I’m a year into using trainerroad and did two 100 mile gravel races last year and do the occasional fast group ride. I don’t really race, and don’t train to get race results. I do enjoy chasing fitness, and tracking power numbers and progress. I’d like to work in some specific efforts to fill out my power curve more accurately as a way to “express my fitness.” I don’t have a power meter on my outdoor bike so all of my power records come from my indoor trainer and from structured workouts.
I don’t want to do blocks of specific training in order to maximize a specific time interval, but would like to continue my current training while working in max efforts to fill out my power curve just for fun and to set some all time bests (5s, 15s, 1 min, 2 min, 4 min, 5 min, 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 1 hour). For example all of my power records from 2m-10m all come from a single ramp test. That ramp test is not optimized to give max power for any of the durations from 2m-10m. In fact, my entire power curve comes from only 4 structured workouts, none of which were max efforts for the time interval. In my training I never do max efforts for any time interval. I do a lot of sweet spot and threshold over-unders, but never a workout that would allow me to get a true all time best in 20m, 30m, or 1hr power. I don’t want to abandon my masters base→masters sustained power build→gran fondo training plan I have set up for the next 6 months, but would like advice on how to work in these max efforts strategically into my current training, just so I can chase some numbers for fun, without totally burying myself in fatigue or sabotaging my structured training plan.
When and how do I schedule these efforts? Can I combine some together into workouts? How should I adjust my training plan on weeks I’m doing a max effort? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, or just perspective on how to think about going about this.
This is probably going to be a somewhat controversial take, but you can mix in max efforts during your recovery week during the Wednesday (if <= ~2 minutes) or Saturday (>5 minutes) workouts. When I was coached, this is what my coach had me do to fill out the “low” spots (defined by WKO5 residuals) in my power duration curve.
I also wouldn’t do too many max efforts in a week, or in a single ride. A true max effort will take it out of you.
Don’t overcomplicate it. What you’re describing is just testing and there are many ways to do it. Filling in your power curve is a good idea but it doesn’t need to be strategic - on a day after a rest day and with a warmup do a 1 minute and 5 minute max effort and the next day do a 20-minute max effort. The curve will then fill itself in and you’ll have good critical power/FTP figures. I would also suggest a sprint but probably not indoors.
You do not need to alter your training plan just stick them in somewhere that makes sense. I am happy to suggest where if you share more information about your schedule and current load.
bigsushi….love the name…. I’d be happy to share my schedule and current load.
Ideally I build some additional fitness over the next two months and do some of these efforts in December when I’m truly locked in the basement on my trainer during winter weather. I am only training 4 days a week for a total of 4 hours with 2 endurance rides and 2 workouts. I have two young kids, work a manual labor job, and am working on improving my sleep habits, but sleep is not the best. I have learned that I can go hard and it feels great, but in general I am slow to recover and carry fatigue and soreness for days and days. I am on a 3 week intensity then 1 week recovery schedule. Here is my next 4 weeks…. (I just started training again 2 months ago and my last 2 months has been the same schedule except with sweet spot work on Tuesdays instead of V02).
Whilst I do race, I also like to chase Power Records. However, I typically do these outdoors and often try and match them to an appropriate Strava Segment for added motivation. My outdoor numbers are almost always higher than indoor as well. No chance of you getting a power meter for an outdoor Bike?
As you have limited training time of 4 hrs per week, I would do these power tests very sparingly to avoid fatigue - but make them count when you do them.
Longer efforts require a bit less freshness to get a good result than a shorter one.
So I’d probably aim to put the 20m and above efforts into your normal training (like replace one of those saturday workouts and just go do a 30m all out effort instead of the scheduled over-unders. They’ll basically train the same (or similar enough) energy systems and wouldn’t impact your training too much.
The shorter efforts will be better when you’re a bit fresher but they also won’t take as much out of you. They’ll be hard but just from an overall energy expenditure perspective a 1 minute effort isn’t a lot. So I’d probably do them in the middle of your recovery week (like @AlphaDogCycling suggested). That way you’ve freshened up a bit but you also have several more days to recover again for your next block.
I’d probably aim to do like 1 of the longer efforts and 2-3 of the shorter ones in each block. Any more than that and you risk disrupting your overall plan. So like one the 18th or 25th do a 30 or 60m effort then on the 30th or 31st do like a 5s and 4m effort. Then something similar next block.
Also, if you’re doing those short max efforts during your recovery week and you think you already struggle with recovery I’d drop at least one of those workouts down from endurance to a true recovery ride. You’re better off being too recovered than still a bit fatigued going into the next block.
