A while ago you mentioned isolated leg training (ILT) as a means to building leg strength....I have been doing a bit on the trainer (and you're right. it is pretty tough!!)....not sure how I should go about it though. Should I be doing say a few minutes on each leg and swapping back and forth? How long for? what sort of cadence should I be aiming for?
any assistance would be great....apologies if you have already wrote something about this on another thread and I have missed it..
Start out easy, like a 39x21 or so and go for 30-60 seconds. Repeat 2-6 times or so if you feel like it. At some point, you will have to set a goal that is longer in duration. Like 2 minutes. Your legs will still hurt, but you will be able to last the 2 minutes if you push yourself.
Increase duration to at least 3 minutes. Some people ride for as long as 10 minutes. 3-5 minutes will make a big improvement in your riding. Cadences should be 40-80 rpm or so, with the lower cadences using more resistance. 80 rpm is very demanding and causes a lot of "burn" in the hip flexors. Break it up and do a variety of resistance/cadence combinations.
If you really want to push yourself, do "sprints" the last 15 seconds of your sets, trying to hold over 100 rpm. If you are really looking for punishment, do 15-second sprints at the top of every minute.
One thing I would like to mention is that if you are doing ILT, don't get so caught up in it that you neglect your other training.
ILT is best done on a trainer, and after a few ILT sets, you should recover, and go into a typical speed/power workout like 3-5 minute VO2 max intervals, or a 20-40 minute TT. If you are sick of the trainer, unhook your bike and hit the road for "real" high-intensity training.
You don't have to do everything on the same day, just make sure your program is well rounded and contains the training you need to meet your goals.
