DEVELOPED BY. IGNUS OOSTHUIZEN Virgin Active National Group Exercise Manager and Epic conqueror

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2 DEVELOPED BY IGNUS OOSTHUIZEN Virgin Active National Group Exercise Manager and Epic conqueror With contributions by: RICHARD THE COACH WOOLRICH African and South African Elite Triathlon Champion turned expert personal trainer

3 WITH THE RIGHT TRAINING you ll cross that finish line Between the Prologue at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the trail to the Grand Finale at Val de Vie Estate, you ll face 8 days, 624km, and 16650m of climbing, in a punishing combination of hills and valleys, bone-jarring dual tracks, windswept gravel roads and even sand. As a headline sponsor and Official Exercise Partner, Virgin Active is proud to be prepping riders for this feat of all feats. It s the third year we re on board and we re loving it. Our National Group Exercise Manager, Ignus Oosthuizen, has put together this awesome training programme in collaboration with Richard The Coach Woolrich, a Virgin Active Personal Trainer and elite triathlete. Whether you ve got a ticket to the Absa Cape Epic, or just want to train like you do, this programme will take your body and cycling game to the next level.

4 A BIT ABOUT our man, Ignus In his more than 25 years of cycling, Ignus has been doing it competitively outside of work for just over 15 years. He s worked in the fitness industry for over 17 years and is a strength and conditioning specialist and qualified personal trainer. A few of his event highlights: 2018 SA Champ MTB Marathon (Sub Vet category) 2018 Absa Cape Epic finisher Absa Cape Epic finish SA Road Champs 11th Western Province Road Champs 2nd Absa Cape Epic finish Western Province Road Champs 2nd Wines2Whales Race 21st Gauteng Road Race Champ SA Road Race Champs 2nd Sani2C MTB Race - 14th overall

5 MEET YOUR COACH Richard Woolrich Following a career as a top-50-in-the-world professional triathlete, with titles in the African and South African Elite Category, Richard moved into Personal Training, focusing on the strength and conditioning side of cycling and other sports. He s worked with riders of every level, using his Biokinetics (Honours, UCT) background to develop cycle-specific strength and endurance programmes that maximise performance and efficiency, while reducing overuse injuries. His client list includes multiple competitors, and one past winner of the Absa Cape Epic.

6 THE WHY as well as the how We ve kept things really straightforward with this programme. Forget about getting too technical or worrying too much about the data. Just put in the hours and the intensity and you ll be ready. Our programme mixes it up with indoor training days, suggested group exercise cross-training classes, and power and interval sessions on the indoor bikes. The aim is to help you improve all aspects of your performance, become injury-resistant, and get avoid boredom. This approach is also more achievable for those with normal working hours.

7 RICHARD SAYS... Mix it up Finishing an Absa Cape Epic builds up your confidence and prepares you for all of life s challenges. Here s Richard s advice for anyone getting ready for this truly epic race: Start early: I always try to stay fit throughout the year and start training specifically for the Absa Cape Epic at least three months in advance. This is when I focus on the technical aspects and do some long rides to get used to the saddle. I do HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) to push my heart rate, and plenty of Ride classes at Virgin Active when I can t get out on the road. Get to know your partner: It s very important to follow a training program that suits both you and your partner. And to do as much of that programme as possible with your partner. Get to know each other really well understand each other s strengths and weaknesses and learn to communicate constantly, especially on long training rides. The weaker partner, at any particular moment, should be allowed to set the pace. Train like you race: Plan a strategy and try to stick to that race pace during your long rides as it will help you to know where you need to improve. Go ahead with the planned ride, whatever the conditions, because you won t be able to pick and choose during the Absa Cape Epic you must be able to cope with anything and especially make sure you have done some hard climbs in hot conditions. Eat what you plan to eat during the race. Practice mechanics: The chances are pretty high that either you or your partner will suffer a mechanical issue during the race. Take the time to get to know your bike really well as you should be clued up on how to fix it both you and your partner, as this will hurry things up. Mix it up: Just grinding out the hours on the road can get dull and is very time consuming. Our Training Programme includes a good blend of Pilates, yoga, stretch and core classes, as well specific work, outdoors and indoors, to build your power and pedal efficiency.

