Answer: hard. Looking back at a session I once did for a laboratory study. Incremental exercise test: after 2 minutes at 300, 350, 375, and 400 W, lasted 30 seconds at 425 W with a VO2max of 5.35 L/min, hitting a max HR of 174 BPM. Follow-up supramaximal effort #1: rode for 2 minutes at 400 W and…

p.p.s. For me, that VO2 max was 123% of my FTP

Your heart can almost always beat faster than what is accepted as “max HR”. Still, the highest HR you can reach under a given set of conditions (fitness, temperature) is generally reproducible to within a couple of bpm, so we call it max HR. As for HR vs. power, I think that power is a better indic…

Rather than assuming that VO2max corresponds to 120% of FTP in everyone then prescribing intervals of fixed duration only to see some/many fail, TR should have prescribed open-ended efforts at that intensity. Almost everyone would be able to go long enough to make it a mostly aerobic effort, but fe…

[image] old_but_not_dead_yet: As for HR vs. power, I think that power is a better indicator, as you will never underestimate the actual VO2 demand that way. OTOH, you can artificially jack up your HR without raising VO2 to the same degree - for example, just pedal abnormally fast. Isn’t this …

Overall, VO2 tracks more closely with power than with HR. ETA. Snagged this off of another forum. Note how VO2 decreases much more quickly that HR when exercise stops. Now multiply that lag during repeated efforts (intervals, hills) and toss in cardiac drift, and you should be able to see the point…

It is the power you generate that determines the demand for ATP, and hence the demand for O2. In turn, the demand for O2 is what drives the cardiovascular system. Thus, if you want to make sure that your VO2 is high enough to induce cardiovascular adaptations, make sure your power is high enough for…

Regarding HRmax and VO2; my max HR outside is around 200, highest I’ve seen is 203 a few years ago. Inside, I’ve never been above 190. When I only get to 180 during my intervals, am I not pushing my self hard enough, or should I use different HRmax inside/outside?

Pay attention to your power, and everything good will follow.

hmmmm. I’ll throw this out for critique. doing 5 x 5 over the summer on my usual hill, I’ll average around 390w and usually see HR hit 156-58 at the end of the intervals. I rarely see anything over 160. FTP is in the 340 range. doing 8 x 3 today on the trainer, fixed gear, 105rpm, 370w. HR would h…

VO2max testing and training - how hard should it be?

Training

lebowskii98 January 31, 2021, 2:12pm 65

Again, I think you are missing the point to the adaptations that you’re trying to make. Reread my previous post or the link I posted a few days ago.

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VO2max testing and training - how hard should it be?

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