Force Reps

There have been a lot of comments asking about the “force reps” workout described in my last post about Base 1 training. And since many readers receive my blog as an RSS feed they may not have seen my replies to those questions. So I’ll describe this workout in more detail here.

First of all—the name. If you’ve read one of my Training Bible books you know that I define workouts based on 6 abilities—aerobic endurance, muscular force, speed skills, muscular endurance, anaerobic endurance and muscular power. The first 3 are the “basic” abilities and are the focus of the Base period. The last 3 are “advanced” abilities and are developed in the Build period. (The only one that overlaps both periods is muscular endurance which is started at a low level in Base 2 since it is slow to develop.) All of the workouts I use fall into one of these categories.

I call them force “reps” but they could just as easily be called “intervals.” This is just semantics, but I use the word “interval” to mean a workout in which the duration of the recovery interval (the rest or “off” time) is defined very precisely. An example would be anaerobic endurance intervals done as 5 x 3 minutes with 3-minute recoveries. The recovery period is quite open-ended in force reps, as you will shortly see. Hence, “reps” instead of “intervals.”

To do a force reps workout on the bike (they may also be done for running which I’ll get to shortly), after warming up go to a hill that is short (30-50 yards/meters is long enough) and relatively steep (5-8% grade). These may also be done on flat terrain but I find a hill helps exaggerate the resistance—which is always the key to force training. In this case the resistance is gravity. It’s much like doing one-leg squats in the weight room, only it’s done on a bike.

I need to warn you before doing this workout that there is a fair amount of risk associated with it. On the bike you will be putting a great deal of stress on the knees. If you are prone to knee injuries this workout is probably best avoided. For runners the areas of concern are the lower legs and feet. For swimmers it’s the shoulder. As with most all high-risk workouts there is also a potential high reward. I’ve written here about this risk-reward element of training before.

I have riders do 1 to 3 sets of 3 reps each. That means a total of 3 to 9 reps within a workout. On the bike it is best done with a power meter so you can measure the result (power) of the “force” being generated on each rep. You can do this workout even if you don’t have a power meter (shame on you!) but you just can’t measure progress quite as precisely. A heart rate monitor is of no use here. Each rep is done as follows.

BIKE FORCE REPS

1. Select a high gear such as 53x14. This should be high enough that your highest cadence on each rep is lower than 50 rpm. The steepness of the hill will also play a role in gear selection. The first time you do this workout experiment with gearing.

2. Coast to the base of the hill so that speed is less than 10 mph (16 kph) at the start.

3. As you start up the hill, stay seated, drive the pedals down at a maximal effort for 6 revolutions. A rev is one complete pedal stroke, so, for example, just count your right foot driving the pedal down 6 times. (I once had an athlete interpret this as meaning pedal with one leg only. That’s not the case. You will pedal with both legs but you’re counting only one of them.) I’d recommend that you trade off the leg you count on subsequent reps as you will more than likely push harder with the “counted” leg.

4. After a rep, recover by pedaling easily for at least 3 to 5 minutes allowing your legs to recover. Some overly aggressive riders will try to make the recoveries a high effort thinking this will improve their fitness. It won’t. You can’t make a tired muscle stronger. The purpose of this workout is to increase muscular strength. You must allow the muscle to recover before doing the next rep.

5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 two more times for a total of 3 reps. That makes 1 set. If doing a second set (I’d recommend doing only 1 the first time you try this workout) pedal easily for 5 to 10 minutes to ensure full recovery. Be very aware of your knees on each rep. At the first sign of any tenderness stop the workout. Do not continue even if the tenderness is only slight. No amount of fitness is worth an injury.

Each set, with recoveries, will take 15 to 20 minutes. So 3 sets with a warm-up and cool down makes for at least one hour and as much as 90 minutes.

It’s advisable to do an easy workout the following day. While doing the workout it may not seem all that challenging. It often shows up the next day in very tired leg muscles.

RUN FORCE REPS

These are done the same as the bike force reps only, obviously, without gearing. You will need a steeper hill since you can’t shift to a high gear to increase resistance. And the hill can be quite short—less than 10-15 yards/meters. I like to have runners do these on a grassy hill as the softer surface somewhat reduces leg stress.

Count one leg striking the ground 6 times. Use your arms vigorously while maintaining good form. Do not bend over at the waist. Head up. Back straight. Walk back down the hill and then walk and jog slowly for 2 to 3 minutes before doing the next rep.

