I’ve been really enjoying the exercise physiology podcasts of late and I have been playing around with VO2 intervals and different rest times.
The PC system takes between 2-3 minutes to fully recover (depending on the athlete of course) so I wanted to see what the exhausted, or near exhausted, PC system ‘felt’ like today. It did not feel good. Not one bit.
Very challenging but I can see the benefits of it - it decreases the % of the interval being anaerobic and instead forces the body to work aerobically to produce the effort. The warm up VO2 efforts at 110% and the first interval went well as my PC stocks were fully charged. Then it was a gradual decline into some dark, dark times in the 3rd, 4th and 5th interval before reaching the Endurance component of the ride.
All in all a good little n=1 experiment. 2 minutes rest is not long enough for me at my current level as I am not able to execute the 3rd, 4th and 5th intervals in the session efficiently. I have now experimented with 2min to 5min rest periods (5min rest = 1:1 ratio) in the 5x5’s and for me, I think 3-4min is where I will land moving forward. Then I will tweak that using the concept of progressive overload once I get stronger and build up those oxidative capacities.
With all that said, my heart rate was in VO2 territory for the 3rd, 4th and 5th efforts regardless of power output so there is another lesson in that as well. As PC is exhausted, the glycolytic system kicks in and you are working aerobically etc. Lactate, or more specifically H+, builds up and the system reaches a certain level of acidosis = respiration and HR increase. So technically still hit my VO2 markers in those intervals, just at a different power output because of fatigue + lack of PC anaerobic contribution.
A solid 120min session in total - VO2 first up and then an Endurance block to finish up. Also have been reading about the benefits of doing an Endurance block after a VO2 block so there is that too. I can definitely confirm the benefits of that through my n=1 experience!
I do this on weekdays and always have intentions of doing it on weekends too but 4 out of 5 times it doesn’t happen
Also, what type of progressions have you been doing for your VO2 work? I’ll be getting there soon and was thinking starting with 3min intervals maybe 5-7x then just lengthening the time but shortening the amount of intervals? I want to be able to do the coveted 5x5 well, hitting the VO2 HR/RPE/breathing.
I’ve mainly been focusing on 5min and 8min intervals as they suite what I am training for at the moment. I started off with 4min intervals though.
@runriderandi, this is a really good podcast episode on executing intervals that really helped me. Especially when they talk about intervals through the lens of targeting specific energy systems as opposed to target watts etc. Sepp Kuss from Jumbo Visma provides fantastic insight into how he performs intervals in the episode.
Ok this wasn’t in the TR program but a group Zwift workout with friends. If I can do 6 * 3 mins @ 122% then 10 * 1 min @ 140% shouldn’t be much harder should it? WRONG. Only fear of losing face kept me going here. The last 10-15s of intervals 2-10 were truly deeply desperate.
Back to Build program with Ansel Adams, only 50s @ 135% but 24 times I thought no way after yesterday’s torture, and halfway through the first set that seemed confirmed but struggled to the end of that set whence sets 2 & 3 actually seemed very slightly less obnoxious. Probably the endorphins.
I’m experimenting with a shuffled schedule that will give me more flexibility on weekends if I can manage two hard days back-to-back, so this is round one. Managed to banish the suggestion that I could just backpedal for a second and/or stop into the back of my mind long enough to actually finish without bailouts, so I’m calling it a win. Chucked about 750m into the Tron bike up the Alpe in the process, I think I’m over half-way now!
Started a Vo2 max session then exactly half way through the WiFi dropped out. Couldn’t be bothered starting again so did this one.
I’m trying to decide what to do over the winter months. Probably go back to Base, I should ramp really but going to start at my last ramp level and see how it goes. Onwards.
Wasn’t looking forward to it and had considered just doing the standard version but managed this OK. The workouts with sprints followed by an effort around threshold tend to have me cramping, or at least trying to managed the onset of cramp, but that didn’t happen this time.
Today I completed 2x20 at 97%. The last 5 minutes of the second interval I noticed my breathing getting a little more labored, but the legs seemed to be doing fine still. It just required a touch more focus on exhaling and pedaling circles instead of squares.
Tomorrow I think I will attempt a longer interval at 90%, and see how the legs hold up!
For context, I’m a runner and former competitive powerlifter who started cycling this past May. With this in mind, I ran 11 easy miles in the morning, along with a ‘post-run lift/calisthenics’. I planned to do Palisade in the evening and was far less intimidated by the workout as I completed Warlow the week before. My mental state beforehand was interesting, it was naturally dissociative, something I hadn’t experienced when it comes to harder sessions on TrainerRoad. Well that fucking faded when I got to the first interval LOL. At minute three I looked at the workout and negative thoughts filled my mind; “if you bail now, no one has to know” etc, but I told myself just finish interval one, and you can quit. Once I got to the end of the interval, I began to prepare myself for interval two, and told myself just finish the first third, then just finish the second third, and then the final third of the interval. Once I got to interval three my mental game switched from bargaining to a kind of destructive resolve “I’m becoming a mortal fucking weapon” and “mama ain’t raise no bitch”. Through the remainder of the session, this destructive resolve continued, and in turn I completed Palisade. This was definitely tough, but the mental challenges these intervals pose are truly rewarding once you finish.
I’ve never done 2 hour days on the trainer consecutively. My legs were feeling a bit fatigued, which was probably from 2 hours yesterday plus some single leg squats.
I think the weekend could be ‘interesting’ if the weather’s bad! I’ve held back from Netflix etc so far, so at least there’s that to fall back on! These 6 weeks are going to be great!
Nice and relaxing Z2. 0% decoupling despite 75% humidity was a nice addition to the workout. But my heart went for 1s into Z2 zone and that strangely bothers me
Last hard week of build, just Fang Mountain and Longfellow left before everything drops off next week. Did my Tempo run yesterday so legs where a bit tired going into it. Still, I thought I’d cruise it as I’ve been flying on the roads. Was much rougher than expected, legs looking forward to a bit of a break I think.
Brick sesh today. Had Birch scheduled but wanted something a little different so I swapped this one in. Sprints felt good and legs responding well. Perfect morning out for the run, mid 50’s and calm. Medium-long run with some speed work tomorrow.
I thought no way after yesterday’s torture, and halfway through the first set that seemed confirmed but struggled to the end of that set whence sets 2 & 3 actually seemed very slightly less obnoxious. Probably the endorphins.
Happy Alex!
