This is the very first session of the Dirt Destroyer, which takes us back to basics and focuses on developing your endurance and aerobic conditioning which are fundamental attributes for anyone looking to train hard, hold their form and perform in a mountain bike event.
We are going to push ourselves right up to our threshold, by completing 6 efforts, split in to two blocks of 3 efforts (85%, 95% and 100% of our FTP). The first effort within each block alternates between your chosen cadence and a low cadence of 65rpm. As the intensity of each effort goes up, the volume goes down! You're going to need to use a Cadence Sensor to make the most of these workouts
Welcome to another session of the Dirt Destroyer, which contains two ramped efforts, at a low cadence. Each ramp starts at 65% of your FTP and ramps up, so get ready to grit your teeth a little towards the end of each ramp. This session progresses a little from last week, as the cadence is slightly lower, so the session is harder!
The low cadence provides a strength element to the session, which is fundamental to mountain biking. Just think about all the times you are caught at a low speed, having to get over a rocky or muddy section, which really draws upon your strength.
This is the very first session of the Dirt Destroyer, which takes us back to basics and focuses on developing your endurance and aerobic conditioning which are fundamental attributes for anyone looking to train hard, hold their form and perform in a mountain bike event.
We are going to push ourselves right up to our threshold, by completing 6 efforts, split in to two blocks of 3 efforts (85%, 95% and 100% of our FTP). The first effort within each block alternates between your chosen cadence and a low cadence of 65rpm. As the intensity of each effort goes up, the volume goes down! You're going to need to use a Cadence Sensor to make the most of these workouts
Welcome to another session of the Dirt Destroyer, which contains two ramped efforts, at a low cadence. Each ramp starts at 65% of your FTP and ramps up, so get ready to grit your teeth a little towards the end of each ramp.
The low cadence provides a strength element to the session, which is fundamental to mountain biking. Just think about all the times you are caught at a low speed, having to get over a rocky or muddy section, which really draws upon your strength.
Welcome to another session of the Dirt Destroyer! Today, you should get out and ride IRL to practice your technical skills.
Mountain biking requires a huge amount of skill, and you can make significant improvements in your overall MTB ability without getting fitter and stronger, but by getting more skilful!
If you are unable to get out IRL - you can complete this Zwift 'Free Ride'. Within the session, you should have ERG Mode on and let the terrain dictate your effort.
On the climbs, reduce your cadence to 60rpm to work on strength, and go for all the sprints in game.
This session aims to develop your ability to make big surges in effort, to overcome tricky sections on a mountain bike, i.e. a really muddy / boggy section, or super steep and rocky climb, where you need to ride almost max effort just to get up it!
Often, during these technical sections, you are forced to ride at a low cadence of around 65rpm of lower, which is is where todays 1 minute efforts take place. After a short ramp, you will complete a 1 minute max effort at 65rpm - grind it out!
Today's Varying Threshold session is centered around your threshold, but unlike for a traditional training plan for the road, there is some specific cadences to ride at for some of the efforts, where we alternate between your chosen / go to cadence and a low cadence as we often end up riding at on a mountain bike.
We are going to push ourselves right up to our threshold, by completing 6 efforts, split in to two blocks of 3 efforts (90%, 95% and 100% of our FTP). As the intensity goes up, the volume goes down so this session is definitely manageable and is a nice building block rather than leaving you totally exhausted for tomorrow.
The first block will alternate between your chosen cadence and a low cadence of 65rpm.
Welcome to another session of the Dirt Destroyer, which contains two ramped efforts, at a low cadence. Each ramp starts at 65% of your FTP and ramps up, so get ready to grit your teeth a little towards the end of each ramp. This session progresses a little from last week, as the cadence is slightly lower, so the session is harder!
The low cadence provides a strength element to the session, which is fundamental to mountain biking. Just think about all the times you are caught at a low speed, having to get over a rocky or muddy section, which really draws upon your strength.
Welcome to another Dirt Destroyer session! Today, you should get out and ride IRL to practice your technical skills.
Mountain biking requires a huge amount of skill, and you can make significant improvements in your overall MTB ability without getting fitter and stronger, but by getting more skilful!
If you are unable to get out IRL - you can complete this Zwift 'Free Ride'. Within the session, you should have ERG Mode on and let the terrain dictate your effort.
On the climbs, reduce your cadence to 60rpm to work on strength, and go for all the sprints in game.
This session aims to replicate the demands of a mountain bike ride / event.
Mountain biking generally involves far more variations in effort compared with road riding - so plenty of surges and time spent being over geared!
