I am wanting to increase my sprint power for next years race season.
I have an OK-ish sprint -
5 Second = 1350 Watts
20 Second = 1050 Watts
Achieved at about 86/87kg
I’m not sure I am an out and out sprinter but it does always help when coming to the end of a race of course.
I didn’t really do any dedicated sprint sessions this year but I would like to encorporate them into my training next year. Maybe even do some gym work over winter (Box jumps, squats etc) to help build some muscle.
Just wondering if anyone has any personal tips/ bro science on how they saw an increase in the big numbers.
I’m interested in this as well. In my example, winter of 2016-2017 I was off the bike completely and doing only gym work plus bulking. Come spring 2017 I did a few local rides before hitting my best ever sprint power of 1252W 1s and 1105W 15s up a very steep short hill. Since then I have not been able to touch my 15s max. It’s important to note I haven’t touched the gym since winter 2016-2017. Dispite doing specific sprint workouts, I have not been able to crack my 2017 15s power, however I have since PR’d my 0-5s, but not by much.
I planned on doing some gym work this winter to try to build fast twitch fibers and build my mind-muscle connections since I believe heavy lifts aid in that area. Heavy leg press/squats, dead lifts, box jumps, basically anaerobic 5-8 heavy rep ranges “should” help in my case and may help you as well.
I’ll be following this thread with some interest. I have a few issues to address first, which are crucial to even thinking about the actual sprint training. i need to start with recruiting and getting the glutes to fire!!!
I would do 3-4 days/week targeting Push, Pull, Legs, Cardio/whatever on the 4th day. So really only 1 day/week focusing legs, but the pull day included deadlifts.
This winter I think I’ll go twice a week on my lunch break and do a leg day and core/posterior chain day. I remember my upper body feeling super rigid last year and now it’s not so anchored.
Things I’ve been told to do to improve sprints - plyometrics, form sprints and strength sprints. Form sprints focusing on leg speed, and strength sprints on power. I’ll do strength sprints outside as I’m always worried about putting that amount of power through the frame when it’s bolted to the turbo. Slow right down to about 7-8mph and in about 53/14 sprint all out for 15 secs. I’ll do this once every 5 mins on a 1 hr ride.
Regularly have athletes testing at 1900-2100 watts on a kickr (Track sprinters) without broken chains unless the chain is well worn and not maintained. Finding a way to keep clips from coming out of the power tap pedals is a different issue😉
@joeking529 being born to the right parents first and foremost, then lots of maximal strength training and high volumes of sprint training with lots and lots of recovery between in a nutshell
A side note, more impressive in some ways is the just under 1500 watts one of our females puts out at a body weight of 59kg (130lbs)!!
I’m quit a bit bigger than you (122kg.) so take this with a shaker of salt, but I played football (American) and sprinted in track in high school. I barely lifted a weight since then (I’m 37 now), started more seriously riding about 18 months ago and I’m at 2341 watts for 5 seconds and 1587 for 20. I’ve yet to do an actual 5 or 20 second test. Just PR’s from regular rides. I’ve seen my power improve by riding, not lifting. I say this not to tell you to ride more, just that I think it depends where you’re coming from in terms of how you get to where you’re going.
Also I’ve found it far easier to hit big watts outside as moving the bike beneath you matters. That and I’m afraid to break something indoors.
And as for breaking chains, so far so good. I use a KMC chain that I seem to remember being in the $60 range. I wax so the chain is swapped and I use their KMC Missing Link.
Wow that’s some crazy numbers! Can you use that power effectively in a race or does your weight hinder you?
I come from a power lifting background but haven’t really lifted this year. Come down from about 112kg but lost pretty much all of my strength. Looking to get some of my explosive power back in the gym over winter.
So far I’ve only raced twice. Once was a crit with a significant hill and the other ended in a mass bunch sprint with seemingly all 70 some starters thinking they had a shot at glory. Just joined a team, dropping pounds and looking forward to more opportunities to put that power down. Alas, all the watts in the world don’t matter if you’re off the back so I’d gladly trade a few hundred peak watts for dropping 50 pounds. That’s the plan at least.