This workout is even riskier for runners than for cyclists due to the extreme stress placed on all of the muscles and tendons that drive and stabilize the ankle, so be very cautious. The first time you do this workout hold back on each rep—perhaps 80% effort—to see how your body reacts. At the first sign of tenderness stop the workout.

The recovery can be somewhat shorter than on the bike (2-3 minutes between reps and 3-5 minutes between sets) with most of it being walking. Otherwise, the workout is done just as described above for the bike.

Whether doing bike or run force reps do this workout only one time per week for each sport. Within 6 weeks you should be aware of feeling much stronger during this session. If you have a power meter on your bike you’ll be able to precisely measure the improvement as a max power increase. For running, if using the same hill and start point for each session, you should go farther up the hill in 6 revs indicating that you are getting stronger. This latter measurement method for gauging run progress also works on the bike if you don’t have a power meter.

By the end of Base 3, if you started in Base 2, you should have accomplished nearly all of the benefits of this session so it’s time to cut back. From this point on do only 1 set once every 1 or 2 weeks to maintain your strength gains. This can easily be built into other workouts. It’s best to do force reps early in a workout just after the warm-up.

I’m going to say this one more time: If you are susceptible to knee (bike) or lower leg and/or foot injuries (running) do not do this workout. Otherwise, you are very likely to end up injured. Even if you don’t have a history of such injuries, if you feel something that you might describe as being “uncomfortable” or “strange,” stop the workout. Do not train through it. If you are new to the sport do not do this workout. It is for advanced athletes only. If you are tired or sore from a previous workout, do not do this workout. Do it only when fresh and well-rested. In other words, treat this workout with great respect. It’s risky.

Comments

[Randy]

Thanks for this post. I've always been a little unclear about the force reps. I still have one question: What do I do if six pedal revolutions doesn't get me to the top of the hill?

[Neeraj Engineer]

Hey Joe, Great stuff.
Just wondering, for indoor bicycle workouts, do you recommend a stationary trainer or rollers?

thanks again for the blog. Its a great resource.

[Douglas]

Joe,

In your Cyclist's Training Bible (I have the 4th edition) you prescribe force workouts that revolve more around doing climbs with a low cadence (60rpm) and moderate to high intensity (up to upper zone 4). I've seen some analysis (see the new edition of Allen and Coggan, Training and Racing with a Power Meter, pp 137-142) that sheds doubt on the benefits of "strength endurance training" based on the claim that this doesn't stimulate the muscle fibers enough to promote actual strength gains. This leads to the conclusion that workouts like these "Force Reps" are better for building on the bike strength. What are your thoughts on the relative benefits of each approach, and has your mentality on force workouts changed over the years?

[Joe Friel]

Douglas--Yes, I think the force reps are more effective. I've had athletes doing them the last 2 seasons.

[Joe Friel]

Neeraj--Whichever you prefer.

[Joe Friel]

Randy--Turn around.

[Willem le Roux]

What power zone (Bike) should one achieve during each of the reps?
(with referral to Dr. A Coggan power zones)

[Joe Friel]

Willem--Max power/effort. Whatever you can do.

[Michael H.]

Great post. I avoided hill repeats last year because in the "Triathlete's Training Bible" you recommend that runners avoid these workouts in the first two years of running. Now that I have more than two years of triathlon training and two race seasons under my belt, I'm going to add these force rep workouts when I get back to Base 2 early next year.

I found that my primary limiter on the bike and run this year was my climbing. On the bike, I pass almost everyone on the flats and downhills. But I get passed by many people on the climbs. I'm hoping to change that in 2011.

I'm also wondering if using a tri bike makes it more difficult to tackle tough hills. I keep reading that people often switch to road bikes for hilly races.

[Joe Friel]

Michael H--The typical tri bike is designed to get you into an aero position to reduce drag. It is poorly designed for producing power when climbing. These two aspects of bike design are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum. For very hilly triathlons some athletes use road bikes with clip on aero bars for this reason.

[Madeleine]

In your Nov 2009 posts on coaching novice athletes, you expression caution regarding weight training because of the risks high loads pose to untrained joints. Does this caution extend to the Force Reps for cyclists that you describe above? And, in this context, when you refer to novices, are you speaking of novice competitors or newcomers to cycling? Thanks !