We touch upon all of these aspects in todays session, as we ramp our effort up at a low cadence to replicate climbing a technical section, picking our way around rocks, before a Z4 effort on a fire road, before heading back in to the forest and up a really steep technical section where once again we are forced to ride at an uncomfortably low cadence, in the saddle!
Today's session is centered around your developing your threshold and critically, your strength!
We will spend plenty of time alternating between your chosen / go to cadence and a low cadence as we often end up riding at on a mountain bike. This is one of the key differences between road riding and mountain bike - the constant change in effort. Even riding up a steady gradient, on a mountain bike your power will vary significantly as you navigate over and around rocks, roots, and other obstacles!
This session aims to further develop your ability to make these changes in effort more comfortably.
This Rollercoaster session aims to replicate the demands of a mountain bike ride / event.
Mountain biking generally involves far more variations in effort compared with road riding - so plenty of surges and time spent being over geared!
We touch upon all of these aspects in todays session, as we complete two blocks of alternating intensity, with top end Zone 6 surges thrown in there to replicate the demands of having to get up and over a steep bank or technical section. Feel free to get out of the saddle during the max efforts if you need to.
We also have a 12 minute Sweet Spot effort in the middle, to help continue to develop our endurance.
Welcome to another session in Zwift's MTB Workout Series! Today, you should get out and ride IRL to practice your technical skills.
Mountain biking requires a huge amount of skill, and you can make significant improvements in your overall MTB ability without getting fitter and stronger, but by getting more skillful!
If you are unable to get out IRL - you can complete this Zwift 'Free Ride'. Within the session, you should have ERG Mode on and let the terrain dictate your effort.
On the climbs, reduce your cadence to 60rpm to work on strength, and go for all the sprints in game.
If riding IRL, aim to get over 2 hours of riding in.
This session aims to replicate the demands of a mountain bike ride / event.
Mountain biking generally involves far more variations in effort compared with road riding - so plenty of surges and time spent being over geared! We also spend a lot of time 'on and off' the power, so short spells going hard to get over an obstacle, followed by a freewheel or very low power on a descent or little dip.
We touch upon all of these aspects in todays session, as we start off alternating every 30 seconds between riding hard at a low cadence, and riding easy - as if we are riding through an undulating single track. Then we make a ramp in effort, which finishes with a 30 second near max effort up a steep, rocky banking!
Todays workout is a very famous 'Over - Under' session, where we repeatedly ride over and under our threshold.
We will complete 2 x 15 minute blocks, each alternating between 'over' Zone 3 (80% of FTP) and 'under' Zone 4 (102% of FTP).
Critically, the over sections are to be completed at a relatively low cadence of 70rpm. This is to give the session a strength endurance focus - ensuring we get used to producing not only high power, but also high crank torque, to support us in those sections of a mountain bike race where we have to momentarily freewheel, and are asked to produce huge crank torque from 0rpm!
We stimulate lactic acid production during the 'over' efforts, and we then try to recover, whilst still producing a moderate effort during the 'under' phase. Think of the 'over' as a technical part of a climb, whilst the under is climbing on a fire road or through a field!
Welcome to another session in Zwift's MTB Workout Series! Today, you should get out and ride IRL to practice your technical skills.
Mountain biking requires a huge amount of skill, and you can make significant improvements in your overall MTB ability without getting fitter and stronger, but by getting more skillful!
If you are unable to get out IRL - you can complete this Zwift 'Free Ride'. Within the session, you should have ERG Mode on and let the terrain dictate your effort.
On the climbs, reduce your cadence to 60rpm to work on strength, and go for all the sprints in game.
If riding IRL, aim to get over 2 hours of riding in.
This session aims to replicate the demands of a mountain bike ride / event, by constantly changing the intensity at which we ride at! Not only does the power demand change, but so does your cadence.
Half of the 'ramp up's' are to be completed at a low cadence of 65rpm, whilst the other half are at your chosen cadence. Meanwhile, the 'ramp down's' are to be completed at a more familiar cadence of 85rpm.
The efforts we complete today are typical of a tough mountain bike ride / race, where you could be riding through any sort of terrain that has varying terrain!
This session aims to develop your endurance by completing 3 blocks of 15 minutes around Zone 3, made up of short ramps to add in the constant variation in effort involved in mountain biking! There are also a few sprints thrown in there too, to simulate navigating across a technical uphill section.
Additionally, the middle ramp within each block is to be completed at a low cadence, of 65rpm.
This workout really works your top end - your anaerobic capacity, which is your ability to make really hard efforts.
In mountain biking, to get up a short steep climb, or to get through some mud or over roots, the best way is to do it quickly - lots of power for a short period of time.
This session gets our anaerobic energy systems firing, as we make repeated 30 second efforts which increase in intensity through the blocks.
