How We Warm Up to Ride
My warm-ups are always 2 songs in length
Make sure you remind all the riders that this is THEIR RIDE, and to please do what you can do. Here is what else I usually say: “If you need to sit at any time please sit. If the resistance is too much for you please take some off. I’m just here to guide you on your ride, and help you get a great workout. I don’t expect you to do everything I’m doing or what others are doing. This is YOUR RIDE! Just keep trying and challenging yourself throughout class! So let’s ride and have some fun and challenge ourselves!”
I also ask everyone to set a new goal for themselves during the class. Their goal could be really trying to go faster during those sprints and/or cadence holds, working on keeping your breathing even, finding yourself thinking more positively about your ride (ie, your strengths) during class, adding a bit more on those hills because you have gotten stronger, etc.
The first song is usually 3-3:30
- Stay seated and warm those legs up on a flat 90-100 RPMS
- Remember that you should feel a "tug" on the peddles, just like you would feel riding down a flat road outside.
- If it feels like the bike is doing all the work for you and pulling you along, you need to add a bit more resistance, because you are going downhill instead of riding on your flat.
The second song is usually 4-4:30
For our second song of the warm up, I have everyone alternating between standing and 3rd on a standing flat. I usually have everyone transition into 3rd on the chorus, and then transition back to standing when it is not the chorus. I also teach 30 second rotations between standing and 3rd when the chorus is too short to really give us enough time in 3rd for this part of the warm up.
- For beginners I ask them to work between 70-75 RPMs on their standing flat
- For intermediate I ask them to work between 75-80 RPMs on their standing flat
- For advanced I ask them to work 80+ RPMs on their standing flat