Lactate Threshold” from the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

4. Choose method “Joe Friel for Cycling” in the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

5. Click Calculate > Apply > Save.

CALCULATING YOUR POWER LEVELS: Use the TrainingPeaks training zones calculator found in the SETTINGS > ZONES tab as follows:

1. In TrainingPeaks open your athlete account setting page and select Zones (click on your name > settings > zones).

2. Enter the average power from your 20-minute test x 0.95 into the Threshold Power box. For example, if your average 20 min power is 200w, enter 190w into the threshold power box (200w x 0.95 = 190w).

3. Choose type “Threshold Power” from the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

4. Choose method “Andy Coggan” in the drop-down menu in the auto calculation box.

5. Click Calculate > Apply > Save.
Details

Foam roller and stretch

Other00:15:00
Use a combination of rolling on the foam roller and stretching to work out your hot spots.
Details
Wednesday

DAY #3 Combo pedaling skills - 70 minutes (structured)

Bike01:10:0046 TSSStructured Workout
DAY #3:

Warm-up:
-10 minutes easy spinning in power L1

Main-set:
- Max Cadence Set: 10 X 1 minutes in power L2 as 10 seconds max cadence and 50 seconds easy spin recovery. Use your easiest gear to get cadence up and keep power in L2. HR stays zone 2 and below.

- Spin-Up Set: 8 X 2 minutes in power L2 as 1 minute high cadence, 1 minute medium cadence. Shift gears to keep power and cadence on target. HR stays zone 2 and below.

- One Leg Pedaling Set: 8 X 3 minutes as 1 minute right leg only at 90 rpm, 1 minute left leg only at 90 rpm, 1 minute both legs at 95 rpm. HR stays zone 2 and below. Power will fluctuate between power L2 and L1.

Cool-down:
- 10 minutes easy cool down spin.
Details

Core training and stretching.

Strength00:30:00
Do 15 minutes of core training. Choose a variety of exercises for your hips, abdominals and back. Examples are bridging, pillar exercises, crunches, back extensions, Pilates. Then do 15 minutes of stretching. Focus on your legs and hips.

Here is an example of a routine https://lwcoaching.com/30-min-core-stretch-routine-mountain-bike-racers/

You can follow this in the SWORKIT app at this link

http://m.sworkit.com/share?w=-kXI5xl_AX

The workout consists of 13 exercises.
- Click on SELECT WORKOUT
- For 4 rounds, program SWORKIT for 26 minutes.

WORKOUT SETTINGS:
- Warm-ups OFF
- Length of Transition Pause 5 sec
- Length of Exercise Interval 30 sec
- Rest Breaks OFF
- Shuffle Exercises OFF

Close workout settings
BEGIN WORKOUT

See here for image for overview https://lwcoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MTB-racer-core-and-stretch-routine.jpg

1. Plank
2. Supine bicycle
3. Mountain climbers
4. Supermans
5. Side plank
6. Glute bridge
7. Quad stretch
8. Hamstring standing stretch
9. Bending windmill stretch
10. Downward dog
11. Pigeon pose left
12. Pigeon pose right
13. Seated hamstring stretch

Pay attention to different types of discomfort. "Good" discomfort works the muscles and makes you stronger. "Bad" discomfort is felt in joints or connective tissues. Stop any exercise that generates bad discomfort and substitute your own exercise.
Details
Thursday

DAY #4 L6: 12 x 30 sec @ 200+%FTP G3 (structured)

Bike02:00:00139 TSSStructured Workout
DAY #4
Warm Up:
- Gradually bring intensity up to power L3 or HRZ3 over the first 16 mins
- Recover for 3 mins easy spinning in power L1 or HRZ1
- 1 min in power L4 or building to HRZ4 by the end of the minute
- 3 mins power L1 or HRZ1
- 1 min power L5 or building to HRZ5 by the end of the minute
- 3 min power L1 or HRZ1

Main-Set:
- 12 x 30 sec intervals at 200% FTP in power L6 or at a PE of 9 or at a 90% effort level * with 4.5 min power L1 or HRZ1 recoveries after each.

Do the first six intervals seated 100%. On the next 3 intervals do the first 15 secs seated and last 15 secs standing. Last 3 intervals do whatever gets you the most power.