8 THE PATH less travelled Prepare to tackle the iconic slopes of Table Mountain s National Park to the craggy shoreline of the Southern Coast and onwards traversing the famous Winelands and beyond into the high mountains of the Western Cape. For the full route, click here.

9 MONTH 1 DATE DAY TRAINING PHASE TRAINING ZONES TIME OBJECTIVE WEEK 1 10h 29-Oct Monday 30-Oct Tuesday ZONE 2 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 31-Oct Wednesday PHASE 1 - ZONE 3 1h30 TEMPO INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & GRID CLASS 01-Nov Thursday ESTABLISH BASE ZONE 2 1h30 INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & CORE CONDITIONING 02-Nov Friday ENDURANCE 03-Nov Saturday ZONE 2 3h MTB - ALL TERRAIN 04-Nov Sunday ZONE 2 2h MTB - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM WEEK 2 11h30m 05-Nov Monday 06-Nov Tuesday ZONE 2 1h30 INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & CORE CONDITIONING 07-Nov Wednesday PHASE 2 - ZONE 3 2h TEMPO INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & PILATES CLASS 08-Nov Thursday IMPROVE ZONE 2 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 09-Nov Friday EFFICIENCY 10-Nov Saturday ZONE 3 3h MTB - TEMPO CLIMBING 11-Nov Sunday ZONE 2 3h MTB - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM WEEK 3 12h30m 12-Nov Monday 13-Nov Tuesday ZONE 3 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 14-Nov Wednesday PHASE 3 - ZONE 4 1h30 FT - INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & CORE CONDITIONING 15-Nov Thursday IMPROVE SUSTAINABLE ZONE 3 2h TEMPO - INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & YOGA CLASS 16-Nov Friday POWER 17-Nov Saturday ZONE 3 4h MTB - TEMPO CLIMBING 18-Nov Sunday ZONE 3 3h MTB - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM WEEK 4 7h 19-Nov Monday 20-Nov Tuesday ZONE 2 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 21-Nov Wednesday PHASE 4-22-Nov Thursday REGENERATION & ZONE 2 2h INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & AQUA CLASS 23-Nov Friday ACTIVE RECOVERY 24-Nov Saturday ZONE 2 3h MTB - ALL TERRAIN 25-Nov Sunday WEEK 5 15h 26-Nov Monday 27-Nov Tuesday ZONE 3 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 28-Nov Wednesday PHASE 1 - ZONE 3 2h INDOOR CYCLING CLASS X 2 29-Nov Thursday IMPROVE ZONE 2 2h INDOOR CYCLING & GRID CLASS 30-Nov Friday EFFICIENCY 01-Dec Saturday ZONE 3 5h MTB - TEMPO CLIMBING 02-Dec Sunday ZONE 2 4h ROAD - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM

