Moving into a threshold block following a KM FTP test, what percentage of FTP would be the target for training reps? Listening to KM podcast he doesn’t give a specific percentage so I’m guessing 100%?
I think rather around 97-98% as a baseline to take into account pm error, bad day and so one. And with ftp just a little bit lower you recover better.
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I am pretty new to WKO, so don’t have a lot to add, but I thought I’d mention my experience as something not to do…
So far, I tried the short test (which worked out to be 45s) in the recovery week on a Tuesday and the long test on the Sunday. I also had two similar tests for running in there (I’m using a ‘power’ meter for that as well).
In hindsight, I can see why I botched the Sunday test, way too ambitious a schedule, but on the plus side, it didn’t matter too much because I felt rested coming into the next block. I think I need to be a bit more patient with the testing, but overreached because of my enthusiasm for WKO.
I have a question about the tests more generally, is it cheating to use erg mode to set the target power? I am hopeless at pacing sprints and short power (I’m a triathlete) so feel like I am underachieving in my tests, so under (or over) representing my PDC. I suspect that answer is to be better at pacing 
.
This is how they suggest anyone new or someone who has a long break or change in fitness test;
Once you had a solid PDC created, maintenance is simply a matter of reviewing residuals, and during a 90 day block touching up those points.
Personally what I do for maintenance is every 4-5 weeks (following a block of training ex. SST) is do a ramp test on one day, followed by a 20-30min FTP test the next. So for example last Sunday I did a ramp test, I wanted to do a 20-30min FTP on Monday but just didn’t have time, so will do this Saturday.
That typically validates my ramp test or tweaks where I need to be slightly (usually down a few watts).
Then through the 4-5 week block I’m doing I’ll toss in a workout where I hit a 1min or 5min if they haven’t been touched in a while just to ensure the model stays semi up to date.
What I found especially while doing a lot of SST is that because I wasn’t going above 90%, and was doing all long intervals, my short power residuals started to drop off and it was messing with my model results. Quick workout sorted that out. During the summer when riding outdoors dont typically have this issue as the riding intervals and efforts are far more varied.
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Can I ask, why do you do the ramp test? Not trying to be sassy or picky or whatever but if you can do 30 min test why not hold the power some more and have real ftp not estimated from random number generator?
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Fair question; the answer is pacing.
Put simply, i suck at it. Short efforts I am OK at, anything longer than 4min I need a pacing target as I go out FAR too hard and end up in a hole.
The ramp test is AN assessment, but I know it skews a certain way given my anaerobic engine. Doing a 20-30min test at my ramp test result allows me to validate whether or not I can rely on my ramp test result, or whether it needs to come down, and also provides a target to at least try and hold for the duration in question for pacing purposes.
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Ok, that explains a lot - thank you. And to be hones I find pacing longer tests - 40-60 min a lot easier than 20 min. I cannot pace 20 min test, but pacing methodology from KM - do 10 minutes around 90-92% of your current FTP and then gradually increase the power till you find the power you can hold but if you go above found power you start to fatigue is basically bulletrpoof for me. Sounds hard but works every time and there is this magic point that you feel that going above for 2-3 min you start to loose strenght and your breathing changes, so then lower the power below that point.
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This is something I am actually actively working on as we go through the extensive and intensive progressions, is paying attention to how it FEELS so that outdoors I can pace better without having to be looking down as often at head unit.
That feeling in and around threshold is just not as granular for me as it needs to be, and some are far better at it. I find I’ll go at what I think it threshold and look down and I am going at 120% of where I should be. Leads to a very saw toothed effort where I overshoot, overcook, undershoot, recover…rinse and repeat.
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Ok, so with this PDC talk… what the hell am I supposed to do with this information with regards to how I execute my rides?
We really need to just start a WKO planning thread here. 
This thread jumps from SST to FTP training to VO2max blocks, to how to use WKO, and back again.
Lemme answer a couple of questions:
@anthonylane I wouldn’t use that progression. It’s not aggressive enough, frankly. Tim even says “this isn’t a progression I would ever program.” Place to start, sure, but spend the time to parse through the thread and there are some good progressions listed here.
WRT how to use your power curve, you can follow some of the advice that says for a specific interval target time, use 95-97% of the PDC. E.g. if you want to bang out 20 minute intervals, go to your PDC at 20 min, take 97%, and presto - that’s your 2x20 threshold workout. For 5 minute intervals, same. Do some maximal efforts periodically and this can be a very effective way to train, as it bases your interval targets off of what you’re actually capable of at each level, instead of tying it all just to FTP.
That’s a very crude description of interval targeting via PDC, but it’s the gist. I’m sure I’ll get blasted by another coach for being so crude in that description. 
