No matter what type of race or event you are doing there is always a need to “warm up”!
So what does “warming up” mean?
The obvious answer is that it actually gets you warm, or at least will cause your core temperature to rise, and will make your joints and muscles more mobile and ready to perform. More importantly, it sends messages to your body that it needs to devote resources (blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients) to the skeletal muscles (the muscles of movement) rather than the internal organs, and so diverts blood flow and activates a host of processes that allow these muscles to perform under load. This takes time, and more time than you probably think! There are so many prescribed formats for this out there, but generally a warm up will vary between 15-45 mins. The trick is to find which one works for you, and also to remember the length and intensity of a warm up will vary according to the length and intensity of the race/event!
There are some overriding general principles though, and for the sake of this article and the fact many of us are currently engaged in the Tri-Alliance virtual race series, we will focus on warming up for a short intense time trial or criterium (cycling) type event. Remember the bike leg in a triathlon is essentially a time trial (unless its draft legal).
Generally the shorter the race, the longer and more intense the warm up! Sounds odd, eh! But in a short event you have to be ready to hit your racing heart rate (T4-T5), or power zone (100-120% FTP) from the start so your warm up should include efforts at this intensity.
Let’s look at some broad recommendations:
- Firstly, have a plan – anything is better than nothing.
- Decide whether you will warm up on the road or a trainer.
- Time it: work back from the race start time so there is only a small waiting time until the race starts.
- Be prepared with time, HR, power, and speed gauges.
- Have nutrition and hydration ready, and know what, and when you will use it.
- Know your HR or power zones
The Warm Up
The warm up itself will generally include a 5-10 min easy roll at T2 or ~50% FTP, then there will be a gradual increase in intensity for short intervals, with rests in between. (These need to reach race intensity (T4 or 100%+ of FTP)). Then a ~5min easing down before race time. I like to use high cadences in the warm up, so I’m using my cardiovascular system in preference to just raw power. I know I’m generalising here, but you get the idea! This is where I like to remind people that when you are fit enough to compete in these type events, you won’t burn yourself out! So don’t be tentative and really hit out in the hard intervals! You’ll be OK, you really will, you are all really fit and you will easily recover and manage these events, so when the heat is on (and it will be) you’ll be ready for it!
Before we get into some specific work outs, some people will even suggest a protocol that includes a warm up ride the day before! This could include a ~60min ride with 10-15min at 85% of FTP (high T3), and a couple efforts for 3min at 115% FTP (high T4 /T5). This may be a bit excessive for most of us, but some sort of ride the day before is probably a good idea.
Examples
Here are two suggested warm up sessions but they can be individualised and don’t take them as gospel:
| Time | Power | Cadence | OR | Time | HR Zone | Cadence |
| 5min | 50% FTP | 80-90RPM | 5min | T2 | 80-90RPM | |
| 5min | 60% FTP | 80-90RPM | 4min | Low T3 | 100RPM | |
| 2min | 75% FTP | 90RPM | 3min | High T3 | 100RPM | |
| 1min | 80% FTP | 95RPM | 2min | Low T4 | 100RPM | |
| 1min | 90% FTP | 100RPM | 1min | High T4 | 100+ RPM | |
| 2min | 50% FTP | 90RPM | 2min | T2 | 80 RPM | |
| 1.5min | 80%FTP | 90RPM | 4min | T3 | 80-90RPM | |
| 1min | Easy | 3min | T4 | 90RPM | ||
| 1.5min | 90% FTP | 90RPM | 1min | High T4 | 90RPM | |
| 1min | Easy | |||||
| 1.5min | 100% FTP | 90-100RPM | 3min | T2 | 80 RPM | |
| 1min | Easy | 2min | T3 | 80-90RPM | ||
| 1.5min | 105% FTP | 90-100RPM | 1min | T4 | 100RPM | |
| 1min | Easy | 1min | T4-T5 | 100RPM | ||
| 1min | 110% FTP | 90-100RPM | ||||
| 5min | Easy | 5min | T2 | 80 RPM | ||
| Total Time = 32min | Total Time = 37min | |||||
Or try this one, it’s a bit different:
| Time | Power | HR Zone |
| 7min | 50% FTP | T2 |
| 8min | 85% FTP | |
| 2.5min | 50% FTP | T2 |
| 1min | 100% FTP | T4 |
| 5min | 50% FTP | T2 |
| 5 x (10 sec sprints 20 sec recovery) |
150% FTP | T5 |
| 50% FTP | T2 | |
| *These are done until racing HR is reached so it could take more than 5 repeats | ||
| 5min | 50% FTP | T2 |
| Total Time = 31min | ||
Can you see a recurring theme here? The short intensity efforts build until you are touching your racing HR or power.
So you thought the TT was enough fun in itself! Ha! Now you know that the suffering doesn’t stop there, or more precisely, doesn’t start there! What you need to practice now is how to “dose your effort”, so that you get the most out of yourself and completely empty the tank by the time you cross that finish line! But that would take another article……………………….:)
