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Glossary of terms
A list of the terms aboc uses to describe various training exercises, and explanations of the drills
Glossary of terms used in aboc CC coaching programs
| Abbreviation | Description | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| HS | Hill Sprints DO NOT DO THESE IF YOU HAVE ANY KNEE PROBLEMS Done on a repeatable course (eg Studley Park loop in Kew). In a big gear (eg to start with, 53 x 17) come to an almost complete stop, then explode up a hill for about 100 metres. It should take 15-20 seconds per rep. Roll around for 90-120 seconds to recover, and repeat. Once you can get your cadence up to greater than 70rpm by the top of your defined course, use a bigger gear | Strength. This is a drill to work on leg strength. The emphasis is on form. |
| DHS | Down Hill Sprints Done on a repeatable course (eg Studley Park loop in Kew). In a big gear (eg to start with, 53 x 17), rolling or pedaling quickly down a hill, pick a point and accelerate to your fastest speed, hold for 5 seconds, and relax. It should take 15-20 seconds per rep. Roll around for 90-120 seconds to recover, and repeat. Every time you do this, try and beat your previous top speed. | Power & Speed. This is a drill to work on your sprint speed and bike handling at high speed. |
| LS | Ladder Sprints Done on a repeatable course (eg velodrome). Warm up well, then do the following :
| Speed (sprinting!) and recovery from sprint efforts |
| PAP sprints | DO NOT DO THESE IF YOU HAVE ANY KNEE PROBLEMS 10-30s very low cadence max effort (up hill), 30-120s easy spin, 10-20s MAX sprint, 3 - 5 mins recovery | Explosive power |
| HCLR | High Cadence, Low Resistance In a very easy gear, spin up to the highest cadence you can hold without bouncing. Concentrate on pedaling a smooth circle, not on pulling up, but on pedaling over the top of the pedal stroke and scraping mud off your shoe at the bottom | Neuromuscular response - enable high speed and smooth pedaling |
| 10s MAX on the 2 | Short high power sprints In a gear that you can turn comfortably but not easily at around 90rpm, sprint for 10 seconds, then drop into an easy gear and spin for 1 min, 50 seconds (thus, each rep takes 2 minutes 'on the 2') | Leg strength, neuromuscular response |
| A&S (time A) | Attack and Sustain Attack hard for <time> seconds, then settle back to your threshold/E3 pace for the remainder of the interval. | Initiate attacks or bridging a gap and covering surges, then pacing |
| SE - Strength Endurance | Long duration (5 mins - 20 mins) at low cadence and high intensity (grinding). Generally at aboc we don't recommend this form of training, Andy Coggan has a good article on why here. | |
| Tabata intervals | Stratospheric intensity. 8 x (20s sprint, 10s recovery). Named for the physiologist who designed the protocol. More info here. | VO2max boosting and anaerobic improvements - icing on the cake |
| E3 r/ups | E3, then with 2 mins to go, every 30s increase effort a little, with 15s to go, sprint | VO2max boosting, race finish simulation |
| BGSS | Big gear standing starts - in a big gear, from a very slow or full stop, accelerate as hard as you can for the time of the interval. Alternate starting leg | Strength |
| BGRS(n) | Big gear rolling starts - in a big gear, from n rpm (eg BGRS(80) is from 80 rpm) accelerate as hard as you can for the time of the interval. | Strength |
| PGRS(n) | Power Gear rolling start. Power gear varies from ergo to ergo. It's determined with a test described here. From n rpm, accelerate as hard as you can for the determined seconds. | Power & acceleration - can also be used for speed-endurance |
Our intervals are often written in shorthand, for example :
4 x 8s HCRS(80, seated):3 - this means 4 lots of 8 seconds high cadence gear, rolling start, from 80rpm, seated all the way, 'on the three', so each effort, including rest, is 3 minutes. So say the interval starts at 7:00:00pm, 7:00:00 start, 7:00:08 stop & rest, 7:03:00 start, 7:03:08 rest, 7:06:00 start, 7:06:08 rest.
We also have ramp up intervals such as :
35s HCLR r/up (10:100, 10:130, 15:max), which is a 35 second high cadence low resistance (spinning!) interval, 10s at 100rpm, 10s at 130rpm, 15 seconds at the fastest you can pedal.
If you see "BFW", it means "Big flywheel". The Kurt Kinetic Road Machine has an optional bolt-on extra heavy flywheel. Not compulsory, but very strongly recommended.
Cam Woolcock Vic masters crit champion
More terms
WR : Work Recovery : Easy but with sustainable pace, approx 30km/h or E1
RR : Rest Recovery : Maximum recovery from effort, a tootle or E0