Best cyclocross warm up workout?

Racing
1

Good Afternoon,

as a new Customer TR is very new to me,

i was wondering if there was a good workout i could do as my warm up before my cyclocross race, around 30min to 45mins?

Many Thanks.

2

I’d say Parah for CX.

3 Likes
3

Hey @CraigJoy :slight_smile: Welcome to TR!!

Parah is a good one to follow!

But sometimes warm-ups can vary given the weather or when you get to pre-ride the course, etc…

I used to be pretty strict with my warm-ups at UCI races since everything is organized and there are very specific times you can hit the course before another race starts.

So in those types of races, I would arrive at least 2 hours before my race and ride the course a few times, which served as a pre-warm-up to get the legs moving. Then about 30-40 mins before the race I would do the main warm-up which typically consisted of a nice spin (15-20 mins), followed by some build efforts (increase your effort gradually from Zone 2-5), and a few sprints (10-20 seconds each) with about 1 minute recovery in between which ended with a light spin to cool down.

During all this, I would listen to music, close my eyes, and visualize how I’d take every corner, where I’d attack, where I’d be able to rest a bit… etc… Visualizing is a super strong tool!

Note: If it was warm that day because there are some races that are in extremely hot weather sometimes, I would cut the whole warm-up in half and try to keep good hydration.

On local races, the warm-up was a different deal :sunglasses: I loved loved loved local races because they were the most fun, relaxed, and enjoyable. I would do my warm-up on the course as it was mostly open all the time even if races were going, (respecting the racers of course) and it would be very unstructured. I’d throw in a few sprints to do some openers and then ride around to keep the legs moving until getting called to the start line.

Lastly, I also think it’s key to listen to your body and see what it needs. Sometimes it needs a few extra sprints to get moving, and sometimes a nice easy warm-up will do.

4 Likes
4

(Sorry - had too)

5

That’s brilliant thank you :pray:

6

Welcome :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Glad I could help!