Warmups in OS workouts (specifically bike)
Just curious whether the stated warmups in the OS workouts are intended as just that, warmups (and thus open to interpretation or modification as it suits), or whether they are intended to be followed for a specific reason.
For something like the bike, I find that after 5 minutes easy and another 5 minutes of building up from 50% to 100% FTP, both my legs and trainer are warmed up. However, the stated bike warmup has an out of the saddle portion, and a low gear portion - so I'm curious if those provide specific benefit that I may be missing (other than just getting more used to being out of the saddle, and more used to mashing).
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Ryan,
I'm sure there's a reason but don't know or recall what that is. For me I typically do a very short warm up 5' early in the OS and this sometimes drifts to 10' later in the OS. For the Test I stick closer to the protocol but still shorter. Typically with the shorter warm up this just mean I get more of the z3/80-85% stuff if I'm feeling good.
Gordon
That is why there are these forums to bounce around ideas with the team and to make contact with a coach if you need to. Trainer Road suggests a different less time consuming warm up for an interval so is it wrong or right ? Nope just a different flavor to get the same result. So come on in and be creative with your sport some things may work better for you than others.
I do not stand much on my bike while its in the trainer cause its not safe and actually could damage your bike.
Now get busy!!!!
Typical EN recommended warmup is this: 5’ easy, 3’ standing @ big gear/low cadence, 2’ easy, then 12’ at Z3/80-85%/Mod Hard, then 3’ easy. Easy is at 65% of FTP.
My warm-ups are usually 12 minutes, though. 5' or so @ 65% then a few spin ups and then . . . hit it!
However, if you train with Carrie Chavez . . . the warm-up is: GO! :-)
I agree, it is whatever works for you. The main thing is to do the MS (Master Set) and nail the numbers.
Of course the primary intent is to just get you warmed up, so if you prefer to warm up another way than that is likely fine for most cases.
However, they intervals and cadences are not chosen randomly, there is a specific physiological reason for what is chosen in the plans. In general, I find it more important to follow a more rigid and prescribed warmup prior to things like FTP tests or entering into say a 20' interval than I do for just my everyday workouts.
5’ easy - just spin to get loose.
3’ standing @ big gear/low cadence - open up hips and back, warm up rear wheel.
2’ easy - recover and find the easy gear.
12’ at Z3/80-85%/Mod Hard - bring it back up to a solid effort; note HR & Perceived Exertion here (esp last minute) to benchmark recovery between sessions.
3’ easy - spin legs out and recover (I usually hit my first gel pack here).
Note: Easy is at 65% of FTP.
A clarifying question, though, that Greg mentions - the easy sections are 65% FTP, and I typically do my rest/easy parts at 50%. Is there really a major difference or benefit to be gained going at 65% vs 50%, considering it is a rest interval? Most everything I've come across indicate that work is done during effort intervals, and rest intervals are designed only to allow your body to come back to (somewhat) normal - so it makes no difference, and may actually be better to be more fully recovered between workbouts by going at 50% instead of 65%. So I'm just curious on the thinking behind 65%.
Thanks!
In the spirit of EN as a Learning Organization, here's what I do in my OS warm-ups, along with my thinking about warm-ups. Just what I've evolved to over the past 15 years or so.
To me, the purpose of a warm is primarily to make it easier (or even possible) for me to do the real work of the day's training session, both from a psychological and physical perspective. I don't see it as providing any benefit in and of itself (except in swimming), so I don't really care what my work level is from that perspective. Going from 0-60 in one minute not only is a risk for injury, but the brain/nerve/muscle/cardiovascular systems which allow for intense work efforts need to be primed. So I start at at a level which feels easy, and gradually increase the effort level over time.
For bike, I start @ 25% of FTP, and slowly ramp up to 50% after ten minutes. Then, I do three spin-ups of 30-60 seconds, with an equal recovery betwen them @ 40%. The spin ups grow from 90 to 110% of FTP. Following that, a secondary warm-up phase of 5 minutes, building from 50-70% of FTP. I can be this precise about things, because I use a CompuTrainer which is programmed (via Trainer Road now) with specific wattage at every moment. Outdoors, I just do a warm-up similar to what I describe below for running.
Starting @, say, 60%, and holding it there for 10-15 minutes, for me is both too hard and too easy. Too hard at the start, and too easy @ the end. I need to get my mind and all the physical components adjusted to the idea of work, and I don't mind taking the time I need to get into that space.
When running on the treadmill, I use the speed control for my warm-up. I aim for 15-20 minutes, 2.5 miles or so. I start by walking, to give me some space to get earphones adjusted, set the incline, etc. Then, I hit 5 mph, and increase every minute, at first in big chunks, and later by just 0.1 mph at a time. In min./mile terms, this starts me out in the 11-12 range, and I usully end up going around 7:25-7:55 by the end of my warm-up.
For running,outdoors I just start out at an RPE that feels tolerable. I find that holding the effort level results in my pace gradually speeding up over the first 2-2.5 miles, at which point my HR has leveled out in the middle of Z1. This usually takes 15-18 minutes, at which point I can handle harder work. If TP or IP work is involved, I throw in some strides to get ready for the ahrd efforts, just like spin-ups on the bike.
Swimming, I just follow the workout as written, but if I'm on my own, I do 1000-1400 yards of warm-up, 500-1900 of main set work, and maybe 50 yards of a cool down. Unlike most people I see at the pool, I don't start out hard as soon as I hit the water, in an effort to fight off the chill. I walk a half a length, swim underwater a half a length, and then do 2-300 yards trying to have as long and slow a stroke as I can muster. I gradually increase the # strokes per length over the course of the first 600 yards, going from 13-16 these days. Then I do about 500 yards of focused stroke work (paddles or drills), then the main set.
Since I didn't do any hard interval work between the ages of 25-50, I have no idea if more warm-up is needed as one gets older, but I suspect that is true.
Cool-downs - anything more than 3-4 minutes feels superfluous to me. Stuff done aftger the main set, but before a true cool down, I consider to be be part of the workout, and I treat it with the same seriousness. Cool-downs, I'm just shuffling or spinning my wheels.