Our turbo session timetable and session types have been developed to work as a well-balanced and challenging training plan. Every session is also completely interactive with a professional coach leading you through the session, discussing specific training topics and answering your questions whilst you ride.
There are plenty of cycling studios and online plans out there, but in our opinion, nowhere else provides a purposeful training structure plus the real-time in-session advice of a coach whom you can tap for knowledge. This is a unique offering and a big part of our motivation has always been to educate athletes on how to train smarter, keep life in balance and achieve consistency. So, we invite you to exploit this and bring your questions along!
Examples of topics we cover during our sessions include: explaining what the energy systems are and how to structure your training to manipulate them; the importance of proper fuelling and hydration; the benefits of an optimal cadence; and anything else riders want to discuss!
HOW OUR ONLINE SESSIONS WORK
– You will need a smart turbo trainer/bike or a suitable power meter and turbo trainer combo (please visit the RGT website to check compatibility).
– We use an immersive virtual training platform, RGT Cycling, to host and bring the session to life.
– All sessions are professionally coached via a live interactive Zoom video feed – bring your training questions, because alongside leading you through the session, it’s what we’re there for!
– Every session is structured towards a specific training objective and/or energy system.
– There’s no need to worry about how to structure your training week – hit each type of session (V02max, Threshold, Endurance etc.) over the course of the week, remembering to include adequate recovery, and you have a well-balanced cycling plan on a plate!
– No further subscription purchases necessary – all you will require is the free basic RGT and Zoom app accounts to join.
WANT TO TRY ONE OF OUR TURBO SESSIONS BEFORE PURCHASING MEMBERSHIP?
Every Wednesday at 6:30pm, we run a FREE coached workout on RGT, which is one of our Push The Limit Sessions (see below).
To join:
– download RGT and Zoom;
– create yourself a free profile for each (you do not need a premium subscription for either to join our sessions);
– head to the events calendar in RGT and scroll until you see our Wednesday evening session;
– sign up to the event and you’ll also find the Zoom joining details are in the event description; and
– join the RGT session and Zoom feed a few minutes before the session and you’re ready to go!
CAN I STILL JOIN A COACHED SESSION IF I DON’T HAVE A SMART BIKE/SMART TURBO TRAINER?
The answer is, ABSOLUTELY! Whilst our sessions are best enjoyed via RGT Cycling’s immersive virtual training platform, if you don’t have all the fancy kit you can still enjoy a quality coached training session.
Whenever we are approaching a new interval, the coach will always give instructions as a percentage of FTP but also tell you how it should feel in terms of effort out of 10 (10 being a full sprint). Training according to this ‘out of 10’ effort is called the Rate of Perceived Exertion scale and it is a perfectly legitimate metric to train by and in some instances, actually preferable to working with power or heart rate data as you will be working at an effort appropriate to your condition at that moment in time.
So it’s simple, if you don’t have a smart bike/trainer, all you need to is sign up to a session, join the live coaching feed and we’ll make sure you have a cracking session!
Session Types
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NEW SESSION!
HILL CLIMBER
(Hill Reps & Strength Endurance)
Nothing builds strength like hill repeats, but for those living in heavily urbanised areas or those that simply don’t have any hills near them, developing strength endurance (the ability to repeat high, powered low cadence efforts) can be a real challenge. Fortunately, RGT Cycling has some fantastic virtual climbs and we have some cracking strength endurance sessions to help recreate the efforts real world hill repetitions provoke and develop your climbing ability.
Duration: 1-hour
FTP BUILDER
(Threshold – Zone 4)
This session will see you accumulate plenty of volume at and around your aerobic threshold with time trial type efforts. Your aerobic threshold is the point at which your muscles begin to accrue lactate and begin to fatigue. It is a tough session targeting an energy system every rider needs to spend plenty of time developing, especially triathletes and time trialists.
Duration: 1 hour
PUSH THE LIMIT
(Threshold & Supra-threshold – Zones 4-7)
This a challenging session focused on lifting your aerobic threshold but spiced up and more dynamic than our FTP BUILDER session.
