Standing during vo2 Intervals

Training
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I had to stand for a fair bit of the later Intervals in this workout tonight, by the last couple it felt like I was muscling through. Would you consider the workout a fail if having to resort to standing?

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Questions:

  • What is standing doing for you that allows you to complete the interval (vs staying seated)?

  • Is standing in efforts like this something you already do or plan to do in your events, for similar efforts?

Essentially, is this a crutch you are using to finish the workout or something you actual need to do?

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I know this sounds backwards but standing feels like it temporarily takes the burden off my legs, like a shifting of the work load from different muscles!?

I’ve got Ironman Wales later this year (v hilly) so standing isn’t a bad thing for me to practise but I’m not doing it intentionally for that purpose.

Thanks for the prompt reply :slight_smile:

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No, the shift in loading makes perfect sense and is one reason I regularly include standing breaks in all of my training (inside and out). I do it in work or recovery intervals, with general intent towards when and where I would do them outside, to make some parallels in my training.

I think using them for bailouts may be OK, to a degree. Make sure to recognize what is happening to you to lead to that, especially if it’s in those final moment of an interval. Consider if adding standing at more deliberate points in the sets (work or recovery) would serve you better so you can nail the work sets as you want to ride them.

Think about the weakness that is setting you to the point of resorting to standing, and see if you can address it so you are proactive, not reactive.

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That makes a lot of sense thanks Chad! I’ll definitely keep this in mind in future vo2 Intervals :+1:

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Personally, I find the need to stand in later intervals is mostly related to getting momentary comfort on the rear. The legs may get a tiny relief in switching the way muscles are firing, but the butt pain indoors is so much more pronounced…and standing helps get through when seated positions are shot.

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I don’t think standing is a bad thing. It’s just that sitting is slightly better, for training adaptation IME.

If you’re like me, standing works as a quasi-bailout because it unloads a certain amount of anaerobic power that can’t be fully depleted by sitting. I don’t see it as a true bailout because I’ve never seen my HR go down as a result of standing.

As per the workout text, VO2max target power varies among individuals, so intensity often needs to be tweaked. If standing means the difference between completing the last 30 seconds of an interval at say 120%, vs having to dial the entire interval down to 115%, then my vote is to stand, and hit the higher power numbers.

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