The best talk about interval training I've come across yet. The best part is the failing bit - been there, done that. THanks for this video. Very inspiring.
I just bought a power meter. Your video really helped me understand the purpose of intervals. Totaling a higher power for a longer period of time in bits so that your sustained power for the same time eventually starts to rise as well. Thank you for the concise and simple to understand video.
Great vid Tyler! I resisted intervals for the first 2 years of my cycling. At the end of last year I started doing 2 interval trainings (Tue/Wed) per week. Having a coach is awesome but I use Sufferfest. A lot of other great programs out there. My FTP was stuck around 3.25 w/kg. 6 months of interval training incorporated in my training and I'm 4.01 w/kg! (i did lose around 15 lbs too though cause ride volume increased a lot as well) Pure Watts increase is around 13% though. I'll take it!
I watched a handful of videos and yours was the easiest to understand for a beginner using cycling to condition for another sport. very useful info I appreciate it
Another way to do power if you don’t have power is to get a trainer. Either get a trainer with lower, or use virtual power. I used virtual power for a long time, and it was great for me, since I did most of my riding inside.
If you have a very steady, somewhat steep (let's at least 8%) climb, power scales almost perfectly linearly with speed because air resistance is negligible. So to avoid having to get a power meter, or the sluggishness of a HR monitor, you could replace power by speed on that climb (of course this only works if you have the same equipment and not much wind, and also it won't work for very short intervals where your speed doesn't reach an equilibrium), and try to find out your zones on that specific climb. Bonus, if you have a cycling computer with a decent altimeter, you can replace speed by VAM and tolerate slight changes in elevation.
Hi. About the 40/20 or 30/30. I am sorry to hear as advised full on 30"/ rest 30" (I hear or read that too often) if you say it this way I understand sprint for 30", then the lactate in the muscle is to high to recover only 30" and repeat because you enter into anaerobic lactic system, not anymore inside the aerobic system. Like you say, and I agree, the power meter here is the best way to know where should be aiming your watts. I think there is other ways to discribe these kind of efforts. At 30/30 you are aiming 100% VO2max/ HR 95%/ some say 120%FTP (that depends your profile) and you should be able to repeat. I would advise to find a flat portion where you are able to U-turn and ride again in the opposite direction and take some sign as reference for distance travelled for 30". From that, you experiment, if you go too hard you’ll realise quickly that you won't be able to repeat 8-10 times, then you ' ll know you are not anymore into the aerobic system. Basically, Go as hard as you can into your aerobic system, which is not sprinting! About the other points, I totally agree and you explain perfectly the idea behind intervals.
Great video! I dont know if you remember me but, I got a powermeter... And well, after 20 years of MTB and 10 years of road racing, I feel a bit stupid. I was going too hard and didnt do proper recovery session. You changed my mind and I'm grateful. Keep up the good work!
I don't have a right to write here just being a pathetic beginner, but personally I wonder about all the meter things. The thing is that you should be able to learn over time how to make decent guesses at how much _effort_ you are doing. The issue is that how tired/hyped you feel is the ultimate indicator for how hard you will be able to sustain right at that moment, and that is a feeling from the inside. That inside meter is “the thing itself”. If you can tap into that well by experience, you can keep your eyes on the road and gear off your bicycle. You can keep your mind off of the numbers and into more inspiring things. The numbers can be a big drag if you judge yourself to be too weak all the time. Enjoyment goes down, thus overall performance could suffer. The opposite is also true, however, if you like seeing your numbers go up, although you could do just that with a once a month time trial to see if you improved. While I do use speed/distance/time (simple old computer), despite all its precision it is still misguiding. The road speed may be given precise, but it doesn't give the _air speed,_ where most of the drag is. You would need a wind speed meter too, and figure out how both need to be combined. I've tried doing that with a feather, and it did work to help give a more balanced reading when going in strong wind. If you don't even ride with a speedometer (I tend to turn it out of sight or just not look at it), you do things on feel like “hear the wind and watch the road go past you” which automatically combines all the inputs, albeit not in an easily communicable or quantifiable way. So, the numbers from these modern gadgets may be precise, but at the same time they can throw you off because they only measure one specific thing out of a whole barrage of issues. Your internal feeling is hard to communicate and compare yourself with former efforts, but on the other hand it takes in everything that is going on, without any limit. Example of what could happen due to this: one day you feel worse, but your wattage meter says to reach so and so a power, and that could mean you train harder than your overall fatigue should allow for ? Your internal feeling could