10 MONTH 2 DATE DAY TRAINING PHASE TRAINING ZONES TIME OBJECTIVE WEEK 1 17h 03-Dec Monday 04-Dec Tuesday ZONE 2 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 05-Dec Wednesday PHASE 2 - ZONE 3 2h TEMPO INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & GRID CLASS 06-Dec Thursday ESTABLISH SUSTAINED BASE ZONE 2 3h INDOOR CYCLING & CORE CONDITIONING 07-Dec Friday ENDURANCE 08-Dec Saturday ZONE 3 6h MTB - LONG CLIMBS 09-Dec Sunday ZONE 2 4h ROAD - ROLLING HILLS WEEK 2 20h 10-Dec Monday 11-Dec Tuesday ZONE 2 3h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 12-Dec Wednesday PHASE 2 - ZONE 3 3h INDOOR CYCLING & PILATES CLASS 13-Dec Thursday IMPROVE ZONE 2 3h ROAD - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM 14-Dec Friday EFFICIENCY 15-Dec Saturday ZONE 3 6h MTB - LONG CLIMBS 16-Dec Sunday ZONE 2 5h MTB - ALL TERRAIN WEEK 3 22h 17-Dec Monday 18-Dec Tuesday ZONE 2 4h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 19-Dec Wednesday PHASE 4 - ZONE 3 4h MTB - ALL TERRAIN 20-Dec Thursday ESTABLISH SUSTAINED BASE ZONE 2 4h ROAD - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM 21-Dec Friday ENDURANCE 22-Dec Saturday ZONE 3 6h MTB - TEMPO CLIMBING 23-Dec Sunday ZONE 2 4h ROAD - ROLLING HILLS WEEK 4 7h 24-Dec Monday 25-Dec Tuesday STRETCH CLASS 26-Dec Wednesday PHASE 5 - ZONE 2 2h MTB - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM 27-Dec Thursday REGENERATION AQUA CLASS 28-Dec Friday & ACTIVE RECOVERY 29-Dec Saturday ZONE 2 3h MTB - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM 30-Dec Sunday ZONE 2 2h ROAD - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM

11 MONTH 3 DATE DAY TRAINING PHASE TRAINING ZONES TIME OBJECTIVE WEEK 1 13h30m 31-Dec Monday 01-Jan Tuesday ZONE 3 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 02-Jan Wednesday PHASE 1 - ZONE 4 1h30m LT INTERVALS INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & GRID CLASS 03-Jan Thursday IMPROVE SUSTAINABLE ZONE 3 2h TEMPO INDOOR CYCLING & PILATES 04-Jan Friday POWER 05-Jan Saturday ZONE 3 5h MTB - LONG SUSTAINED CLIMBS 06-Jan Sunday ZONE 3 3h MTB - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM WEEK 2 16h 07-Jan Monday 08-Jan Tuesday ZONE 4 2h MTB - LT HILL REPEATS 09-Jan Wednesday PHASE 2 - ZONE 3 2h TEMPO INDOOR CYCLING & YOGA CLASS 10-Jan Thursday PUSH ZONE 4 2h INDOOR CYCLING - LT INTERVALS 11-Jan Friday THRESHOLD 12-Jan Saturday ZONE 4 6h MTB - RACE PACE 13-Jan Sunday ZONE 2 4h ROAD - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM WEEK 3 7h 14-Jan Monday 15-Jan Tuesday ZONE 2 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 16-Jan Wednesday PHASE 3 - STRETCH CLASS 17-Jan Thursday REGENERATION & ACTIVE ZONE 2 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 18-Jan Friday RECOVERY AQUA CLASS 19-Jan Saturday ZONE 2 3h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 20-Jan Sunday WEEK 4 14h 21-Jan Monday 22-Jan Tuesday ZONE 5 1h30m MTB - SHORT STEEP ANAEROBIC HILL REPEATS 23-Jan Wednesday PHASE 1 - ZONE 3 2h TEMPO INDOOR CYCLING & GRID CLASS 24-Jan Thursday PUSH ZONE 4 1h30m LT INTERVALS INDOOR CYCLING CLASS 25-Jan Friday THRESHOLD 26-Jan Saturday ZONE 4 5h MTB RACE PACE 27-Jan Sunday ZONE 2 4h ROAD - Focus on pedal efficiency RPMWEEK 5 WEEK 5 15h 28-Jan Monday 29-Jan Tuesday ZONE 5 1h30m MTB - SHORT ANAEROBIC HILL REPEATS 30-Jan Wednesday PHASE 2 - ZONE 4 2h LT INTERVALS INDOOR CYCING CLASS 31-Jan Thursday SUSTAIN ZONE 5 1h30m MTB - SHORT ANAEROBIC HILL REPEATS 01-Feb Friday HIGH MAX AEROBIC POWER 02-Feb Saturday ZONE 5 6h MTB RACE PACE 03-Feb Sunday ZONE 2 4h ROAD - Focus on pedal efficiency RPM