[Madeleine]

(re-reading what I just wrote, what I really mean is - is a road cyclist with 10,000 club and touring miles and one season of racing in the last three years still "new to the sport" with respect to force reps?)

[Joe Friel]

Madeleine--Yes, it certainly does apply to novices. I tried to make that point in the post. A 'novice' is someone new to structured training.

[Mikkel]

Joel - I am a novice (a true novice, first season of racing coming up in 2011). I know you recommend concentrating on Base periods for your first couple of years, but how would I structure them? Would I go Base 1 - Base 1 - Base 2 - Base 2, etc. where I repeat each base or do I go through all three Base periods and then repeat, starting over at Base 1?

Thanks and it is great to have an incredible resource such as this one.

Mikkel

[Joe Friel]

Mikkel--Once you build up to base 3 just stay there. Good luck!

[Joe Friel]

Madeleine--Sounds pretty experienced to me.

[Paige]

Joe,

I have a couple of questions that are more general about strength building for cycling:

In the 4th edition of your Training Bible for Cyclists, you state in the chapter on strength training that one could do as many as 12 sessions of AA at 3 sessions/week (f weeks), 5 sessions of MT (2 weeks) and six weeks of Maximum Strength. (12 sessions at 2 sessions/week) Yet somewhere else in the book, you say that you recommend doing all of the AA and MT workouts in the four-week prep period and then doing MS in Base 1, switching fully to SM workouts in Base 2.

Would you say it's OK to do the higher volume of weight training you suggest in the particular chapter of the Training Bible, which would entail AA in Prep, MT in the first two weeks of Base 1, and then MS through the end of Base 2?

Also, I have a question about Muscular Endurance workouts. In the 3rd edition of the training bible for triathletes, you recommend doing all ME workouts at a cadence at the "low end of your comfort range." In the training bible of cyclists (again, 4th edition), you don't make such a statement. Would you still say that "low end of your comfort range" is a good goal in ME, which would suggest riding a big gear to build strength? What do you think would be a good target cadence to shoot for in these workouts? I am most comfortable myself riding at a cadence between 90-110, but I could easily ride a lower cadence in a bigger gear. I get the impression from the training bible for triathletes that you would be looking for a cadence significantly lower than 90, for instance.

Thanks,

Paige

[Joe Friel]

Paige--Wow, a lot of questions! I'll take a quick stab... I like to have MS completed by the end of Base 1. But it doesn't always work out that way for a number of reasons. I typically have tris do ME training at a lower cadence than roadies. Too easy. What did I leave out?

[Paige]

I think that covers it! Thank you!

What's the reason for having Tris do a lower cadence than roadies in ME? Maybe that they don't spend as much time as roadies doing strength training for the bike, so you have them do a bigger gear/lower cadence for ME to do so?

[Frank]

Joe,

Thanks for the info on the Force intervals. Have been doing intervals indoors on a set of rollers with magnetic resistance setting (e-motion)rollers. Typically use 53x11 gearing doing 10 x 30 sec maximum effort intervals on the hardest resistance setting for the rollers. I can barely get past 30 seconds per interval, but my cadence gets up to about 85rpms (avg about 630Watts). Is the cadence too high to be considered a Force interval? Thanks.

[Joe Friel]

Frank--30s is too long to develop force. Just a few pedal strokes - maximal effort.

[Frank]

Thanks a lot Joe - shorter harder effort certainly works for me.

[ScorpionKing]

I am a novice cyclist that easily spins at 100-115 rpm. But I had a hard time riding in the big ring easily on rolling terrain without my legs fatiguing quickly.

Do force rep exercises help riding comfortably in larger gearing?

[Joe Friel]

ScorpionKing - It might.

[NoHillsNearby]

Joe, do any of your athletes have much success with this workout indoors on a trainer? I have been doing them on a fluid trainer and I find it necessary to start each rep from nearly a dead stop (cranks and rear wheel) in 53x11 gearing to reach maximum perceived exertion within the 6 revolutions (yes I'm setead.) Power is what I would expect it to be for a 6-8 second effort, which may eliminate the possibility of any losses due to tire slippage. And my second question - is 50 rpm an absolute? I'm starting from a stop and finishing around 110 rpm. Thanks, your blog and Bible series have had a tremendous impact on my training!