I’m looking to do some longer 4min vo2 efforts. For shorter 2 minute efforts I’ll shoot for 120% power target and 100+ cadence.
is that same strategy for longer efforts?
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sorta, I mean you want to find more or less where your 4min power lies. And while you can pace it to an extent, if you aren’t using erg (and you shouldn’t) there’s gonna be some power fall off. At the same time, I think it’s good to have a goal of trying to (modestly) beat any prior best efforts, at least for the first interval. My 4min power for vo2 can be like 110-115%, I’d consider the range more than anything
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I use ERG mode and let AI choose my VO2max workouts so I don’t have to worry about pacing or power.
I just spin my legs around and sweat/swear a lot.
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Good call, thanks 
. I don’t use erg mode for these workouts so some idea of where to start is helpful 
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Are you aiming to practice pushing 4 minute power in order to improve it, or are you aiming to increase your VO2 Max?
The execution would be different depending on what you’re trying to achieve.
This 
improve vo2 max
The best way to do this on the TR platform is to search the workout library for “4-minute intervals” and then decide based on expected failure rate. Workouts → list → filter funnel → select V02 → select “intervals”, “long suprathreshold”, and “traditional.” → type “4-minute intervals” into the search box → apply. You’ll get a nice list. If it thinks too hard for you, the AI will let you know.
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Turn off erg.
You probably won’t pace the first ones perfectly but after a session you should be in a good spot.
I would start a bit conservatively and build through the intervals u til you find the right spot.
Then it depends if you are targeting vo2 max improvement or power improvement if you pace them at a higher cadence or just to maximal power.
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I like to start about 30w above where the interval average is gonna be and hang on as long as possible for 4-5 min. That way, they are truly maximal and not whatever AI Slop Watts the robots come up with for me.
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It really isn’t slop - it’s being incredibly accurate for me - and most other people.
It’s genuinely extremely impressive.
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Curious why you think you shouldn’t be riding them as designed. There’s VO2 workouts that have built in power decline within the interval, too, but creates a slightly different training stimulus.
There is a large population of people who are extremely sure that you shouldn’t do VO2max workouts in ERG mode.
I think choice is good and that everyone should try both and see what works for them and their equipment setup.
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Yes same strategy, pick %FTP from your 4 minutes power on your power duration curve and go at it.
Personally, I wouldn’t bother trying to train VO2max doing “VO2max intervals”, because I’ve found VO2 max is not very trainable, a couple of % at most. Whereas I’ve seen a 10% increase in VO2max in response to a switch to high volume low intensity. Doing short duration intervals to get used to the feeling of going all out over <5minutes is very useful.
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For 4-minute VO2 reps, I usually start a touch above what I expect to average, then settle in and accept a small fade as the minutes tick by. That ends up closer to ~110–115% of FTP than 120% for me and I just focus on keeping the effort hard enough that my breathing is fully maxed.
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Good post, I myself fear South Twin +1 or +2.
The AI has scheduled this in for me a few times and I’ve just been lucky that it aways has been changed the closer I get to the workout, but I know sooner or later I’ll have to do it.
VO2 workouts are one of my weakness, the longest that I’ve done so far has been 2:30 mins.
There was loud music and a lot of swearing involved.
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I don’t think it matters as long as you do the work. And then comes down to preference, erg vs not.
Probably lower than 120% for 4 min intervals.
My go-to VO2 workout is 4x5 mins with hard starts, and declining intensity for subsequent intervals.
I do erg mode to prevent myself from going out too hard on the first one.
These are custom workouts, and it took a bit of trial and error to dial in the right power profile - the size and duration of the hard start; the intensity drop between intervals.
Once I got the profile dialed, the workouts become very predictable - I.e. the right level of hard.
4x5 minute intervals
1 min ramp starting at 130%, declining to steady power
4 min steady power ramping down with successive intervals
-
110%
-
109%
-
108%
-
107%
4 min rest between intervals
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the issue with erg is that is leaves things open to too many possibilities, someone might be undoing it if they can do more than what the workout is prescribing. someone who can’t (or at least can’t for every interval) gets stuck in too hard and death spiraling. also, just sticking to erg doesn’t allow athletes to really test their power workout to workout to see if they are actually getting better. Just broadly speaking, when I did adaptive training and did everything on ERG mode, i ended being extremely limited because I wasn’t being pushed in the right ways, so my 4min efforts went from like 330 to 360 in part because I wasn’t being constrained by erg.
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I find that picking 6 minute power on the power duration curve is a good start. It really comes down to how many intervals you are doing. Mostly you just need to be above FTP and put the work in. I don’t know how many 4 minute intervals you are planning (4x5min?) but you want to be able to finish the last one without struggling. They shouldn’t be all out efforts IMO. There are several studies (Rosenblat) that show time in zone above FTP is more important than achieving the highest possible wattage.
To confuse things, you also have the Empirical Cycling approach which is based on cardiac preload. The prescribe hard start, high cadence, VO2 intervals such that you should be gasping like a fish.
There is probably a place for both types of intervals.
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Reminds me of time crunched cyclist definitions for VO2max work. Believe it was peak and fade intervals, sounds like EC method, where you go out as hard as you can and then hang on. Those were brutal and you are just hanging on at the last thirty seconds.
Other ones were Steady Power Intervals that were much more like 105-115% where the power doesn’t drop across the entire interval. Both work and have their place, but think the fatigue and demand can be very different across both.
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