12 MONTH 4 DATE DAY TRAINING PHASE TRAINING ZONES TIME OBJECTIVE WEEK 1 7h 04-Feb Monday 05-Feb Tuesday ZONE 2 2h MTB - ALL TERRAIN 06-Feb Wednesday PHASE 4 - STRETCH CLASS 07-Feb Thursday REGENERATION & ACTIVE ZONE 2 2h MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 08-Feb Friday RECOVERY AQUA CLASS 09-Feb Saturday ZONE 2 3h MTB - ALL TERRAIN 10-Feb Sunday WEEK 2 13h 11-Feb Monday 12-Feb Tuesday ZONE 5 1h30m INDOOR CYCLING CLASS - ANAEROBIC SPRINT INTERVALS 13-Feb Wednesday PHASE 1 - ZONE 4 2h LT INTERVALS INDOOR CYCLING CLASS & PILATES 14-Feb Thursday INCREASE ANAEROBIC ZONE 5 1h30m MTB - TECHNICAL TERRAIN 15-Feb Friday CAPACITY 16-Feb Saturday ZONE 5 5h MTB RACE SIMULATION - SPEED 17-Feb Sunday ZONE 2 3h ROAD - Pedal efficiency RPM WEEK 3 14h 18-Feb Monday 19-Feb Tuesday ZONE 2 1h30m INDOOR CYCLING & CORE CONDITIONING CLASS 20-Feb Wednesday PHASE 2 - ZONE 3 1h TEMPO INDOOR CYCLING 21-Feb Thursday IMPROVE EFFICIENCY ZONE 2 1h30m INDOOR CYCLING & GRID CLASS 22-Feb Friday 23-Feb Saturday ZONE 3 6h MTB - Pedal efficiency RPM 24-Feb Sunday ZONE 2 4h ROAD - Pedal efficiency RPM WEEK 4 7h 25-Jan Monday 26-Feb Tuesday ZONE 2 2h ROAD - Pedal efficiency RPM 27-Feb Wednesday TAPER 1 - STRETCH CLASS 28-Feb Thursday REGENERATE ZONE 2 2h MTB - Pedal efficiency RPM & ACTIVE 01-Mar Friday RECOVERY AQUA CLASS 02-Mar Saturday ZONE 2 3h MTB - Pedal efficiency RPM 03-Mar Sunday

13 MONTH 5 DATE DAY TRAINING PHASE TRAINING ZONES TIME OBJECTIVE WEEK 1 6h 04-Mar Monday 05-Mar Tuesday ZONE 2 1h30m MTB - Pedal efficiency RPM 06-Mar Wednesday TAPER 2-07-Mar Thursday REGENERATE & ACTIVE ZONE 3 1h30m ROAD - Pedal efficiency RPM 08-Mar Friday RECOVERY 09-Mar Saturday ZONE 2 3h MTB - Pedal efficiency RPM 10-Mar Sunday WEEK 2 6h 11-Mar Monday 12-Mar Tuesday 13-Mar Wednesday TAPER 3 - ZONE 3 1h30m MTB - Pedal efficiency RPM 14-Mar Thursday REGENERATE & ACTIVE ZONE 2 2h MTB - Pedal efficiency RPM 15-Mar Friday RECOVERY 16-Mar Saturday ZONE 2/3/4 1h30m LEG WARM UP WITH SHORT SPRINT INTERVALS 17-Mar Sunday ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC WEEK 3 18-Mar Monday ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC 19-Mar Tuesday ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC 20-Mar Wednesday ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC 21-Mar Thursday RACE ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC 22-Mar Friday ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC 23-Mar Saturday ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC 24-Mar Sunday ABSA CAPE EPIC ABSA CAPE EPIC