Don't be discouraged if your power drops throughout the blocks. You'll burn a lot of matches as you progress through the session, so just try and hold on as long as you can as you will still benefit from the effort.
In the same fashion - don't go out too hard! This is a fairly long session, so in the first block, just do what you need to do, 140% of FTP and no more.
This workout can be likened to a mountain bike race with a hard start - a steady middle and a hard finish as we complete 2 blocks of efforts at 110% of FTP (Zone 5 - Vo2 Max), with an 8 minute block of Zone 3 (80% of FTP) in the middle.
We are going to complete the first block of the Zone 5 efforts at a low cadence (65rpm) to simulate being stuck on a really steep section, where you are having to navigate around rocks.
We will complete the second block of efforts at your chosen cadence, which should feel a lot easier, and certainly less demanding of your muscular strength!
Welcome to another session in the Dirt Destroyer Workout Series! Today, you should get out and ride IRL to practice your technical skills.
Mountain biking requires a huge amount of skill, and you can make significant improvements in your overall MTB ability without getting fitter and stronger, but by getting more skillful!
If you are unable to get out IRL - you can complete this Zwift 'Free Ride'. Within the session, you should have ERG Mode on and let the terrain dictate your effort.
On the climbs, reduce your cadence to 60rpm to work on strength, and go for all the sprints in game.
If riding IRL, aim to get over 2 hours of riding in.
Todays workout contains some ramped efforts, at varying cadences.
We will complete 2 x 15 minute blocks, each containing a two consecutive ramps, with the first at a low cadence of 60rpm, followed by a short block of 'Over-Unders' where we tip above and under your threshold before a big 30 second push at the end.
We spend a lot of time today around your threshold, but critically not AT threshold, which is more aligned to the demands of mountain biking.
This session aims to develop your endurance by completing 3 blocks of 15 minutes around Sweet Spot, made up of short ramps to add in the constant variation in effort involved in mountain biking! There are also a few sprints thrown in there too, to simulate navigating across a technical uphill section.
Additionally, the middle ramp within each block is to be completed at a low cadence, of 65rpm. Todays powers are slightly higher than last week - a sign of progression!
This workout really works your top end - your anaerobic capacity, which is your ability to make really hard efforts.
Similar to last week, we are going to complete 3 blocks of effort. However this time, the duration of each effort will decrease through each block, whilst the intensity significantly increases! The third block is full gas, as you claw your way to the end of each effort or rocky ascent!
In mountain biking, to get up a short steep climb, or to get through some mud or over roots, the best way is to do it quickly - lots of power for a short period of time. Let's do this!
This workout can be likened to a race with a hard start - a steady middle and a hard finish as we complete 2 blocks of efforts at 110% of FTP (Zone 5 - Vo2 Max), with a 10 minute block of Zone 3 (82% of FTP) in the middle.
We are going to complete all 6 of the Zone 5 efforts at a low cadence (65rpm) to simulate being stuck on a really steep section, where you are having to navigate around rocks. You will likely produce a fairly erratic pedaling style as your power output varies significantly from pedal stroke to pedal stroke!
You will notice the second block of efforts is a lot harder, as we will have the first block of efforts already in our legs - plus the 10 minute aerobic effort too.
Today, you should get out and ride IRL to practice your technical skills.
Mountain biking requires a huge amount of skill, and you can make significant improvements in your overall MTB ability without getting fitter and stronger, but by getting more skilful!
If you are unable to get out IRL - you can complete this Zwift 'Free Ride'. Within the session, you should have ERG Mode on and let the terrain dictate your effort.
On the climbs, reduce your cadence to 60rpm to work on strength, and go for all the sprints in game.
If riding IRL, aim to get over 2 hours of riding in.
This is one of the final workouts within the Dirt Destroyer which is a pyramid style workout, hence "The Egyptian".
This is an all round session which will help to boost your endurance, but also your strength as we hit the peak of the pyramid. Here we complete a 1 minute effort at 109% of FTP, critically at 70rpm which really draws on your strength and is what really makes this part of the pyramid a challenge.
This workout keeps things interesting by changing the intensity and the monotony of a steady state effort.
Congratulations on reaching the final workout in the Dirt Destroyer.
This sessions aims to develop your Anaerobic Capacity - your ability to produce a lot of power for a short period of time. We complete efforts at 135% of FTP, whilst reducing the amount of rest we get between each effort - meaning each effort will get progressively harder.
If you look at the demands of Mountain Biking, you are frequently making efforts up around 135%+ of your FTP, to tackle obstacles and get up steep climbs. The effort durations vary significantly, which is what we are looking to train today - your ability to produce big power, once already fatigued, on limited recovery!