communicate that. You can ofcourse adjust to that by saying “I feel worse, so I'll not try to train as hard”, which sortof is the point because you are listening to the inside meter and then translating that. What ends up happening in the various modes of measuring is either you build a whole set of knowledge around the power meter, and/or the heart meter, and/or the inside-feel meter, which has all been done already. In the past everyone would ride on feel alone, and you could only compare with others by racing them. Today you can use meters and compare, and that's fun, but what are the downsides, and are other modes of training being unlearned even though they worked. Practically it could end up looking like: in the “inside feel” mode, you will learn how to ramp up your intervals if you wanted to train like you advocated. Every time a little more effort until you are where you want to be in terms of how tired you want to get, and that could correspond to reaching the same watts using a watt meter (assuming that is the best way to do it). The end result could be the same. You could claim “my watt meter is precise, I know what I am training” but on the other hand, everything depends on how you feel anyway. You adjust your training to how you feel in the end. How precise is your watt meter, if watts aren't the only thing that mattered. Since you use a watt meter, you specialize in that, but if you had trained for years and years on feel, you might just have developed the same level of fitness but with a different knowledge structure around it. One thing that watt and heart rate meters do, is make things easier for coaches because they have an objective measure. The _feel_ meter is very personal and difficult to communicate, which is its downside. Since the inside meter is the most natural, by far the oldest, it takes in everything and you can keep your eyes and mind on other things and this whole complex of fatigue signaling by the body while doing other tasks is as old as animal life on the planet, I think there could be an argument that if you learn how to use it well, you could have an advantage. So I don't agree with you to be honest, that if you don't have any meters whatsoever, that you couldn't do intervals except full out until near failure. Everyone can detect the difference between going at easy talking pace like 20km/h on flat without wind, or going at a speed they could maximum maintain for one hour, or at a speed they could reach in a sprint for 20 seconds, or 10 minutes, or to put it differently “from this intersection to that village” (in keeping with not using meters). After a while you should know what effort you can maintain for an hour or certain distance, easing off to recover and pushing on when you can. Once you know that, you could put in “that kind of effort” for - say - 20 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 seconds, etc, if that was the interval you wanted to do. It's a different kind of thinking/feeling, but it should work and I think it is potentially better, especially if you combine it with racing or with time trials to bring objectivity and comparability back, to overcome the biggest drawback of the inside meter (communication to others). It probably isn't even that hard to switch from one mode to the other. You just ride for a time paying attention to both, to translate what feeling means in terms of watts, or the other way around. Once you have a rough feeling idea, you could probably use the other system from there and further adapt to it. We should perhaps factor in that big business loves selling gadgets, while there is no money in using your inside senses. We should expect to live in a system where the pressure is on to buy things, which aren't necessarily better. In summary: there won't be no batteries during the zombie apocalypse, just go go go ! ;-D
Good job breaking down interval training, and the nice graphics helped to demonstrate your points. I started with HR training using the Friel method (years ago), and found drastic improvements in fitness, but honestly nothing improved fitness more than my diet change (first to a vegetarian, then a whole food plant based, e.g. vegan). That said, for the racing cyclist I do think power meters have helped coaches and cyclists alike to better understand what's happening on a day to day, week to week, month to month, etc, basis. It provides a quantity that can be saved for later to see how well your training program is working, or not working. It's objective. I still think it's a good idea to train with HR because HR tells a different part of the same story. If I'm not mistaken you at least need a HR monitor initially to set your power zones anyhow, so you may as well keep using it. I can't see any downside to having more numbers to analyze. Great content!
This video is really good, it's exactly what I'm looking for quite some time, thank you man! Most videos in this topic are so fragile that it's only small pieces of advices and tips, when it comes to "how to make a real training plan" or "what a legit training plan really looks like" then there's nothing informative. Your video is really good, it's really informative and helps. You got a big thumb up from me, keep doing this!
I wish you talked about hr in relation to the zones and how it evolves. Is it supposed to recover to the same baseline before each subsequent interval? Is the peak heart rate with each interval supposed to be consistent? Or is it ok for the heart rate at end of recovery and end of the interval to be trending up with each set?