14 TRAINING ZONES It s important to know what your ability or ceiling is. This is your maximum HR or Watts. Your zones and intervals are based on this max ability. Training Zones RPE % Max HR % of FTP Time in Zone Purpose Physical Adaptations Race Fitness Active Recovery Very light / % <55% Almost forever Regeneration and Recovery Increase blood flow to muscles to flush out waste products and provide nutrients Promotes recovery and therefore training response Zone 1 Light / % <55% 3hrs - weeks Establish base endurance Improves fat metabolism, gets muscles / tendons / ligaments / nerves used to cycling. Increases economy More efficient use of energy. Prepares body for harder training, works on technique / skill Zone 2 Light / % 56-75% 3hrs - weeks Improve efficiency Improves the ability to use oxygen, produce power and increases efficiency Able to produce more power with the same level of effort, works on technique / skill Zone 3 Moderate / % 76-90% 3-8 hours Improve sustainable power Improves carbohydrate metabolism, changes some fast twitch muscle to slow twitch Improved sustainable power, good for all cycling events Zone 4 Hard / % % mins Push threshold up Improves carbohydrate metabolism, develops lactate threshold, changes some fast twitch muscle to slow twitch Improved sustainable race pace, useful during tapering or precompetition periods: too much time in this Zone can cause staleness Zone 5 Hard / % % mins Sustain a high percentage of maximal aerobic power Develops cardiovascular system and VO2max, improves anaerobic energy production and speeds turnover of waste products Improved time trialing ability and resistance to short-term fatigue Zone 6 Maximum / % % 1-10 mins Anaerobic Capacity Increase maximum power output Increase maximum power output Supramaximal Maximum / 9-10 >100% >150% 5-10 seconds Increase sprint power output Increases maximum muscle power, develops neural control of pedalling at specific cadence Develop race-specific skills at race pace, starting power, sprint speed and the ability to jump away from the bunch

15 INTERVALS Build your strength and power by aiming for your maximal efforts/intervals. To increase your ability or to lift your ceiling, it s important to do zone 4 & 5 training sessions or intervals. INTERVALS Number Time Work : Rest 5 1 minute 1 : minute 1 : minute 1 : 2 Number Time Work : Rest 5 3 minutes 1 : minutes 1 : minutes 1 : 2 Number Time Work : Rest 5 5 minutes 1 : minutes 1 : minutes 1 : 2 SPEED INTERVALS Number Time Work : Rest 5 10 seconds 1 : seconds 1 : seconds 1 : 2 HILL REPEAT INTERVALS Number Time Work : Rest 5 3 minutes 1 : minutes 1 : minutes 1 : 2 Number Time Work : Rest 5 20 seconds 1 : seconds 1 : seconds 1 : 2 Number Time Work : Rest 5 5 minutes 1 : minutes 1 : minutes 1 : 2 Number Time Work : Rest 5 30 seconds 1 : seconds 1 : seconds 1 : 2 Number Time Work : Rest 5 20 minutes 1 : minutes 1 : minutes 1 : 2

16 THE WATTBIKE Maximal ramp test The test detailed assumes a high level of basic fitness and low risk category of cardiovascular events. Consult your doctor before you commence any of the Wattbike tests or training plans. A pre-participation health screen should be completed for all individuals wishing to take part in exercise or an exercise program. The Wattbike tests are not suitable if you are a beginner, have been recently ill or injured. Exercise prescription for minors should only be carried out under supervision of a qualified scientist. Any self exercise prescription participation is done at your own risk. Derived from the ACSM s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Why complete this test? We recommend that you only undertake this test if you are overseen by an experienced accredited sports scientist. This is the gold standard test designed to find your MMP, MHR and can also be used to calculate FTP. When to use the Max Ramp Test? Use this test when you want to find your true MMP and MHR. As mentioned above, only undertake this test if you are overseen by a qualified professional. What is the Max Ramp Test? It s an incremental test to exhaustion, the target wattage increases by a set amount every minute until failure. The final full minute completed is where MMP and MHR are recorded. How to complete the Max Ramp Test? 1. From the main menu select workouts/tests 2. On the test screen, select Max Ramp Test 3. Input your age, weight and gender and the Start and Stage Wattage, then press enter 4. Once the progress bar has disappeared, you can start your test 5. The live display will show time remaining in that stage, cadence, interval, wattage target, power perkily heart rate and peak power Source : wattbike.com

