It’s week 19 of the British Cycling Sportive Training Plan, for Advanced and Intermediate riders you will find Russian Steps included in your training week. If you are new to Russian Steps, they are not the new dance craze following on from Gangnam; this training session has been around for a while, and will develop your VO2 Max.
When entering races, this can be a devastating tactic and, for sportive riders, being able to go hard, bridge up to a strong group and then sit with them can significantly improve your times. These sessions are an integral part of the Great Britain Cycling Team’s endurance development; they are great when the weather is bad outside and on your turbo.
When completing the Russian Steps session you should:
- Concentrate hard on delivering all your power through the pedals when in “on” phase. In the middle of the session you will feel tired, this is ok, just commit to the session and keep on powering through those pedals.
- Try to use the time “off” for regulating your breathing, preparing for the next “on”. To relax in the “off” phase you should release the grip on the handlebars slightly, wiggle the shoulders and take some controlled deep breaths.
- If you need more help on your pedalling technique, see the British Cycling Insight Zone pedalling video here.
So if the weather turns bad this week remember these key points, watch the British Cycling Insight Zone video, and you will be whirling away with perfect powerful pedalling in no time. Week 19 of the British Cycling Sportive Training Plans can be found here.
