New cyclist - loving the start of this effort. I took the FTP test and received 115. I started the masters general build and the first vo2max was Gendarme + 3 (vo2max 4.9). Today; A week later, I got recommended Gendarme (vo2max 3.0).
As I started the vo2max it felt really easy. I ended up bumping the intensity by 9% on Zwift which felt great. It was hard but nowhere as hard as the vo2max from last week.
Question: Was this the right way to increase my intensity or should I have kept to the training plan? Should I have chosen a different plan based on seeing the vo2max 3.0?
It depends. The workouts are supposed bring your oxygen uptake to the max. For most athletes this mean a heart rate of between 90 and 95%. There’s no point in pushing your heart rate further as it will put unnecessary strain on your body and delay recovery.
Did you reach the 90-95% bracket with the intended intensity? If that’s the case, it wasn’t necessary to bump up the intensity. If the workout was indeed to easy you made the correct thing. The third option (and probably the best) is if you can select a replacement workout with suitable PL beforehand. Unfortunately that might be difficult until you gain some more experience.
That said, don’t worry, follow the plan and be consistent with your training. Consistent training is far more important in the long run (ride…) than intensity in a specific workout.
The Gendarme series of workouts are inspired by the work of Veronique Billat. Google her if you want some background.
Increasing the intensity is always an option if you’re feeling particularly good one day during a workout. Just be careful to ensure that you’re not making the workout too hard.
I usually start by bumping up ~2% and then trying another interval before bumping up again.
Regardless, it looks like you did really well during your last workout! Nice work!
It’s important to know that not all workouts are going to be harder than the last one. Progression isn’t always purely linear in that way.
With that being said, if you’re feeling good and are confident that the prescribed workout will be a bit too easy, I’d check the Workout Alternates to see if there is a higher-level workout that could serve as a good replacement.
Let me know if this helps and if you have any other questions.
IMO, a VO2 workout that you find ‘really easy’ is a waste of time for well trained athletes. They should be near knockout, drag outs. Bringing your body to maximal oxygen uptake means your body is using more oxygen than it can deliver. As you can imagine, that will never feel good.
That being said, as a new cyclist consistency is king. If you go all out, blow up, hate it, and never do it again then that’s not good either. So while the VO2 workouts still shouldn’t feel ‘easy’ they should probably be challenging but achievable for a little while. It’s important to remember that many of the same systems that create aerobic fitness are the same ones that allow you to recover. So when you are well trained you will not only be able to do more work but you will be able to recover more quickly from more work.
So as a beginner, I’d focus on riding more, sprinkle in intensity when it feels good and fun and focus more on the riding on the fun and not worry too much about specific intensities.
I really appreciate everyone’s feedback. I went back to the results and it showed I hit 95% of max on the last 2 intervals. I guessed correctly but I found it wild I was at a 9% increase.
I workout regularly 5 days a week for the past 3 years, on/off for 15 years before, and my cardio was always my weakest so I wanted to try structured cardio programming. It’s obvious that I’ll have some fitness that will translate but it’s still early.
I like the suggestions on trusting how you’re feeling. I certainly got caught up over-thinking workouts but I think it’s time I start trusting the gut more.
Again, thanks to all of you and I’m looking forward to learning more along the way!
Because you’re new, your FTP is going to rise relatively fast. These are called newb gains. Then as you get more fit the gains will become smaller and slower to occur. Keep that in mind.
So if your FTP has already increased (could happen simply from better muscle coordination if you didn’t ride regularly before), then your VO2max workout wasn’t actually at the intensity it should have been, making it feel easy.
Anyways, it’s best to just stick with the plan while your body gets used to the training load. Bump the intensity modestly when workouts that are supposed to be hard aren’t, but wait until you’re a few intervals into the workout to do that.
After 3-4 weeks you should test FTP again to get a good read on where you’re at.
