4 week VO2 block - Chads plan or use TrainNow?

Training
1

Hi all

I have a 4 week window in my training plan and I am weak at VO2 so thought I would drop in Chads 4 week block. For those not familiar, it is

Gendarme or Taylor -2, Stanislaus -4, Freel +1, Bashful, Baird +2, Mills or Gawler, Dade +1, then finally something awful like Spencer.

I see the logic of moving from shorter to longer efforts but that plan goes from 2.9 up to 7.5 in VO2 progression level and so I was wondering if this tried and tested 4 week plan is now superceded by AT and I could use TrainNow and my existing progression levels to follow a 4 week block that better fits me?

2

From my pov it was a suggestion, not tried and true. I did a vo2 block in Feb 2019 and it looked different, as I adapted it to myself.

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Chad put that out there a long time before AT was around. IIRC, the progression was based on interval time. Now as you suggest, seems it’d be better to base the progression on PLs. TrainNow is one way to do it. Or schedule a plan that has a VO2 progression that looks interesting so that you’ll get AT adaptions. You could ignore other parts of the plan if not of interest, and/or use TrainNow to supplement with add’l VO2 workouts.

4

Just schedule the low volume specialty phase for “short track xc” that has 3 Vo2max workouts each week. Let AT adjust the rest.

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5

How do you schedule a specific plan AND have AT working?
I hought you must use plan builder for AT to work

6

You can add it the specialty phase whenever you want to start, it’s an 8 week “phase”.

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7

Ahh. I did not know that was possible
Thank you.

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8

That is TOP advice! I often create my own V02 block and that sounds a much easier/better way. Cheers

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9

I’ve been doing 2 Vo2 workouts a week and Z2 everything else for the last few weeks. Progression levels are awesome for this, and gives me some flexibility in what type of Vo2 I feel like doing on any given day. Staying under a 0.5 increase in levels per week/workout has led me to a 100% success rate so far.

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10

This is a great shout!

I had to go have a look. It’s a lot of very short effort VO2max workouts, presumably it will only adapt within those bounds. So that’s one limitation to bare in mind if using it for a VO2 overload block.

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11

All you need to do is to pick alternate workouts of the type you want

12

Alternates are also usually tied to the original workout as well in terms of style/interval length etc.

I take your point though and I think it’s an awesome option. I just wanted to add that as I think many people angling at a VO2 block would be best suited with more traditional 4 or 5min blocks or at least progressing too.

Of course it’s horses for courses and YMMV.

13

Climbing road race specialty could be another option using the low volume plan. Although it’s only 2 Vo2 workouts and 1 threshold. The interval lengths in that plan would increase time in those zones and not so much the punchy short intervals.

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