17 SAY HELLO to our healthy friend Two pillars hold up a healthy lifestyle: Exercise and nutrition. We ve got exercise covered, and we re excited to announce that Woolworths, The Absa Cape Epic s Official Sponsor, is going to help you sink your teeth into some quality nutrition information. Woolworths is South Africa s gold standard in high-quality, fresh, foods that fuel performance, and they ve given us some top tips to share with you. Have a nutrition action plan Just as you plan and schedule your training sessions, plan what you will eat and drink before, during and after training and races. Being well prepared for any race means you ve tried out your unique nutrition strategy and know what works best for you. Make sure you eat enough Athletes that don t take in enough energy can suffer from impaired performance and poor adaptation to training. This can lead to illness and injury. Choose high quality energy sources from wholesome foods such as wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, plant fats and lean proteins. A diet rich in plant foods provides the body with vitamins, minerals and a mixture of phytochemicals, which are non-nutritive substances that provide health protection benefits. Timing is important Whatever your nutrition goals may be leading up to your big race (such as shedding those last few kilo s), never compromise on optimal nutrition before, during and after hard training bouts or races. Having a meal an hour or longer before will provide fuel and also give the gut time to process the meal to prevent stomach upsets during exercise. Start your fueling strategy within an hour of your training session or race. Fuel and fluid stores get depleted after minutes. Start eating and drinking within the first hour and every hour thereafter. What you eat on the bike today might affect your performance tomorrow. And lastly, the sooner you eat and drink after a stage or race, the better you will recover - within 30 minutes is the window period for optimal recovery.

18 SAY HELLO to our healthy friend Be practical Ensure that the foods and fluids you choose during your race are: easy to eat, easy to carry with you (portable) and easy to digest. This might mean carrying a hydration pack to ensure you get sufficient fluids in, or unwrapping bars or date balls before the start of the race to ensure easy access. Consider foods that are not too dry, are easy to chew and swallow (such as food purees) and be mindful that higher protein and fat foods are not easy to digest during intense exercise bouts. Try all nutrition strategies during training and preparation races - don t try anything new on race day! Re-fueling for optimal recovery During long bouts of exercise, energy and fluid stores get depleted and replacing these stores is essential. How well you recover today will determine how well you perform tomorrow. To help the body adapt to the physiological stress from a recurring exercise load, stores need to be replaced within the window period for optimal recovery. Aim to eat and drink within 30 minutes after exercise, with a small meal within 2 hours after exercise and again after 4 hours. Your recovery meal and/or drink should include fluids to replace lost stores, carbohydrate and protein rich foods, and electrolytes. Further reading If you re a serious competitor looking for some specific dietary advice, you can visit the Association for Diatetics in South Africa. Or if you re planning your grocery shopping download the new Woolworths mobile app that you can shop 24 hours and get the product delivered to your door.

19 SOME FINAL WORDS of wisdom What advice does Ignus have for you? Choose your partner well. Do the hours of training. Just do it. Rest well at least 2 weeks before the Epic a rested body is better than an over-trained body. Don t go too hard in the early stages. You ll pay later. Don t crash! Whatever you do, avoid this. You ll either have an expensive broken bike or an even more expensive (and out of action) body. Book your massages. Book a mechanic. Stay positive and when the going gets really tough, don t take it out on your partner. And last, but not least: Enjoy every moment of it! It really is an experience. GOOD LUCK!