Get through terrible interval training with this one weird trick
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TBF I couldnāt even hold onto his advice for 3mins, once he started with that negative instead of encouraging style I switched right off 
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I have to say that I wholeheartedly disagree with the guy in the video. Yes, suppose your in the middle of your last VO2 interval of the set. Your legs are cooked. In my experience, my legs just quit pedalling, similar to what happens when you top out on the ramp test. A short backpedal will allow you to finish the interval or get further along. Best training? maybe not, but the alternative is to abandon the interval and possibly the rest of the workout.
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I agree with him. I never backpedal in a hard interval , for the reasons he gives.
What has happened is occasionally I have had to go to resistance mode, because am no longer achieving the watts on screen, But I struggle on and finish the interval.
I did once have to stop the session, because i had Doms after a weights session, and my quads just seized up. I could see an imjury waiting to happen!
I 'm not sure why TR has suggested this.
If a person repeatedly has to rest in the middle of a hard interval, it means they have probably not been consistently following their plan/ they are too fatigued /they have set their FTP too high, etc
If you regularly need to backpedal in the middle of a hard interval, thatās valuable data that should be acted on. The number of things that it could be is huge (bad fit is another one, for VO2max intervals specifically it could be that the percentage of FTP being used for āVO2maxā is wrong for you in particular, and the list goes onā¦), but it is definitely a symptom of something that you should investigate and try to address.
But in the moment, maybe itās the right thing to do, or at least a reasonable thing to do. As the article mentions, lowering intensity (whether itās by switching to resistance mode or lowering the power target in erg mode) is another reasonable thing to do. Taking longer breaks between intervals is another reasonable response. Trying to grit it out to find out if you are capable of more than you think of is also a reasonable response.
But the best judge of what is right for you in the moment isā¦ probably not Jesse Coyle, itās you.
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Agree, if youāre repeatedly having to break it up, look for the reasons why.
To be fair to Chad, I think from memory that heās said that the point of giving yourself a 10 second break in the middle of a Sweets Spot interval is that you still get 9 min 50sec of Sweet Spot work rather than bailing and getting a reduced training stimulus?
Totally agree with Jesse here. Every time Iāve heard backpedal being mentioned on the pod I have just dismissed it as stupid advice. Out of erg mode and try your best is the best way imo.
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Welcome to the forums, nice of you to join us today for this thread. 
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Not sus at all
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Whatās suspect? Iāve been a member for a long time. Iām also a huge fan of TR and use it dailyā¦
Backpedaled today between some V02 intervals. I donāt much care. A few seconds of backpedalling in, say a month, is inconsequential.
Everyone is free to train how they see fit.
Iām not going out to set world records here. Backpedaling wonāt change my life.
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I wonder the science on a <5s back pedal then resuming vo2 power vs being a try hard and doing vo2 but ending up in threshold for the remainder
I thought you just joined todayā¦ But I miss readā¦ You posted for the first time today, but you have been a forum member for a long timeā¦
It would have been sus if a person joins and the first comment is related to TR bashingā¦
This video seems so dumb. As a long time user of TR, the backpedal comment is very low down on the list of recommendations from TR. This is from someone that has listened to a lot of the podcasts, and performed a lot of their workouts.
And of course Dylan Johnson piles on in the comments. It is like a cesspool of clickbaters.
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that wasnāt what i took out of the video at allā¦he said everyone battles with hard efforts from time to time but the physiological effect of backpedaling vs making it slightly easier is different.
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To be fair, backpedaling is āoldā TR advice.
If you backpedal your intervals now with Adaptive Training, youāll have failed your workout and AT will bump down your Progression Levels.
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More outdated training advice. Failing workouts simply is not a thing.
Should be titled āIām a backpedal addict, here is my mental gymnastics and self justification for my absolute approach (with TR in the title for the clicks)ā
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I hope theyāll talk about it on the podcast - reminds me of Dylan Johnsonās criticism of the TR training plans!
Pretty sure most TR VO2 Max workouts suggest reducing intensity and/or using warm up to establish a repeatable intensity.
I have auto pause on TR, so never found backpedalling particularly helpful tbh. If I have to do it mid interval I reduce intensity. Iāve never really got the back pedal in recovery thing though - never felt it would help anymore than the reduction in intensity.