@Kipstrong You can either aim for 97-98% or you can use the advanced interval targeting view on WKO for the interval length you want and go from there.
@RONDAL For PDC maintenance, during most of these blocks my “testing” was as follows:
- Recovery/Test week - KM FTP/TTE test protocol (this usually also satisfies the “aerobic” residual.
- Sprint test - week 1 following recovery, usually on my short mid-week Z2 ride. I warm up, bang out a couple sprints and LT1 the rest.
- Long test (if I feel like I need to do it) - week 2, as the workout, this is anything from like max 8 minutes to max 60 min. If it’s a max 8 min test, I’ll do that, then zip some tempo for an hour. Max 60 is just the workout.
- Medium test - week 3 - usually as part of a workout, maybe the first interval followed by some SST or tempo time after.
That’s more than you probably need to have a good PDC, but I like doing maximal efforts too.
@russell.r.sage I programmed two SST workouts, one long tempo ride and two endurance rides each week. My format:
M - SST progression
T - 1hr Z2 + speed sprints
W - Tempo (or maybe SST or testing if legs are good)
R - Off
F - SST progression
Sa - Long (3-4hr) Z2
Su - Off
Hope that helps!
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In the other KM wisdom thread that was deleted. There was a lot of good info about doing a v02 block but I can’t remember the details.
I want to do a 2 week v02 block before returning to a sweetspot and threshold block (currently I can do sweetspot at 90+% for plenty of time but really struggle with 3 min intervals at 118-120% so figure might be time to ‘raise ceiling’).
What do people suggest for a v02 block - I seem to remember people suggesting 3 v02 workouts a week on consecutive days (say Mon,Tues,wed) then easy rest of week than repeat following week… or people think better to space out the 3 workouts across the week to recover a little and hit higher power/More interval time etc?
Aim is to do stuff like 6x3 min, 5x4min and 4x5 min
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@anthonylane Building Intervals the WKO5 Way - YouTube
Releasing the Power of Sprint Training with WKO4 - YouTube
Periodization Planning and Review with WKO4 - YouTube
Watch wko webinars, there is a lot of info there, especially when they go deep into details.
@RobertSims
Test 5 min power.
3x vo2 max day after day, rest of the week - active recovery
Second week - the same
Intervals progression - start with the longest (for example 3x6) and progress downward (4x5, 5x4, 6x3,5, 7x3, 8x2,5) or start with the longest you can hold (for example 5x4, 6x3,5, 7z3) and repeat the next week the same configuration. Target is 20 min in vo2 max, this should give you around 15 min of real waterboarding…I ment vo2 max work.
Then rest. Adaptations are usually visible after 2-3 weeks. Test 5 min power after to check the imorovements.
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Super helpful, thank you.
Just in recovery week now, then 2 weeks of v02, then another easy recovery week, then into another sweetspot block with bit of threshold too.
Will also be doing 3 runs a week (a long with the 3 rides).
Sound ok?
If you also running go full hardcore:
The results: The average weekly increase in Vo2 max was 0.12 l/min. The total increase in Vo2 max averaged 16.8 ml/kg per min (44%).
If not - it sounds ok 
Sorry…was that for me. Can’t see article right now? What main points? Actually fine v02 work much easier to tolerate when running than cycling. Wonder how well it crosses over…I.e. focus in v02 with running…and helps v02 power on bike?
This is great, thank you.
Awesome, thank you
@RobertSims sorry, it was for you. Vo2 max is vo2 max no matter how you rise it. Muscles adaptations are other thing.
And protocol:
Hickson Protocol (Long intervals, continuous work) [17]
- Ride 3 times a week, run 3 times a week (or presumably supplement with comparable rides).
- On ride days perform 6 X 5 minute intervals at an intensity eliciting VO2max (near maximal) with 2 minutes of rest between each effort.
- As weekly fitness improves continue to increase your power output on intervals, always eliciting a near maximal effort.
The protocol consists of exercise 6 days per week for 10 weeks. On days 1,3, and 5 the workout is six 5-minutes maximal cycling intervals separated by 2-minutes of easy cycling. On the alternate 2,4, and 6 it is 40 minutes of hard running. The figure below shows that when untrained subjects first used the protocol they achieved vast increases in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) over the course of the 10 weeks of training.
Protocol for runs? No way I can handle 5 min intervals on 2 mins rest…to be fair think can’t manage 6 x 5 mins full stop!
4 x 5 min maybe!
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It was completed by different participants, not highly trained athletes. The protocol is extremely hardcore and probably will derail your training for a month but the gainnzzz 
And the weightloss as a bonus:
And vo2 max improvements:
Edit:
And I have forgotten - it is 10 wk training program. Can you imagine?
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Another vote for WKO thread!
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