Thanks for the tips. Just started interval training using my power meter. I did a baseline 20 min FTP just to get an idea of current fitness. I was surprised at how much distance I covered. Last week I did two 10 x 30 at 250W. Actual output for each of the 30 second efforts was closer to 350 - 380 W. I'm going to do this for three or four weeks and then do another 20 min FTP. I really noticed an improvement. I have a little 30 second sprint near the end of my ride and was able to put down 1025 W (for 7 - 10 sec), up from my previous best of 985W.
Choose your gearing wisely. Power in the small ring does not equate to Big ring efforts. In the small ring your power output is greater to maintain the same speed. Mix and Match until you find whats comfortable for you.
Im confused, could you explain why power in the small ring is not the same as power in the big ring ? to maintain the same speed ? IRL or on a trainer ?
Sure. From my experience of training with/without a power meter. I find to hold 280watts in the small ring my cadence is near 125+ rpms. using the anaerobic (heart/lungs/oxygen)system of the body. To hold the same wattage in the big ring my cadence is at or around 90-95 rpms. Using the muscular (aerobic) systems. Producing the same amount of power with different gearing while maintaining the same speed. This helps me during races/group rides allowing time to recover. Forcing the body to adapt get used to recovery while keeping pace with the group. Test ratio's to see whats comfortable. Like VC said if your completely exhausted mid workout then your over exerting your body. Experiment, test and repeat!
Another good informational video, and nice explanation of the intervals, but this is just the tip of the icebrg. Interval training is a complex thing and this is when coach comes in handy. Waiting for the fasting video though.
It looks like you live in an area with lots of rolling terrain. Can you make a video on how to do a structured workout with rolling terrain and how to maybe keep the power even when going from flats to hills?
It's possible to do intervals everysingle day, but sometimes under Ftp, zone 3 & sweet spot, and sometimes above ftp, it depends, & twice a week recovery
very good video, that will be good if you can cover , the progress thru out from pre season to racing. Like....when we should mix the training from Base training, Tempo, then threshold, and VO2max ? while we doing Base , is it necessary to do some threshold or sprint work during the base training block? that will be good if you can have some video in detail of this. Thanks a lot... I love your video
So that begs the question then. Is it more important to hit a power goal for intervals or a heart rate goal? Like you said, you might be at the 5th or 6th interval of a workout and not hit the power in that zone, but your heart rate would likely still be high and in high zone 4 or 5 (at lower power). So I suppose the power goal is most important to hit rather than just high heart rates? Cause then you're just tiring yourself out, which maybe is still beneficial if you're after VO2 max? Not sure. Intuitively hitting the wattage zone sounds more applicable.
this is really a GREAT video. Congrats, really. You have delivered in a nutshell the whole idea of training. And it was also fun to watch. Eurosport should contact you for some of these explanatory videos ;-)
Excellent video as usual... But you did not explain why do you do intervals in these specific time. You showed yours but not should be the case for everyone. For me, all this year has to be structured. Tony is the best coach.
Only a good hearted person would help others to beat them Or a very confident one i think your heart is bigger then your confidence.. Bro Hurry up with that video!
Thanks for the great video, VC! I've got a question regarding the "smoothness" of your intervals: naturally, it is much more difficult to hold a certain amount of power (say 350 W) on the road compared to doing this on a trainer. Air resistance, corners and gradients call for constant adjustments. So: by how much does your power output vary throughout an Intervall? I sometimes see numbers up to 10%+/- of what I am aiming for. In my case, that adds up to a variability of about 70 W. Hence, I'm not sure whether training with power outside is anywhere near as efficent as inside. Cheers, bruh
When training with power, I will go a slightly slower speed up hills and into headwinds, but keep my power the same. This is to hold the constant power.
No doubt that a power meter or hr monitor are more scientific but stair masters and ellipticals have been promoting interval training for 40+ years now so give the athlete a little credit.. I know when I am doing interval training and dripping in sweat that I am making progress.. with or without your electric measuring devices..
Can you share if your nutrition changes throughout the year as your workouts do? Not sure if you can elaborate on how that follows the workouts (longer days vs shorter for example). Thanks!
If I’m doing the 40/20’s and start to feel like I’m slowing down is that when I should stop because it’s essentially no longer really a work out like you said?
If you don't have access to power, and are only utilizing heart rate, when in the on part of the interval, are you trying to sustain zone 5 near Max heart rate?
