A follow up question in that same line: what is the right dose (number) of VO2max workouts, when scheduled in a bloc like this?
Last time I did 8 workouts, spread out over 3 weeks. Is 8 enough, to much, to little? I could probably do 8 in two weeks as well.
Last year I did 9 workouts in 3 weeks (19 days really). 3 workouts per week MWF. This year the plan was to do the same, but my work schedule is such that I can either shorten it and do all 9 workouts in 15 days, or in 24 days.
I think I just picked 9 because it was 3x a week for 3 weeks. Not sure if thereâs any better or worse way doing 8 or 10 letâs say. Well, maybe more is better if you can hit the workouts and recover.
Plan right now is:
Th/Sat/Sun
Th/Sat/Sun
W/Th/F
So 9 workouts in 16 days. The problem I see is only 2 rest days between âweek 2â and âweek 3.â But this is just how my work schedule lines up. My only thought is to double up on the week 2 Saturday, which would be tough, but give me another rest day before the last week.
last season, I did 2 vo2 workouts a week, with the intent of not âoverdoing itâ and it was good,I definitely did not overdo it. but this time around Iâm doing 3/week, based on the work of other people I know I think thereâs a lot to be gained with 3/week, and my hope is I can achieve a fraction of what they achieved. I just finished week 1 and so far so good. the 3min stuff wasnât my best, esp considering the 4min stuff was essentially the same. Gonna do 4x5min, 6x4 and havenât figured out the third yet (will def do 5x5 next week). anyhow, here are screenshots of the sessions, these are done on resistance mode with my garmin controlling the trainer, I keep it set at 40% and it seems to give me the right gearing to do these
Chiming in a little more than 4 weeks post VO2 block. My FTP has gone up maybe 10 watts. Which, for my not-amazing FTP is ~5%. I shouldnât complain, but for how brutal the VO2 block was, I hope thereâs another few % in it for me in the next few weeksâŚ
I know you already know this, but it deserves to be said, 5% in a month is MASSIVE! Congratulations. I can tell by your comments you earned it!
Iâm vain⌠I really really want to pass that 200w marker!
Iâm sure itâs been discussed earlier in the thread, but how long are you all giving yourselves to recover after a block before assessing for any FTP increases? Iâm planning to start a VO2 Max block in a few weeks, and was planning to have a week and a half after the last workout of recovery before doing a long form FTP test for an initial assessment, but Iâm wondering if itâs worth waiting longer before testing and using the workouts in my next block to gauge when a test might be worthwhile since it can take a while for improvements to materialize.
Maybe do something in between ⌠a 2 Ă 15 âfeelerâ workout. First interval at your old FTP (assuming you have a good number and know what 15 minutes at that power should feel like) and then the second interval at your âtargetâ FTP.
If the RPE for the second interval is reasonable, thatâll help you calibrate for when you re-test a couple of days later. If it isnât, maybe give it another week and try again.
At worst, youâve done 30 minutes of threshold work. 
I took a real rest week then another week or so of ramping back up, then did 2x20 when I felt fresh. Tried to just feel threshold, which gave me a new 20 minute record. I did a 3x16 after that which confirmed it and then tested, just to be sure. I was greedy and tried to aim higher in the ftp test. Bad idea. Donât do that.
This was my first thought as well. Thatâs great. Iâd be ecstatic with a 5% bump.
Iâm curious, 2min intervals with shorter rest period and higher power are pretty good at getting you there, why arenât ppl using it more?
after doing 3 and 4min efforts last week, i did 4x5min yesterday. the last time i did similar session was in July
and while my max power isnât really higher at the moment (although technically it is by 2w on my best interval lol) yesterday, and this whole block for that matter, I am experiencing less fall off in power in the later efforts, so my overall 5min avg is up 8w from 332 to 340, weâll take it
Because 3-6 min is better. 
I use 2-minute intervals as a maintenance dose for my older masters athletes or as a second day of a back-to-back for people doing a lower-dose VO2max block. Thatâs just to get the work in in manageable dosing for them since they probably did a bunch of 3-min intervals the day before. Part of proper VO2max training is getting up to a really high O2 uptake and then staying there. I just donât use 2min intervals much.
Hey @kurt.braeckel Iâve been having trouble getting my VO2 max to budge and am thinking about the nuclear option. When you do the three workouts in two days, are you doing the same interval sets for all? For example if Iâve built up to 6x4, would I do that for all three workouts? And do you expect the power to drop over the workouts, or do you hold back a little on the first so you can finish strong?
I wonât speak for him but you could do 6x4, I know some who start the week with the longer durations and do 3min efforts at the tail end of the week. I think you have a lot of flexibility. Based on my convos, youâd def expect to see drop off across efforts, each should be as hard as you can make it, so thatâll naturally decline
Lord no. 
Before you go the nuclear option, have you tried just a regular 3x 3-week block of the high cadence VO2 intervals? Emphasis on the high cadence, like 110rpm with âfish out of water breathingâ as your goal? Becuase if itâs just going out and doing 6x4 in the âVO2max zoneâ, thatâs not really VO2max training. Not to say itâs not good training, just that there may be less stressful ways for you to push VO2max up.
Whatâs your overall volume look like? Thatâs the other consideration. VO2max will move with peripheral adaptations that come with a lot of endurance volume.
If youâre hoping to push VO2max up by riding 8hrs but doing 3workout in 2 day blocks, thatâs not something I would recommend (Note: I know zip about your training history, so just making statements here).
All that being said, most of my concentrated VO2max blocks I decrease individual interval length over the course of the block while holding or building total interval time.
With the ânuclear optionâ, I do the longest intervals first, then the afternoon set on day 1 and the set on day 2 are shorter. This is to allow the rider to complete the maximum amount of work in a fatigued state. So that might start with a 4-5x4 in the morning, then do 6-7x3 in the afternoon and 5-7x3 the next morning. I like the ârangeâ of intervals in these instances because it allows the rider to tap out when they KNOW theyâre cooked which is critical when youâre doing huge loads like this.
Thereâs a lot of micromanagement that goes into VO2 blocks. Not to play gatekeeping coach here, but be cautious and really pay attention to your body and your metrics (on bike and off) any time youâre doing these concentrated doses of VO2max work.
Absolutely expect some power deterioration over the course of the workouts, but it shouldnât be massive. If youâre doing them right (repeatably all out) youâll see a decrease inside each workout, but every interval average should be over threshold by a good amount. My guidance for my athletes is if you hit an interval where you canât keep power above threshold while doing that 110rpm for a good portion of the interval, youâre done for the day. Then we evaluate why that happened. More often than not, itâs just an overspend on the hard starts or just doing like a true maximal 3 minute âtestâ on the first interval and not being able to repeat that⌠or sometimes a longer rest interval can be the ticket.
Can anyone share just a bit of light on timing for these Vo2 blocks?
Iâm considering doing oneâŚbut have been doing sweet spot work consistently for a couple months and have been seeing steady progress. Iâm not sure I want to rock the boatâŚbut I also hear you shouldnt really do the same thing too long.
generally, you could do a vo2 block after a block of extensive sweet spot or threshold tte work. the goal being vo2 would help increase ftp to do a subsequent threshold tte block
Personally, Iâm a big believer in âif it ainât broke, donât fix itâ. There are exceptions, of course. For example, if you need to do a route with lots of steep, sharp high intensity inclines and all youâre training is SS, thatâs not the right plan. But if youâre seeing good gains with what youâre doing and have no reason to intervene, I wouldnât. I see these kind of blocks as something to do when youâve plateaued and want to break through a wall.
