I’m currently on short power build and finding it quite fun. I’m wondering if I should do some more standing efforts or low cadence torque efforts during the v02 max intervals?
Mainly as I race enduro and downhill, and the entire race will be done out of the saddle unless there’s a short flat section.
Would this be more beneficial specific to my goals? Have others done similar?
according to people i ride with im a monster at climbing, who knows, but the on thing i noticed a long time ago was that as soon as you come out of the saddle, ie standing, your power drops (in the real world) unless its a standing start obviously, so in theory you’re going slower - I never stand when im climbing unless i need to sprint.
But and more related to your question CX racing is similar you kind of hover above your saddle, when cx season comes around i spend a lot of time on rollers ‘hovering’ about 10mm above my saddle.
My power is always far higher (increases) when I transition to standing but often for less speed so for efficiency its usually better to remain seated on road.
@Jbhkhc there would be no harm in mixing standing into your training if thats what you are doing in the real world. I’m training for TT’s so its the opposite for me I try to remain seated but even then Chad’s notes will have stuff about climbing out of the saddle and it certainly doesn’t hurt IMO
Yes. Train how you race, it will definitely help.
I’m a singlespeed endurance racer so I see a lot of value in doing standing intervals. There are races where I can be standing for pretty long periods of time so I figure I should be doing some of that on the trainer.
I would definitely do some of the VO2 stuff out of the saddle, then. That’s a good idea!
Yup, I raced BMX last season and did plenty of VO2 and higher intervals standing on the trainer. My races range from 30 to 60 seconds, and that’s what most of my workout intervals were since I had a plan selected to give them.
Sometimes I’d alternate up or down between each interval for some variety. Just think about the efforts you do outside and apply use at least similar to that on the trainer.
Also consider adding some level of motion to your trainer setup, since standing on a rigid setup is odd and notably different from outside.
Oh cool. I’d be interested to see how your pr power curve looks with that kinds focus on short bursts of power, especially with gate starts.
As for motion, I’ve looked at the e-flex plus…but I struggle to fit my race bike and trainer bike on my balcony already (shoebox flat in HK) and it’s a pretty big footprint.
This is not that impressive since I don’t have power on my BMX bikes, but here is the current season (no real peak efforts yet), last season with the BMX emphasis and the prior one for reference:
Sprint:
Endurance:
I’ve got decent sprint power for my 66kg weight and 48yo age last year. I hit 1100-1200w on the road bike in peak form.
For a simple motion setup you may still benefit from thick foam blocks or cushions even thought it’s not a full motion system. Not completely necessary, but can be a bit of an improvement at least.
I frequently stand for both vo2 max and long endurance rides (4-6hr), and I’m a crit/road racer. I don’t see anything wrong with the practice. Anecdotally it gives my bum a chance reset, I can use my running fitness on the bike, and also practice my standing form for outdoors.
Still good power for 66kg. Nice one!
I actually have some foam blocks so my neighbours below don’t complain when I deadlift, I’ll give that a go. Thanks for the suggestions 
Weird, my running fitness definitely doesn’t translate to my riding. At all.
