Go big or go home. My n=1 is getting faster simply by doing max efforts without any real structure. Even sub Vo2max efforts are very hard for me, so back in 2016 I figured just go max and leave it all on the road even if that meant only two max 1-min efforts. The simple fact I can’t ignore is that my highest FTP, highest anaerobic capacity, and highest modeled vo2max came after doing mostly unstructured max efforts (1-min and 4-min).
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Oh certainly not wasted time! That’s for sure. 
Question is cost/benefit relation.
Also I’m not quite sure what you and others mean by “maximal” for a set of intervals: When do you hit RPE 10/10? At the end of every interval? At the end of the last interval? In the first minute of the first interval? 
Sounds like what I’d do during a tapering period, and yes, in the short run for me it also gives a big boost (which I’d however attribute more to psychological factors / pain tolerance more than anything else).
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Hard enough at the start that you can’t hold that pace for more than 30-60s. Hard enough for the rest that your power is tapering. Every interval. Maximal.
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Sounds like a workout with a series of wingate intervals. What fun!!
Wingate intervals!! 10/10 every second of the interval.
I also have been wrestling with the same question about how hard to go in intervals. Seiler, and others, say go hard, but not so hard where you wipe yourself out. I.e. that you should always be able to do another interval at the end of each workout.
So my VO2 efforts have been more like 8 or 9. My HR does not hit maximum - which I guess by definition means I’m not hitting VO2max.
Is that enough? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s more sustainable than RPE 10 intervals.
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Thanks for the explanation. I do like hard-starts, but I’m restricting myself to the RPE 8.5-9.5 range. Too soft for life-death-struggles week after week, month after month, year after year.
I like Jem Arnold’s conclusion in his last post (although I’d go for a bit more than 8/10):
Instructions for a hard-start workout might simply be: “Attack hard at the start, then back off and hold 8/10 effort for 5 minutes. Keep your power above Threshold, and prioritize completing the full workout duration. Challenge yourself and enjoy!”
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A little goes a long ways…
I do these for a 2-3 week block once, maybe twice a season. It isn’t a weekly thing. And don’t do it near an important event.
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I’m going to need a more gradual introduction to this work thats less than 2.5min. will probably start with 60-90swith 3min off. My god this first workout had me on the floor for 30min. I spent only 4min above 170bpm
Who here uses a Tacx neo? I cannot keep it from pulsing while in resistance mode. And even in resistance mode it still suffers from the death spiral. what gives?
check out “rattlesnake.”
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Is there any science to back this up? It seems contrary to the typical go as hard as you can, but manage the effort so you can repeat the sets at a near constant average power.
If I go all out, I may last 30 seconds of some power 3-5x my FTP. Then I will totally collapse and have to do the rest of the set in “limp home mode”. How will that benefit me, other than sprint training I guess/
If I shoot for a sustainable 5 min power. It takes maybe 1:30 from the second set and onwards until my HR is above 90% max. The last minutes feels like dying etc.
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Watts doc 18-24.
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If you shoot for “sustainable” 30-60s power, it might take 45-60s until your HR is above 90% max (maybe even 30s in the later intervals). Your power will naturally drop, but hold it above FTP. The average power between the steady-state interval and the hard-start interval will be approx. the same, however, you’ll have spent an additional 30-60s of each interval in VO2max with the hard-starts vs the steady-state.
e.g. 1:30 of 5:00 = 70% in VO2max vs 45s of 5:00 = 85% in VO2max.
Yes, I did listen to that. Been a while. But was there any proof/papers/researrch referenced to the hard start / high cadence, or was it just anecdotal to what Kolie Moore has seen in his coached athletes?
I don’t think there has been a specific study comparing methods of training VO2max.
I will certainly give that a try next time! See how that fits me.
My only somewhat similar experience would be the dreaded 30s/15s. If I go too hard in the first 2-3 30sec intervals, the rest of the workout is “ruined”. I might be able to get/keep my HR up, but often having to go below 105% FTP etc.
My screen shot showing all the power spikes on the rest intervals. The resistance pulses for some reason.
That power profile does not look good! Have you tried the workout in erg mode?
Just now saw this thread. Thanks @DaveWh for making it available, and for the other comments and contributions. It’s a great (but happily not unique) example of what make this a great forum. Thanks also, TR, for nurturing it.
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Figured out what it was, The trainer is paired with BT and ANT+. using the resistance mode button in the workout only toggles 1 ‘device’ so erg and resistance were fighting each other. removing the ant+ pair fixed it.
Heres todays workout. 8.5min above 170 bpm. My last interval I couldnt get my legs to spin up and the HR was dropping so I quit. I’ll now start extending intervals.
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