How much am I losing in SSB if I skip ILT?

Name says it all. I hate ILT with an undying passion. I am not doing them. They seem to come up frequently in the SSB plans. If I’m just skipping these and pedaling through those sections am I wasting my time? Should I be picking different workouts instead?

And before you say “well Nathan that probably means you need to do more!” I get it, you’re probably right, but I’m still not going to. I really really really don’t like them.

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I don’t like them either, I’d just pedal through them. I think they are only in SSB pt1, can’t remember any in pt2 or if there are any pedalling drills then they are optional.

Likely to be an unpopular take, but…ILT drills are not long enough to ingrain any kind of neuromuscular improvement…IMO.

I skip over them because, after 30+ years on the bike, I highly doubt a couple of minutes of ILT will make any change to my pedaling…and that assumes that I need to (I really don’t…I have a very smooth spin).

I have spent a fair amount of miles on PowerCranks (crank arms act independently of each other)…when you are forced to do what are essentially ILT for an entire 1+ hour ride, you may start to see some difference in your pedaling style. But 3-4 minutes, broken down between each leg, won’t change anything.

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The drills in most (if not all) workouts are optional, as is stated in the workout text.

I think you find drills added, particularly to the base period, partly as a way to keep your mind occupied and develop some good habits whilst the intensity is low and you have the presence of mind to focus on technique. The drills are never the primary aim of a workout

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True…but unfortunately the ILT drills have adjusted power for them, which most drills don’t. So for the majority of drills, do them or not…power is still within a given prescribed power range (i.e. higher cadence drills in SS are still in SS even at a lower cadence).

If you don’t do the ILT, you are spinning at a ridiculously low wattage which provides little benefit.

Sure you can skip forward or increase the wattage, but it is kinda annoying.

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I have yet to hit any ILT (I think) in my first week+ of training. Had to look up the acronym. Instructor Led Training? Are you just referring to when the program is talking to you? Or is there something else I have yet to run into?

Isolated Leg Training…or Single Leg Drills.

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Okay interesting. Yah I have yet to run into that yet and not sure I would find any value in it.

Let me argue for the defence of ILT. I did an ILT workout yesterday, and power levels are really low, like you say.
However, the power levels seem to be at about 50% of FTP. So you are doing twice the work at half the aerobic load. This allows you to tax your muscular system i.e. simulating riding at FTP at half aerobic load. So I think these are not just about technique, but muscular force.

I skip them because they seem to cause issues with my peroneal tendon/nerve, so definitely not worth it and no loss from my perspective.

They could give free podiums and I’m still not doing them.

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Good point!

I’m a beginner. Within my first six months of training, I bumped into ILT drills. I find them annoying and difficult… but I quickly noticed that my pedaling dynamics were getting smoother on other rides, my kick-and-pull far more effective, and my overall power delivery better.

For highly experienced riders, I have no idea of how beneficial it may be. But for people with little experience, ILT as a teaching tool is priceless.

I skip over them and just enjoyed the few minutes of easy spinning. An issue for me is that I use powermatch from a LH crank power meter. As such the whole thing falls apart when i do the right leg. Coupled with the fact that I plain-old don’t like them!

I think this is the best explanation. For beginners, they are very valuable. I know they felt extremely awkward the first time I did them, but as I got better at them I began to remember how it felt and can call that feeling back up to reinforce good pedaling dynamics. I think after you’ve done them a bunch, they don’t offer much benefit.