That’s pretty much exactly what it’s based on and has worked well for me + a couple others. I do some tweaks to it but it largely follows what he recommends.
It is in my experience a very mentally tough block and you absolutely cannot add intensity outside of it without blowing up but I have had some of my best fitness gains following a hard block and proper recovery.
The point of the high cadence is to get you into the zone faster and then keep you there. With lower cadences, it can take longer to get your heart and breathing up.
The reasoning for higher cadence is that it lowers the contribution of muscular strength and places more demand on your cardiovascular system (at least in theory).
I generally aim for 110-115 rpm.
I would give a listen to watts doc 23 for more info (I think that’s the episode at least) the whole vo2 series is 17-24.
That’s interesting! So would you say that as long as one can get a HR up high quickly, there is no added benefit to higher RPM? I really hope someone with a better understanding of physiology can help me understand this.
The reason I ask is that I use an air bike (Bells of Steel) that does’t allow for adjusting resistance. Instead, the faster you spin the more resistance there is. In other words, every RPM value has a corresponding power. I can get my HR high on it very fast (similar to running very fast; but faster than regular cycling I’d say), but RPM always stays very low, even at high watts. E.g. a sweet spot workout at 260 watts can be just 59 RPM. So If my goal is purely VO2 max from the perspective of general fitness( not to compete in cycling), I wonder if I’m leaving something on the table by not using different equipment OR if I already maximize the training effect as long as I get to 90%+ MaxHR quickly enough and stay there (even if RPM stays low). I hope this question wouldn’t be considered an off-topic on a cycling forum!
I’m listening to the episode right now. Thanks for sharing!
I can’t vote based on your choices so picked other.
I went 6minx3- > 5x4 → 4x5 → 3:30x6 → 3x7 in my recent block of 9 workouts. All with a hard start to around 140-150% FTP for 20s. Maintain Cadence 115 to 125. No explicit power target other than gasping for breath barely able to finish at the end of an interval, and struggling to keep power up at the end. No Erg mode. Rest between intervals up to 2x duration.
I think you should go read through some of the prior VO2 Max Threads, there are some good ones that cover some of your questions.
I really like doing 5x5min with about 10min rests, high cadence of 105-115, semi-hard start but nothing too drastic. For example I could average 470-490W for the first minute, settle in a slightly lower power, and end up at around 450W for the 5min duration.
At least according to Kolie, if your goal is to maximize the VO2Max adaptations, those rest intervals are way too long.
Dont get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a hard workout, but it’s not delivering the max benefit. If you want to know more, listen to the Empirical Cycling podcast posted above.
Mate, I am literally coached by one of the EC coaches I rest as long as it takes to go MAX again. Sometimes 8min, sometimes 11min, on average 9-10min. Shorter than 7-8min and the interval quality is worse.
Interesting. I know KM says to make your rest intervals as long as you need to complete the next interval, but he also says to start shorter than you think. Knowing that, I’m kind of shocked to hear yours is 10 mins!
I can validate @visa.k his coach definitely says to take as long as you need to recover for the next effort, if you’re going max you need to recover. Same coach has also suggested recently I do 2 6x4 workouts in a day to overcome a bit of a plateau, so I don’t necessarily love his advice for self preservation reasons
In my last block I generally did rest intervals twice as long as the work intervals.
There’s not really one duration that works best, depends on people. I use intervals from 3-6min in training, usually with hard starts at high cadence.
This is the way, though I don’t use 2min intervals personally. 15-20 min is a good range for most, but you can work up to 24 or 25 min for this style. It kind of depends on the density and overall dose. So if you’re doing 1 VO2 per week, you might do 5x5. If you’re doing 3 or more and doing a big block, it’s more about the stimulus over the course of the BLOCK, and not any one workout or any one week.
Not really.
Kinda, yes. The higher cadence serves a couple of purposes:
Preserve your legs assuming you are doing a big block of these.
Speed the aerobic contribution, drive HR and Ventilation higher more quickly
(and this is the big one) a larger NUMBER of muscle contractions in the legs/lower legs which increases venous return and cardiac preload. Since your HR is limited, and your ability intake Oxygen by breathing is eventually limited during the intervals, the only choice your body has is to increase the volume of blood per heart stroke.
This interval design is intended to improve stroke volume, which is a central adaptation to VO2max.
#3 above is literally THE biggest reason you do VO2s at 110+. Doesn’t have to be 110+ but more leg speed while holding high/max effort power absolutely makes a difference and is the key difference for me when I’m prescribing “VO2max” work vs. “Max Aerobic Power” work.
“Go when ready” - me.
I tell people somewhere between 1:1 and 1:2 for work:rest. I agree that programming a 10 min rest between 5 min intervals is too long. But if you’re between interval 3 and 4 and taking 7 min is going to make that fourth 5 min interval higher quality, it’s fine. Most people know after a couple of these workouts when they’re ready to go again between intervals.
For me, when doing 5 min intervals, usually the first one I can go after 4 min but by number 4 or 5 I need like 7 min. Again, totally fine.
I rest as long as it takes to go MAX again. Sometimes 8min, sometimes 11min, on average 9-10min. Shorter than 7-8min and the interval quality is worse.