Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Setting: Any time, a place where there are imposing mountains, into which we will have the most challenging race imaginable. Profile Overview: Probably one of the most challenging 40 minutes you'll have on a spin bike, provided you raise the bar on your resistance, and challenge what you think you can do. After a warmup, a FAST run against firm, challenging resistance, as if we are going into a stiff breeze. Stage II is an emotional climb under gray skies. Stage III, the sun shines bright and we're hurtling downhill on a mountain bike -- and then straight UP, and then DOWN, then UP, then DOWN -- you get the idea. Stage IV is a race at a cadence in the low 80's straight up a mountain. Recommendations: I make this one a "Race Day" challenge for those who are sure of themselves. Fitness Objective: Anaerobic threshold with firm placements in the anaerobic range. |
Stage I: Warm up, (Slow Cadence @ 66 revolutions, Moderate Resistance; then Hard Run With Resistance (Very Fast Cadence @112. Resistance Level: Light to Moderate 2-4)
Setting: Race day, anywhere in time. Hard, fast run, into the wind, up a slight grade. After a warmup, stretching arms and legs, we begin this “thing” tentatively enough, getting up on our feet in a measured pace. After a brief pause, we begin a Hard Run in the saddle, and then bust it out to Position 2 -- it’s a glorious race. Frequent moves from the saddle, to Position 3, then 2, and back again. Little time in the saddle before careening off again in Position 2-3. Repeat of first course, and then to the development part of the race, as riders strain forward. Then, back on the main road, repeat of some scenery, and a bust to the finish line to end the First Stage. What a start! |
Stage II: Slow Climb with Firm to Heavy Resistance. (Cadence 33, 66 bbm , Resistance Levels: Minimum 7 while in the saddle, 8-9 while out of it)
Slow, solemn, cold climb under overcast skies. Beginning in the saddle, pushing hard, them coming out of it to Position 3. Brief break in the clouds as we sit back down. Then, back to the solemn climb, with one last ray of sunshine before the end. |
Stage III: All out Sprint, with Light to Firm Resistance 1 for those who can barely keep the pace, Resistance 3 for Lance Armstrong. (Very Fast Cadence @ 138 - 414 bbm, 276 pedal strokes per minutes, triple meter. Whew!)
Only the very fast will be able to keep pace with this one ... on the flats with the wind at our back. Just busting it, Position 1 to 3 and busting to 2. Not once, but twice we slow to a couple of hills that go virtually straight up (Resistance 8+ Cadence of 30), and finish up yet another hill, which we top over by “busting it” against full resistance. (Advice: keep as firm a resistance as possible, adjust as necessary. To generate this speed, and the power for the movements out of the saddle, you need to pull up on the pedal opposite “gravity stroke” -- you can’t do this with no resistance.) |
Stage IV: The final stage … Running up the side of a mountain, with Moderate Resistance -- Upward Grade (Moderate-Fast Cadence @ 80; 160 bbm. Minimum Resistance 3 for anaerobic threshold, 4-5 for anaerobic HR.
A sheer test of endurance. Like being shot out of a cannon, virtually the whole is spent in Position 3, with busts to Position 2. Only a few rests in the saddle -- a big course that you traverse twice, and then go off it into different territory. Then, after the development part of the race, you get back on it the main road, 100% effort all the way. At the end, you spin so hard, and achieve such altitude that it almost feels like you are soaring above it all, at 30,000 feet, and then you gradually levitate back down, the tires hitting the road, and a flat out sprint to the finish. Unreal. Instructor's Notes: I have notes from my spin to the 7th several years ago, showing average HR of 158 and a peak of 177. Don't think I've got that much left, but you do!
For a complete performance of the symphony Click Here Go back to "Biking to Beethoven" Click Here |