Sounds as a good vo2 max interval:)
My biggest issue is I spend all day dreading going in and training when I’ve got a VO2max workout. Makes me feel a bit sick even thinking of it. I really, truly hate getting to this stage of the plans.
Sigh…
Don’t know if I needed to try and force a higher cadence (for some reason I’m not comfortable with high cadence lately), but either way I don’t think I’d have been able to get through it. Just couldn’t recover fast enough and felt ruined after the first set.
Massively demotivated now.
Edit - Third interval set was me deciding if I was going to jump up and down on my laptop or not. Wanted to just quit, so taking it as a small victory that I didn’t.
I wrote and deleted 3 replies already. Hopefully without being preachy, I’ll just say that for most of us cycling is a hobby and we do it for fun and enjoyment. In the short term if you are feeling that level of dread for VO2max workouts I would just skip them and substitute with something you enjoy. In the long term I believe that changing how one thinks about workouts, training, and/or the physical sensations they experience during exercise can make these workouts tolerable and not something to dread (i.e. not pain, not suffering, but discomfort / ‘going hard’ or whatever.).
I’m not saying I love VO2max workouts, but I love cycling and that is what helps me get through them.
2.5 sets is better than 2 sets or 1 set or 0 sets. 
Something might not be everything, but it is better than nothing. In the grand scheme of things, one workout just isn’t that significant.
I get you, but I suffer in there so I can enjoy the actual riding. It’s not just the turbo training, I also dread some of my weights sessions. I’ve never “enjoyed” a workout, and I’ve never got any sort of endorphin buzz from one either. The concept is completely alien to me unfortunately. Maybe I push myself harder than I should, who knows.
…and I would be fine doing workouts I know I have a chance of completing, but on ones like that I know that in reality I’d be better off just doing 2/3rds of the intervals and taking extended breaks where needed. Part of the problem is virtual power, on short intervals with next to no rest I find I’m having to spin up three to five seconds before the interval so that the lag in power (wheel sensor / smoothing) can catch up. When you only have 15 seconds rest, that makes a huge difference.
(Too poor to buy a power meter, so that’s not an option)
Just do your best and forget the rest! Don’t get down about it! It’s “training” I personally dread them somedays and somedays look forward to the pain. Like stated above it’s a hobby for most and it should be fun. Do the best you can and keep it moving, every little bit of time in that zone is making you stronger!
I feel this. Currently doing Kaiser +4
There’s a lot in this - thanks for posting.
As the length of VO2Max intervals increases from 2 minutes to 3 minutes, I really start to wonder why I am doing this.
For me, in terms of thinking about workouts it really helps to keep in mind the immediate benefits I get from VO2Max work - I can see measurable results in just a couple of weeks of VO2Max work, rather than small gains from 12 weeks of O/U.
people who dread tehse and feel that they have trouble completing them the way that they should, one thing to consider is you may need your other days to be easier. A deep, taxing Vo2max workout is not something you can necessarily just “wing it” and hope for the best. Jsut consider whether you need to make your easy days easier, and maybe have fewer hard days, and the situation might change.
My N=1, i used to ride hard all the time, old habit from running in high school. I always got fit fast but then really plateaued. I have seen the light (for me personally) and made a concerted effort for almost all easy rides to stay easy, and have far fewer rides that are both long and hard.
At first it felt weird to go so slow but since then i have gotten to where i am not tired all the time and can walk up the stairs without pain and soreness and guess what? the hard workouts still feel terrible but i can dig deeper, go longer and it is a remarkably satisfying feeling when it all starts to click.
Definitely not struggling to that level. I feel like I’ve got plenty of energy day to day, just can’t output that sort of power repeatably… not least because I’m not willing to go through that level of pain over and over.
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My advice would be to do the -1 versions and aim for workouts that have either less sets or less intervals per set. Mentally you’re better off completing a workout with 100% compliance that has one less set than only managing 75% of the longer workout, even though you may have performed the same amount of work. Confidence is a big factor in this type of workout.
Start conservative with VO2 work. It’s hard. I struggled with it for seasons and had written it off to my physiology as being sub-optimal for this high intensity stuff. Not true, I just needed a more gradual introduction to VO2 max work.
Now when I do a VO2 block I start at 5x3 or 4x4 min intervals.
Ironically I thought I had. Based on the new workout levels I should have been able to do that one (I’ve done significantly harder recently), but as I mentioned earlier I suspect there’s a disadvantage with doing the short interval stuff using virtual power.
More annoying… looking at my power records for this season, I can actually hold the required output for 5 minutes. I guess I very much don’t like having to ease off and then spin up the wheel again!
I used to train with virtual power, don’t be a slave to the number. Just go as hard as you can for the interval duration. With repeatability in mind, you don’t want to implode on the first set. It’s a bit of an art.
Otherwise try some 2 minute intervals. Might be able to do those with better results.
To me, this is the key information. The mind cannot get one to use more than 100% of their physical potential, but it can sure hold someone back. If you are dreading workouts to the point of feeling physically ill, and you’ve held the same 5min power as those intervals recently, that is a red flag to me. I think if you address the mental (how you think about and experience these types of workouts) the physical can / will follow.
Enough preaching from me though.
Unless they stop making me feel like death, I’m not going to suddenly start thinking about them differently though. I’m sure I could do ones that are easy enough to get through without agony, but I’m assuming they wouldn’t have the same effect. I don’t buy into being able to persuade myself that feeling that way is a good thing, and yes, I appreciate that it’s a limiting factor. I can’t afford a sports psychologist to help me through it so it’s not changing any time soon!
Anyway, I’ve scheduled my next VO2max session to be 3 minute intervals barely over my FTP (105-109%), so hopefully that’ll be a win.
This didn’t make any sense to me, until I thought about this:
Virtual power almost certainly underestimates power during acceleration (and over-estimates during deceleration) - I think that’s your answer right there. With a PM on your bike I bet you would see that you are working harder than target for the on-offs.
Then change the prescription. Design your own VO2Max workouts in workout creator.
Start with 6x3, and adjust the intensity of the intervals until you are able to just about complete them. If needed, lower the intensity slightly in successive intervals.
The goal of VO2Max workouts is to accumulate time at high HR - eg in the mid 90%s of max. If you are finishing the last interval with a HR of, say, 97% or 98% of max, then you know you have designed the right workout.
Here’s one I did yesterday. It’s a custom hard start workout, 5.5min intervals, with slightly declining power in successive intervals. Hard, and just about doable for me. The last minute of the last interval averaged 97% of HR max.
Looking at all the comments, the common thread. I think we all agree on, is VO2 Max workouts bite - as they’re supposed to… me personally, when I know I have them coming, I make sure I’m as rested as can be, get in a good head space, throw on some music that’ll keep me amped and just drill down and do them. The goal is to finish the workout and while you might feel you’re cheating if you lower the intensity, do it. Just try not to go below 90%. Lord knows I’ve had my days doing them things where I had to remind myself there is a gain to be had doing them.
if you back peddle it will not pause