I do 2minutes on (240-520 Watts) and 1 minute off/ 16 reps. My ride lasts 1hour and 45 to 55 minutes. I also throw in a few sprint sets, also. I ride hard two times a week. And ride easy one time a week. (I need to incorporate VC's knowledge).😞
do you know if the Garmin Edge 820 auto calculator for VO2 is accurate? Also have you used the auto calculator for heart rate or power zones? And if so what’s your take on these features
Great video VC, thanks! One thing I've noticed is the colour on this video looks a bit washed out - maybe intentional but just thought it was a bit odd given the nice background :)
Awesome video. I got the idea now, althought I am cycling for hobby everyday before riding to work. Can I measure my zone with cad? I dont have a power meter.
How do you separate Zone 4 and Zone 5 training (without a power meter)? Heart rate lags way too much. How do you get good at gauging when you are in Zone 4 and when in Zone 5?
Hey there, may i ask you a question? My wife just started cycling for last 2 weeks, for 30/30s intervals, is it okay for 1 set if we do 30/30s for 5 times instead 10 times, and rest for 2,5 minutes and do another set for beginning?
I've been riding pretty hard over the last 2 years...and I don't want to admit it, but I still don't know how to calc my FTP.... I've two years of riding data; except a power meter. I track, cadence, BPM, speed, time, etc... Does Strava NOT auto calculate my FTP someplace? I also use Cyclemeter if anyone is familiar with that app - specifically, does it calculate my FTP? I've read to do a balls-out 20 min ride to calc FTP. I've read to do an hour balls-out ride to calc FTP. I've done both in both these apps. Seems like there should be an FTP auto calculated for these rides someplace, no? If no, taking the data from these 20 min and hour rides, WHAT NUMBERS DO I USE AND HOW TO CALC MY FTP? Help. Please.
is 3x 10 mile pieces @275-300 watts (with 10 minute sit down breaks in between) three times per week good for a 300lb beginner with less than a month of experience?
i am 68 been racing triathlons for 17 years but not any more, i just cycle and i don't race i ride 3-4 times a week and want o get faster should i do intervals?
Nice explanation though you do contradict yourself about interval training and you need a power meter or heart monitor. Any interval training is better and more time effective than no interval training. i'd suggest start interval training and thenget the power meter to go to the next level of training.
Great video I just bought a smart trainer and I was normally doing 100+ Miles a week but with the trainer I only do about 60 miles but it’s all intervals and my question was am I getting better even though the volume is down.
Dude! I've watched this 5 times now over the last month. this is the most straight forward explanation about interval training. Thank you!
The best talk about interval training I've come across yet. The best part is the failing bit - been there, done that. THanks for this video. Very inspiring.
Your coach didn't look very thrilled to be put on camera. Your next scheduled workout is probably going to feel like revenge. :P
Great video🤙🏽 next one to include your intermittent fasting routine.
I just bought a power meter. Your video really helped me understand the purpose of intervals. Totaling a higher power for a longer period of time in bits so that your sustained power for the same time eventually starts to rise as well. Thank you for the concise and simple to understand video.
Visual edits and real life anecdotes make this information ingest-able for everyone.
Once again beautiful work VC! Such a treat for the cycling community at large.
This was one of the best videos I have ever watched. It will really help me a lot to improve my training. Thank you 🇧🇷👉🚴🤙
Great vid Tyler! I resisted intervals for the first 2 years of my cycling. At the end of last year I started doing 2 interval trainings (Tue/Wed) per week. Having a coach is awesome but I use Sufferfest. A lot of other great programs out there. My FTP was stuck around 3.25 w/kg. 6 months of interval training incorporated in my training and I'm 4.01 w/kg! (i did lose around 15 lbs too though cause ride volume increased a lot as well) Pure Watts increase is around 13% though. I'll take it!
Nice job including a way to do it with no tech. Some people make it sound like Merckx couldn't compete with a club rider today because no tech.
I watched a handful of videos and yours was the easiest to understand for a beginner using cycling to condition for another sport. very useful info I appreciate it
Another way to do power if you don’t have power is to get a trainer. Either get a trainer with lower, or use virtual power. I used virtual power for a long time, and it was great for me, since I did most of my riding inside.