Be sure to take the full 4.5 minutes recovery between each repeat. This workout is to stimulate speed and muscle development. The muscular fuel source is Creatine Phosphate (CP). CP is entirely used up in 30 seconds and takes 4.5 mins to regenerate. If you start the next repeat before CP has regenerated the effectiveness of this workout is undermined. I KNOW you will feel ready before 4.5 mins is up. This workout requires patience to reap its magic.

Cool-Down:
- Short easy spin to cool down.

* PACING NOTES: Pace these intervals using power or perceived exertion (PE). Heart rate is not responsive enough to use for pacing intervals with a short duration like these. Review this Training Intensity Guidelines doc to calibrate your PE http://lwcoaching.com/training-intensity-guidelines
Details

DAY #4 Foam Roll and stretch

Other00:15:00
DAY #4: After riding today use a combination of rolling on the foam roller and stretching to work out your hot spots.
Details
Friday

DAY #5 Core and upper-body strength

Strength00:45:00
DAY #5:

Warm-up:
- 5 minutes of aerobic exercise or calisthenics.

Main-set: Repeat 2-3 times
- 10 bench or chest press with a weight approaching but not reaching failure
- 10 lat pull or pull up with a weight approaching but not reaching failure
- 60 second front pillar
- 30 second side pillar to each side
- 10 ball pikes
- 10 bicep curls with a weight approaching but not reaching failure
- tricep dips to failure.

Cool-down:
- 5 min stretching
Details

Optional Recovery spin

Bike01:00:0036 TSSStructured Workout
Optional ride. Go for an easy recovery spin in heart rate zone 1 or take the day off the bike in favor of passive rest if you prefer. Passive rest may be the better choice. The strength session is a higher priority today than this recovery ride.
Details
Saturday

DAY #6 Off-Road Hilly

Bike05:00:00270 TSSStructured Workout
DAY #6: Choose a route with long steep climbs. Some hike-a-biking is good. Ride uphill mostly in heart rate zones 3-4 or power level 3-4. Hold heart rate zone 2 or power level 2 on the flats and recover on the descents. Give some thought to the most efficient way to pick up, carry and put down your bike. This is a skill you need dialed if your goal race contains lots of hike-a-biking such as La Ruta.
Details
Sunday

DAY #7 Long Zone 2 Ride

Bike04:00:00166 TSSStructured Workout
DAY #7: Long power level 2 or heart rate zone 2 ride over varied terrain. Nice steady pace. Limit stops.

Think about fueling for optimal training. Plan to eat and drink while you are on the move to minimize stopped time. Practice fueling every hour with: 60-90 grams (240-360 calories) carbohydrate. Take in more if you are hungry but don’t force it. Very light on fat and protein. 18-24 oz fluid depending on conditions. Take in more if you are thirsty but don’t force it. 400-700 mg sodium. 100-300 mg potassium. 80 mg calcium. 40 mg magnesium.
Details

Foam roller and stretch

Other00:15:00
Use a combination of rolling on the foam roller and stretching to work out your hot spots.
Details

Sunday Sample Workout Details

Other

Stats

Average Weekly Breakdown

Workouts Weekly Average Longest Workout
Bike x6
12:49:00 06:00:00
Other x4
00:31:00 00:15:00
Strength x3
01:59:00 01:00:00
Custom x2
—— ——
Workouts Per Week Weekly Average Longest Workout
Bike Bike
12:49:00 06:00:00
Other Other
00:31:00 00:15:00
Strength Strength
01:59:00 01:00:00
Other Custom
—— ——

Training Load By Week


This plan works best with the following fitness devices:

  • Power Meter
  • Heart Rate Monitor

All supported devices

Lynda Wallenfels

LW Coaching

Mountain Bike Coaching, Consulting and Mountain Bike Training Plans. We are mountain bikers and specialize in mountain biking.

Browse our LWCoaching.com website and give our LW Coaching mountain bike training plan finder App a try https://lwcoaching.com/mtb-training-plans/planfinder/ to see which mountain bike training plan stack fits your goals.

Personal coaching, pre-built mountain bike training plans, consulting. See www.lwcoaching.com or contact lynda@lwcoaching.com

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  • If plan includes Structured Workouts, then planned workouts sync to compatible devices and guide you through workouts in real time. Learn More

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This plan is protected by our Refund Policy and may, with the author's approval, be exchanged for a plan of equal value from the same author.

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