Originally Posted by
caloso
I have the same issue, particularly if I am hopping on a trainer in the freezing garage first thing in the morning. The best thing I have found is to just accept it and build in more time to warm up. On Zwift that could mean just doing an extra 10-15 free ride before starting the workout. In a real life group ride, that could mean riding to the ride. In a race situation, it could mean a 45-60 on the trainer before taking a practice lap or lining up.
If you don’t have time for that, you could spin a high cadence at the start of the ride. That’s a good way of getting loose and heated without generating too much fatigue.
Word. I like this post a lot.
What I have found is that warmup is programmatic versus time based with pedals turning. If I am on the rollers, I can start at 75 rpm and ramp up cadence for 12 minutes hitting something like 130 rpm. This primes my aerobic system. I rest for 5 minutes. I get back on the rollers and do 3x(50 seconds easy spin with a 10 second acceleration). Rest 5 minutes and then 30 seconds of high cadence and high power. This warms up the glycolytic system. Rest 5 minutes and then a 70% standing start for 5 seconds. This primes the ATP PC system. I am then ready to go and all three energy producing systems are warmed up and primed without generating too much fatigue.
Long warmups feel great but generally fatigue the cyclist. Warmup is not an effort.
Other than on a trainer by oneself, it is hard to do this protocol. But Zwift would seem to be perfect. Note the time is not minimal due to the rest periods but the fatigue is reduced. After the three accelerations and 30 second effort, I am ready to rock. The ATP PC start is icing on the cake more for sprinters.