This session complements our FTP BUILDER session in that if that session involves longer steady state intervals, this one will be more dynamic and vice versa. Therefore, both sessions will provide you with a different type of threshold focused stimulus. However, the PUSH THE LIMIT session will always be a step up in terms of intensity, so it should certainly be considered your peak session of the week in that regard.
If you are a heavily endurance focused athlete such as an Ironman triathlete or Sportive rider and you do not have time for a separate supra-threshold session like our BEYOND THE LIMIT session in your training plan, this session will help you still hit those supra-threshold energy systems that all athletes need to develop in order to progress at an optimal rate.
Duration: 1 hour
BEYOND THE LIMIT
(Vo2Max & Sprints – Zones 5-7)
This is a high octane session, looking to improve your ability to sustain above-threshold efforts and anaerobic power (i.e. speed endurance and maximum power).
Even if your training has a largely endurance focus, you should still include a higher intensity session such as this as part of your training. Having developed fast twitch muscle fibres is key for the closing stages of an endurance event, because as your slow twitch (endurance) fibres begin to fatigue, your fast twitch muscle fibres must pick up the slack. If they are not properly conditioned, it can mean slowing to a snail’s pace. If you’re a bike racer of any experience level, no more explanation needed…V02 MAX and sprint work is a must!
Duration: 1 hour
ENDURANCE BASE
(Endurance & Tempo – Zones 2-3)
It is important that all cyclists/triathletes develop the full spectrum of energy systems and this requires plenty of work at lower intensity or in the ‘fat burning zone’.
Our ENDURANCE BASE sessions will help build your aerobic fitness by focusing on longer, lower intensity sets, broken up by short higher intensity bursts. Make no mistake however, this is not an easy pootle. 80% of the session might be at an endurance or tempo effort, but that leaves the remaining 20% for us to have some fun! The increased length of the session and lack of absolute recovery ensures this a great workout.
Duration: 1 hour – 1 hour 30 minutes
CYCLE SEMINARS
Join us for a lighter session where the focus is on KNOWLEDGE. Each week a speaker will ‘deep-dive’ into a subject and cover it in much more detail than we are able to in our other sessions. We would recommend using this session to top up your endurance volume or as a pure recovery ride. So, all you need to do is relax, spin away and absorb some wisdom!
Topics will include such things as: nutrition (general and race day), minimising energy wastage (aerodynamics, mechanical efficiency etc.), the effect of the menstrual cycle on female athletic performance, the importance of strength & conditioning etc. Check our social media for a heads up on what topics we’ll be covering.
Duration: up to 1-hour, including Q&A
FULL SPECTRUM PERFORMANCE TESTING
Our performance testing session is very challenging and tests not only for your Functional Threshold Power, but also your V02max power, Anaerobic Capacity and Neuromuscular Power (maximum power). Testing each of your energy systems in such a way will enable you to build a full power profile, learn more about your current capabilities and develop a clear idea of what types of sessions you need to be doing to improve.
Duration: 1 hour 36 minutes
Sessions take place every 6-weeks. To learn when the next session is, please visit the EVENTS page.
Joining our sessions
Step 1: download the RGT Cycling app
Our online sessions leverage the immersive virtual training platform, RGT Cycling. If you have a compatible smart turbo trainer / smart bike and would like to join the session on RGT, you will need to download the RGT Cycling app and create yourself a profile. Only the FREE basic RGT subscription is required to join our sessions, so there are no ancillary costs to you.
If your turbo trainer or indoor bike is not compatible with RGT, you do not need the RGT app and can simply join the live Zoom coaching feed (see below).
Step 2: Booking onto a session
Once you are ready to join a session and have checked the Timetable for when your chosen session is on, it’s time to book!
There are two ways to gain access to our sessions:
1) purchase a RIAK ONLINE membership (see below) from our Webshop and follow the booking instructions you will be provided with; or
2) go straight to the Turbo Training Booking Page (see below) and book onto and pay for a single session.
Please note, booking for all sessions closes 1-hour before the relevant session start time.
Step 3: Join a session
Shortly after booking has closed (1-hour before session start), you will receive an email with links to the RGT session and the live Zoom coaching feed. Click those links and they will open either the RGT or Zoom apps and take you to the correct session page.