If you have a very steady, somewhat steep (let's at least 8%) climb, power scales almost perfectly linearly with speed because air resistance is negligible. So to avoid having to get a power meter, or the sluggishness of a HR monitor, you could replace power by speed on that climb (of course this only works if you have the same equipment and not much wind, and also it won't work for very short intervals where your speed doesn't reach an equilibrium), and try to find out your zones on that specific climb. Bonus, if you have a cycling computer with a decent altimeter, you can replace speed by VAM and tolerate slight changes in elevation.
bro it blows me away how few subscribers you have. THE best cycling content on youtube, keep it up man I love this type of shit, they will come
They came!
Got a Power meter before C2K started doing Intervals after it. Watched your interval vids and wow my power from them has really increased. thank you.
2021 and by far the best video about intervales
Hi. About the 40/20 or 30/30. I am sorry to hear as advised full on 30"/ rest 30" (I hear or read that too often) if you say it this way I understand sprint for 30", then the lactate in the muscle is to high to recover only 30" and repeat because you enter into anaerobic lactic system, not anymore inside the aerobic system. Like you say, and I agree, the power meter here is the best way to know where should be aiming your watts. I think there is other ways to discribe these kind of efforts. At 30/30 you are aiming 100% VO2max/ HR 95%/ some say 120%FTP (that depends your profile) and you should be able to repeat. I would advise to find a flat portion where you are able to U-turn and ride again in the opposite direction and take some sign as reference for distance travelled for 30". From that, you experiment, if you go too hard you’ll realise quickly that you won't be able to repeat 8-10 times, then you ' ll know you are not anymore into the aerobic system. Basically, Go as hard as you can into your aerobic system, which is not sprinting! About the other points, I totally agree and you explain perfectly the idea behind intervals.
Great video! I dont know if you remember me but, I got a powermeter... And well, after 20 years of MTB and 10 years of road racing, I feel a bit stupid. I was going too hard and didnt do proper recovery session. You changed my mind and I'm grateful. Keep up the good work!
Exactly the kind of content I wanted to see more of from you. Cheers, VC! Keep up the good job!
Great video. Intervals completely changed my fitness!!
I don't have a right to write here just being a pathetic beginner, but personally I wonder about all the meter things. The thing is that you should be able to learn over time how to make decent guesses at how much _effort_ you are doing. The issue is that how tired/hyped you feel is the ultimate indicator for how hard you will be able to sustain right at that moment, and that is a feeling from the inside. That inside meter is “the thing itself”. If you can tap into that well by experience, you can keep your eyes on the road and gear off your bicycle. You can keep your mind off of the numbers and into more inspiring things. The numbers can be a big drag if you judge yourself to be too weak all the time. Enjoyment goes down, thus overall performance could suffer. The opposite is also true, however, if you like seeing your numbers go up, although you could do just that with a once a month time trial to see if you improved.
While I do use speed/distance/time (simple old computer), despite all its precision it is still misguiding. The road speed may be given precise, but it doesn't give the _air speed,_ where most of the drag is. You would need a wind speed meter too, and figure out how both need to be combined. I've tried doing that with a feather, and it did work to help give a more balanced reading when going in strong wind. If you don't even ride with a speedometer (I tend to turn it out of sight or just not look at it), you do things on feel like “hear the wind and watch the road go past you” which automatically combines all the inputs, albeit not in an easily communicable or quantifiable way. So, the numbers from these modern gadgets may be precise, but at the same time they can throw you off because they only measure one specific thing out of a whole barrage of issues. Your internal feeling is hard to communicate and compare yourself with former efforts, but on the other hand it takes in everything that is going on, without any limit. Example of what could happen due to this: one day you feel worse, but your wattage meter says to reach so and so a power, and that could mean you train harder than your overall fatigue should allow for ? Your internal feeling could communicate that. You can ofcourse adjust to that by saying “I feel worse, so I'll not try to train as hard”, which sortof is the point because you are listening to the inside meter and then translating that.
