Don’t handicap yourself - just go all out with high cadence for 4-5 minutes. Don’t look at power AT ALL. Look at the averages afterward. First two might be higher - last few might be around there - doesn’t matter. I guarantee you not paying attention to power and going all out (not like sprint all out - need to be able to complete the interval and the subsequent ones) will cause better adaptations.
There is no point to limiting yourself to a lower power interval and then slowly raising it each time. Working at max is the stimulus - if you shoot for 110% average your’e leaving so much at the door.
These hurt. ALOT. But if they hurt - then you did them correctly.
Mine usually start with intervals at 130% FTP, then peter down to 113-115% by the end. But I don’t look ay anything during them. I pick a song that is the same length as the interval and listen to it every time so I can pace off that. I don’t look at how much time is left, my power, my cadence. I shoot for high cadence - as hard as I can sustain - and then look at everything afterward.
Additionally, if you have 6 three minute intervals to do and you went all out on the first 5 and you think there’s just no way you’re going to get the 6th one, probably best to shut it down.
At that stage better to get 83% of the stimulus rather than add a disproportionate amount of fatigue/strain (physical and mental)
Maybe ignore this advice if it’s the last workout of the block.
I might revisit this after my next block of racing. I have 3 races at the end of July. Till then I’ll back it down to 2 vo2 sessions a week. Also have a 200 mile gravel ride in 2 weeks.
This was my 9th week of training coming from injury, I was proud to be able to put in so much work.
I don’t think there’s much data upon which to make a judgement, unfortunately.
I think they’re more fun than sustained intervals, but most things are, right?! I suspect they’re not as effective at raising VO2 Max, but I guess it depends on how you program and perform them.
If I was a crit racer I’d probably do sustained intervals during build and sprinkle in low-amplitude Billats during specialty as a race-specific blade-sharpener. I reckon they’d be great for in-season maintenance too.
Yeah they can be a good trainer session for crits, otherwise hard to execute outside and never got me breathing like proper VO2 work does. Race prep work if anything, IMO.
Another example of TR classifying things where you work in this “VO2max zone” as VO2max work that probably isn’t.
Tried 6 x 3 min. Got through the first 4 starting around 120%+…petering out to around 110-115% by the end of the interval. The 5th…man I was down right at threshold 30 seconds in and fighting for dear life, didnt even attempt the last one lol.
I guess my question is…if the best I can do is hang around threshold for the last half of some intervals, with heart rate still pegged at 180+, is it still worth continuing? Of course Ideally I suppose I’d starting hitting these a bit more consistently a few weeks down the line…but still curious.
Sounds perfect to me! It’s less about the power, more about the cadence, HR, and breathing. You want to be above threshold but if your legs are done, they’re done. That’s where the 110+ cadence comes in though - preserves your legs for later reps and future sets.
So you probably just went a hair too hard early on and maybe you need to spin faster to unload the legs a bit.
Yea. First 20-30 seconds of at least the first few I was probably closer to 125% getting the flywheel up to speed and getting the right gearing. Ok good to know…so as long as I feel like I’m dying and heart rate is jacked, these are productive lol
When doing 3-5min intervals, how important recovery period duration is?
With 5x5, I usually take 5-7min and then can go again with high power. With shorter recovery, still can push HR up but not power so much. Lets say, I’m more interested developing VO2max and less repeatability.
Funny: Tried a session these days after a lot of base training. My legs aren’t used to it anymore: I could only hold the first two 5 min. intervals, then my legs started to lock up (just couldn’t spin anymore).
HR wa at 95% max and I was breathing quite hard but did not feel as hard as last years vo2max intervals.
I think there are workouts you train to maintain speed and some workouts you need to train for completion. I coach cross country running and there are days when the speed is dropping and we either cut back the interval or cut the workout early. That is when we are usually training at a specific goal pace later in the season and we don’t want the hole dug any deeper.
Then there are those days where the kids hurting and we tell them it’s ok to slow down, the goal is not the speed (at that point) but completion. Not sure the physiology that goes on with “pushing through” but I think you need to train finishing something. Racing hurts at at the end of a 5k cross country race, you are in discomfort but still need to push to the finish line, even if you went out too hard and are paying the price.
Like I said, not sure of the physiology of it but I think you need to train the mental side of pain and discomfort as much as the physical. (Of course to a point… some never quit and will injure themselves. Some quit too easy. That’s the art side of coaching and self awareness).
Might be due very slightly too much intensity? And by intensity I don’t even mean Z4+ but bottom vs top Z2. For me this is very thin line: 15h 65% FTP + 1xZ4 + 1xZ5 per week burns me in about 2 months but 20h at 60% of FTP + same 2 hard workouts per week keeps me ticking, no motivation loss (3 months and counting).
My rule is “however long it takes that you feel like you’re ready to tackle another one.” Usually that ends up being 1:1 or a little more. For a 5-minute interval, 5-7 minutes is totally reasonable. When I structure the workouts in TrainingPeaks, I go 1:1 but the write-up and notes say “take more time if you need it”. Quality intervals are the goal, but obviously you don’t wanna take a nap between intervals.
but did not feel as hard as last years vo2max intervals.