If you're a competitive cyclist or a serious recreational bike rider, and you want to improve your power output on the bike, then Spinervals Competition 11.0: Big Gear Strength is exactly the workout you're looking for. Even if the roads are covered in ice and snow, or it's just too cold or rainy to get outside, you can pop your bike in the indoor trainer and get an intense, high-quality workout that focuses exactly on what you want to work on.

Big Gear Strength is a very focused workout: the emphasis is squarely on developing leg power to push the big gears at a low cadence. But that doesn't mean a lack of variety in the exercise program itself, because Big Gear Strength actually has quite a varied sequence of activities. Let's take a look at what's in store for you during this 56-minute workout:

As you can see, your legs will get quite a workout. For instance, the one leg drills, which have appeared in previous workouts like Recovery & Technique, are done here with a very high gear, and the off-bike lunges will also tax your leg muscles quite a bit. The emphasis on the extended efforts is on standing work, which again makes sense since you're working on your ability to push a hard gear as you would on a tough hill.

One interesting element in this workout is that it features a "guest speaker," an orthopedic rehabilitation specialist from Team Excel Orthopedic Rehabilitation. At various times in the workout, during the easy spinning sections, this specialist explains some of the injuries that are common to cyclists, and how they're preventable; we even get to see examples of useful stretches for cyclists.

Big Gear Strength is a very challenging workout, listed as 9.3 on the 10-point Spinervals intensity scale. It's also an enjoyable program, with Coach Troy Jacobson offering useful encouragement and pacing throughout the workout. The featured athletes in Big Gear Strength are the riders for Team Excel, and though they're certainly suffering on their bikes as much as you are, they're also clearly enjoying themselves, so the overall program has a cheerful and pleasant atmosphere.

I found Big Gear Strength to be quite distinctive; the workout presented here is different from any of the others in the Spinervals series. At first, you might think that Big Gear Strength would cover the same territory as The Uphill Grind (which focuses on hill climbing) or Time Trial Special (which focuses on steady effort), but there's actually very little overlap, and these programs really all complement each other. There are many different aspects to training for improved speed and strength, and while these three workouts will all tax your muscles, they do it in different ways and with a different goal in mind.

The DVD

Video

Spinervals Competition 11.0: Big Gear Strength looks reasonably good. It appears in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and though it's not extremely sharp, it's bright and clean-looking, and pleasant to look at. The on-screen graphics for perceived effort, time remaining in the workout, and suggested gear ratio are all easy to read. New to this program is an indication of suggested tension setting, for those participants who are using stationary trainers like the LeMond RevMaster instead of their regular bike hooked up to a trainer.

Audio

The sound quality is satisfactory here, with Coach Troy always being easy to understand, and the overall sound being clear and clean. The music is well matched to the exercises, with the tempo of the music helping to suggest the right tempo for your effort on the bike.

Extras

The menu for Big Gear Strength is significantly better than earlier Spinervals DVDs. The listing of exercises is much more detailed than in previous menus, making it easier to locate exactly which portion of the workout you're looking for, and it's much faster to navigate.

Final thoughts

If you are a serious rider and you want to improve your power output and your ability to use big gears, then Spinervals Competition 11:0: Big Gear Strength is the workout for you. It's very focused as well as being very different from other Spinervals programs, and makes a great addition to an overall exercise library for winter and bad-weather training. It's highly recommended.