What ends up happening in the various modes of measuring is either you build a whole set of knowledge around the power meter, and/or the heart meter, and/or the inside-feel meter, which has all been done already. In the past everyone would ride on feel alone, and you could only compare with others by racing them. Today you can use meters and compare, and that's fun, but what are the downsides, and are other modes of training being unlearned even though they worked. Practically it could end up looking like: in the “inside feel” mode, you will learn how to ramp up your intervals if you wanted to train like you advocated. Every time a little more effort until you are where you want to be in terms of how tired you want to get, and that could correspond to reaching the same watts using a watt meter (assuming that is the best way to do it). The end result could be the same. You could claim “my watt meter is precise, I know what I am training” but on the other hand, everything depends on how you feel anyway. You adjust your training to how you feel in the end. How precise is your watt meter, if watts aren't the only thing that mattered.
Since you use a watt meter, you specialize in that, but if you had trained for years and years on feel, you might just have developed the same level of fitness but with a different knowledge structure around it. One thing that watt and heart rate meters do, is make things easier for coaches because they have an objective measure. The _feel_ meter is very personal and difficult to communicate, which is its downside. Since the inside meter is the most natural, by far the oldest, it takes in everything and you can keep your eyes and mind on other things and this whole complex of fatigue signaling by the body while doing other tasks is as old as animal life on the planet, I think there could be an argument that if you learn how to use it well, you could have an advantage.
So I don't agree with you to be honest, that if you don't have any meters whatsoever, that you couldn't do intervals except full out until near failure. Everyone can detect the difference between going at easy talking pace like 20km/h on flat without wind, or going at a speed they could maximum maintain for one hour, or at a speed they could reach in a sprint for 20 seconds, or 10 minutes, or to put it differently “from this intersection to that village” (in keeping with not using meters). After a while you should know what effort you can maintain for an hour or certain distance, easing off to recover and pushing on when you can. Once you know that, you could put in “that kind of effort” for - say - 20 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 seconds, etc, if that was the interval you wanted to do. It's a different kind of thinking/feeling, but it should work and I think it is potentially better, especially if you combine it with racing or with time trials to bring objectivity and comparability back, to overcome the biggest drawback of the inside meter (communication to others).
It probably isn't even that hard to switch from one mode to the other. You just ride for a time paying attention to both, to translate what feeling means in terms of watts, or the other way around. Once you have a rough feeling idea, you could probably use the other system from there and further adapt to it. We should perhaps factor in that big business loves selling gadgets, while there is no money in using your inside senses. We should expect to live in a system where the pressure is on to buy things, which aren't necessarily better.
In summary: there won't be no batteries during the zombie apocalypse, just go go go ! ;-D
Best video I've ever seen on training
Good job breaking down interval training, and the nice graphics helped to demonstrate your points. I started with HR training using the Friel method (years ago), and found drastic improvements in fitness, but honestly nothing improved fitness more than my diet change (first to a vegetarian, then a whole food plant based, e.g. vegan). That said, for the racing cyclist I do think power meters have helped coaches and cyclists alike to better understand what's happening on a day to day, week to week, month to month, etc, basis. It provides a quantity that can be saved for later to see how well your training program is working, or not working. It's objective. I still think it's a good idea to train with HR because HR tells a different part of the same story. If I'm not mistaken you at least need a HR monitor initially to set your power zones anyhow, so you may as well keep using it. I can't see any downside to having more numbers to analyze. Great content!
This video is really good, it's exactly what I'm looking for quite some time, thank you man! Most videos in this topic are so fragile that it's only small pieces of advices and tips, when it comes to "how to make a real training plan" or "what a legit training plan really looks like" then there's nothing informative. Your video is really good, it's really informative and helps. You got a big thumb up from me, keep doing this!
Thanks for this enlightening video. It reinforces the concept taught in Joe Friel's book, "Fast after 50."
I wish you talked about hr in relation to the zones and how it evolves. Is it supposed to recover to the same baseline before each subsequent interval? Is the peak heart rate with each interval supposed to be consistent? Or is it ok for the heart rate at end of recovery and end of the interval to be trending up with each set?
Thanks for the tips. Just started interval training using my power meter. I did a baseline 20 min FTP just to get an idea of current fitness. I was surprised at how much distance I covered. Last week I did two 10 x 30 at 250W. Actual output for each of the 30 second efforts was closer to 350 - 380 W. I'm going to do this for three or four weeks and then do another 20 min FTP.
I really noticed an improvement. I have a little 30 second sprint near the end of my ride and was able to put down 1025 W (for 7 - 10 sec), up from my previous best of 985W.
fascinating
Choose your gearing wisely. Power in the small ring does not equate to Big ring efforts. In the small ring your power output is greater to maintain the same speed. Mix and Match until you find whats comfortable for you.
