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Easy spin between hard efforts

20 min of very easy cycling (30-40 W) or brisk walking in the rest between two hard efforts.

Slot
Mobility
Focus
Recovery
Time
20 min
Intensity
Low
Injury risk
Low
Intervals
4 × 5:00 on
Equipment
Timer

How to do it

Use this in a long rest between two hard efforts, instead of sitting down. Spin on an exercise bike at 30-40 W, so light that you can talk easily and your legs never burn, for 20 minutes. No bike? Walk briskly, up a slight incline if you can, at about 60-65% of your maximum heart rate. Keep your arms loose and shake your hands out now and then, but don't climb, hang or squeeze anything: the point is to move blood with your legs while your forearms rest. Finish a few minutes before your next effort and re-warm with a few easy moves.

Who it’s for

Long rests between two maximal efforts: competition rounds, a redpoint burn and the next one, a hard test followed by a second go. Moving your legs gently while your forearms rest may help you recover better than sitting down. When the rest is short, a few minutes of easy climbing may work as well or better.

Common mistakes

  • Going too hard. If you can’t talk easily or your legs start to burn, it’s too much.
  • Using the forearms. No hanging, no squeezing, no easy boulders. Keep the arms loose and let the legs do the moving.
  • Stopping right before the next effort. Finish a few minutes early and do some easy moves to warm back up.
  • Sitting on your phone instead. It’s the easy option, and the one this replaces.

How to progress

Nothing to make harder. Try it between two hard efforts in training first, so you know how you feel after it before you rely on it in a competition.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
  • Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
  • Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
  • Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
  • Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
  • Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
  • Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.

Start with a ready-made block

A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.