Yeah, I haven’t seen the same results with my “super” masters athletes doing blocks as they’ve gotten from doing a mixed periodization with respect to VO2max. Unless I have a really special circumstance, I don’t think I’ll prescribe them that way to 60+ for sure, maybe even 50+. I did a block as a 45 year old and saw gains from it still, so it kinda just depends.
IMO what you’re doing is working for you and it matches my experience coaching several 60+ athletes.
In general, it’s usually best to reach for the lowest hanging fruits first and then to progress more towards harder training. So if you’re just starting to get back to training after an off-season I’d establish a solid baseline with general aerobic training. It’s also smart to ease your way into VO2max training by doing some easier sessions first with adequate recovery to avoid overuse injuries. So maybe do an 8 week base phase with a couple of VO2max workouts in the latter half to get yourself ready for a high-intensity block.
Also, high-intensity blocks are obviously very demanding in terms of recovery so you shouldn’t schedule them too closely to a race season. It takes a couple of weeks to recover and then 5 - 10 workouts to tune your fitness more towards to race-specific demands.
In below is a graph that illustrates VO2 block-periodisation model used in XC-skiers training year, hopefully it helps:
I would love to add more base, but my season will be over in 8 weeks. This is my 8th week of training and trying to catch lightening in a bottle.
I was going to do the block after a race and that will give me around 1 month of recovery prior to 3 weekends of racing in a row.
No not just starting up again…I’ve been doing sweet spot base since about January after a short off season plus group rides and zone 2. No races I care about until cross season in sept/oct.
Hmm. So I just started sweet spot base2 mid volume after multiple goes through ssb1. I think I may replace the thursday threshold workouts with 2-3 minute VO2 ones…seem reasonable? The plan already has 30/30 type workouts on tuesdays.
Edit: Well did emerald -3 today…6 x 2 minutes at 120%. I did it in resistance mode since that seems to be the thing to do…
I think this is definitely a limiter for me (maybe). Definitely hard. Did all the intervals between 112% and 120%. Heart rate spiked over 180 for each and I was breathing awfully hard…so I’ve got to be more or less in the right ballpark with this. I’ve not done much VO2 in the past…
Either way…I think I’m going to stick with this…I’m just more excited about VO2 than threshold or sweet spot. So I’m going to do VO2 lol. Maybe I’ll spend more time on my saturday group ride pulling at threshold rather than attacking to compensate a bit.
Why not after 50+? Just curious?
Do you still have these athletes do VO2 just not in block style? Or not at all?
Definitely do VO2, just not block style. As I always say, I am not a physiologist, so I don’t know exactly why, but probably related to recovery and adaptation being slower as we age.
My experience is that mixed periodization where athletes do VO2 work as part of structured weeks is more effective for older masters.
Also not a physiologist however I can tell myself stories…
the current story is ‘use it or lose it’ because since passing thru my late 50s it seems if I stop doing anything for more than a week or two I lose it.
Five months of sweetspot should definately be “enough” given that you’ve got some solid training years under your belt. Can’t blame you if you’re feeling tired of ss workouts 
Maybe you could start your build phase now by doing two VO2 workouts per week progressing towards more race-specific workouts in the latter phase.
Optionally, you could also try adding as much volume as possible (given time and recovery restrictions) and one solid VO2 workout per week. Add one sweetspot workout with some anaerobic maintenance after the main sweetspot intervals. Then come August, take a solid recovery week, do a two week hard VO2 block, recover and see how your race season goes. If everything goes to plan, you should start having good performance in late September trough October.
In any case, switching things up is the way to go. Usually focusing on one thing for 4-8 weeks should be enough before moving on to the next thing. Endurace, VO2max and threshold are the three main “levers” we are operating with when building aerobic fitness. Do only one thing for too long and you start to get stale sooner or later.
Cool thanks. Seems I’m on the right path now. I couldnt realistically add more than a couple hours a week due to time constraints…so VO2 definitely seems like the right switchup. I’ll stick with this plan then I think…swap the thurs threshold ride of ssb2 for ‘easy’ vo2 workouts, then go into short power build next.
Totally silly unnecessary update - wow my legs kind of hurt now; that almost never happens…even after 250 tss group rides with lots of attacks and sprints…
From the 6x2-min yesterday?
This morning lol
Always be doing short work is my motto.
My block starts tomorrow.
Doing a 3 hour ride to start the week, need to determine my intervals while on the ride. Was thinking 4x5 @110% or 6x5@110%
Wed night ill do a race so it will be anaerobic.
4x5, please.
Sounds good.
Reason?
30 minutes of Vo2max intervals is too much, especially if you’re going to do a training race the next day? Minimum effective dose.
Sounds good m
Thanks for the feed back
Race the next day will prob be around 1.05 If also
@kurt.braeckel Hey I THINK it was you that mentioned there is a lesser value in 30/30 type work vs longer intervals…if so could you elaborate a touch?
I’m thinking about swapping the 30/30s out for longer sessions…wondering if there are any pros and cons
Flat out, 30/30s don’t get you approaching VO2max, they don’t elevate your HR high enough fast enough for long enough. The recovery is just too long, and if you go hard enough during the “on” to really elevate things, it just becomes an anaerobic dump and you’ll blow up before making any aerobic adaptations.
30/30s are better for anaerobic capacity training. All out 30, coast for 30, repeat for 10/15 minutes.
If you’re looking to train VO2max via intermittent efforts (which I rarely prescribe, and usually only as an intro for people as I build them to 3-6min VO2max intervals), 30/15s or 40/20s would be better, but the best is the 3-6 min (hard start, high cadence) VO2max interval IMO.
I’ve said this elsewhere, I make a distinction between training VO2max and training maximal aerobic power. Some people disagree with that, and I’m fine with it. VO2max I do hard start/high cadence, Dean Golich style intervals where the power is necessarily lower and the cadence is the stimulus. MAP I’m more likely to do 30/15s or 40/20s or just go blast as hard as you can for 5 minutes and repeat.
I don’t know of any coaches/physiologists that I really respect that prescribe 30/30s as actual VO2max work. Doesn’t mean they’re not out there, I just don’t know of any.