Im confused, could you explain why power in the small ring is not the same as power in the big ring ? to maintain the same speed ? IRL or on a trainer ?
Sure. From my experience of training with/without a power meter. I find to hold 280watts in the small ring my cadence is near 125+ rpms. using the anaerobic (heart/lungs/oxygen)system of the body. To hold the same wattage in the big ring my cadence is at or around 90-95 rpms. Using the muscular (aerobic) systems. Producing the same amount of power with different gearing while maintaining the same speed. This helps me during races/group rides allowing time to recover. Forcing the body to adapt get used to recovery while keeping pace with the group. Test ratio's to see whats comfortable. Like VC said if your completely exhausted mid workout then your over exerting your body. Experiment, test and repeat!
Pass Left TV you may need to double check your above definition of anaerobic. not trying to troll.
You explain intervals so well!
Another good informational video, and nice explanation of the intervals, but this is just the tip of the icebrg. Interval training is a complex thing and this is when coach comes in handy.
Waiting for the fasting video though.
It looks like you live in an area with lots of rolling terrain. Can you make a video on how to do a structured workout with rolling terrain and how to maybe keep the power even when going from flats to hills?
Great info VC & Coach Tony !
Total Awesome explanation of interval training.
It's possible to do intervals everysingle day, but sometimes under Ftp, zone 3 & sweet spot, and sometimes above ftp, it depends, & twice a week recovery
Tony’s demeanor is perfect lol 😂 seemingly unimpressed.
Thanks this would be a big help me for my training specially in my indoor bike.new friend here.
Great stuff, well presented. Thanks!
very good video, that will be good if you can cover , the progress thru out from pre season to racing. Like....when we should mix the training from Base training, Tempo, then threshold, and VO2max ? while we doing Base , is it necessary to do some threshold or sprint work during the base training block? that will be good if you can have some video in detail of this. Thanks a lot... I love your video
So that begs the question then. Is it more important to hit a power goal for intervals or a heart rate goal? Like you said, you might be at the 5th or 6th interval of a workout and not hit the power in that zone, but your heart rate would likely still be high and in high zone 4 or 5 (at lower power). So I suppose the power goal is most important to hit rather than just high heart rates? Cause then you're just tiring yourself out, which maybe is still beneficial if you're after VO2 max? Not sure. Intuitively hitting the wattage zone sounds more applicable.
I seen lots of PR improvements on my ride data because of Interval Sessions. Good stuff VC
Thanks T! Great explanation! This has helped me a ton
What would be a good beginner training session
very helpful/informative, thanks. screenshotted all those visuals for the workouts.
more of these types vids please as it has really helped me out.Awsome work
I alwaya train intervals on turbo,or in zwift.I think its easier to see how much effort you putting.Great video,GO VEGAN!👍😃
this is really a GREAT video. Congrats, really. You have delivered in a nutshell the whole idea of training. And it was also fun to watch. Eurosport should contact you for some of these explanatory videos ;-)
I Support! Thank you for making this video!!
Excellent video as usual...
But you did not explain why do you do intervals in these specific time. You showed yours but not should be the case for everyone.
For me, all this year has to be structured.
Tony is the best coach.
Only a good hearted person would help others to beat them Or a very confident one i think your heart is bigger then your confidence.. Bro Hurry up with that video!
40\20 WORKS WELL FOR ME ITS MAKE ME FEELS QUIKER AFTER THE RECOVERY AFTER THE TRAINNING
Great content many thanks !
Thanks for the great video, VC! I've got a question regarding the "smoothness" of your intervals: naturally, it is much more difficult to hold a certain amount of power (say 350 W) on the road compared to doing this on a trainer. Air resistance, corners and gradients call for constant adjustments. So: by how much does your power output vary throughout an Intervall? I sometimes see numbers up to 10%+/- of what I am aiming for. In my case, that adds up to a variability of about 70 W. Hence, I'm not sure whether training with power outside is anywhere near as efficent as inside. Cheers, bruh
When training with power, I will go a slightly slower speed up hills and into headwinds, but keep my power the same. This is to hold the constant power.
Dude, how do we get you in front of more peeps?! Seriously awesome info for the bro's, brah!
He made it in front of more!
No doubt that a power meter or hr monitor are more scientific but stair masters and ellipticals have been promoting interval training for 40+ years now so give the athlete a little credit.. I know when I am doing interval training and dripping in sweat that I am making progress.. with or without your electric measuring devices..
Can you share if your nutrition changes throughout the year as your workouts do? Not sure if you can elaborate on how that follows the workouts (longer days vs shorter for example). Thanks!
Just failed my first workout with Chaz as my coach... I came back to this for some consolation. Failed workouts are a thing, I guess.
They are, it will happen. If you dont fail a workout from time to time, your not over reaching
So U can do intervall training back to back, if U are recovered and able to hit the power numbers?
Ok you convinced me. I just ordered one.
If I’m doing the 40/20’s and start to feel like I’m slowing down is that when I should stop because it’s essentially no longer really a work out like you said?
If you don't have access to power, and are only utilizing heart rate, when in the on part of the interval, are you trying to sustain zone 5 near Max heart rate?
I do 2minutes on (240-520 Watts) and 1 minute off/ 16 reps. My ride lasts 1hour and 45 to 55 minutes. I also throw in a few sprint sets, also. I ride hard two times a week. And ride easy one time a week. (I need to incorporate VC's knowledge).😞
Subscribed.
Thanks
Learning a lot from you
Would be interested in a video on training periodisation and how you and your coach manage your training load in relation to your goals
I am working on putting a more in-depth video together for it all.
Great video. I liked seeing intervals covered again. What app do you use to time your "on" and "off" efforts?
do you know if the Garmin Edge 820 auto calculator for VO2 is accurate? Also have you used the auto calculator for heart rate or power zones? And if so what’s your take on these features
Great video! Nice to see this tips for free lol Thanks
Thanks a lot. That is what I was looking for!!
Great video VC, thanks! One thing I've noticed is the colour on this video looks a bit washed out - maybe intentional but just thought it was a bit odd given the nice background :)
Great video keep them coming
This video is awesome! Thanks for the insight!
Awesome video. I got the idea now, althought I am cycling for hobby everyday before riding to work.
Can I measure my zone with cad? I dont have a power meter.
alright thank you, but how often are you using an indoor trainer? how do you choose your terrain for specific training bolcks?
This was very helpful thanks!
i've been in the zone, pal.
How do you keep track of where you are in a workout. Eg is this the 5th or 6th, is it 3min recovery this time etc.
if you have a smart phone and Edge, u can make the WO on ur iPhone and load it down to the Edge - works well for me.
How do you separate Zone 4 and Zone 5 training (without a power meter)? Heart rate lags way too much. How do you get good at gauging when you are in Zone 4 and when in Zone 5?
Hey there, may i ask you a question? My wife just started cycling for last 2 weeks, for 30/30s intervals, is it okay for 1 set if we do 30/30s for 5 times instead 10 times, and rest for 2,5 minutes and do another set for beginning?
love it man - thanks
Thanks for the very interesting video!! keep it up bro! :D
I've been riding pretty hard over the last 2 years...and I don't want to admit it, but I still don't know how to calc my FTP.... I've two years of riding data; except a power meter. I track, cadence, BPM, speed, time, etc... Does Strava NOT auto calculate my FTP someplace? I also use Cyclemeter if anyone is familiar with that app - specifically, does it calculate my FTP? I've read to do a balls-out 20 min ride to calc FTP. I've read to do an hour balls-out ride to calc FTP. I've done both in both these apps. Seems like there should be an FTP auto calculated for these rides someplace, no? If no, taking the data from these 20 min and hour rides, WHAT NUMBERS DO I USE AND HOW TO CALC MY FTP? Help. Please.
Sick tips! Imma try this 🤙
this video is totally awesome
banger vid man!
is 3x 10 mile pieces @275-300 watts (with 10 minute sit down breaks in between) three times per week good for a 300lb beginner with less than a month of experience?
Hey VC, how do you find racing on the P1's? Ever have any problems pedaling out of corners?
How can I properly train in zones around a hilly region?
thank you very useful
Just subbed
Can you do interval training with 5 other cyclists?
this is a cool video thanks
Your recommendation of 1 to 3 sessions a week, should they all be Vo2Max Interval sessions?
Not allways. Change up the intensity and duration from block to block
great video V.C when you do 40/20 intervals do you do it out of the saddle sprinting or on the saddle?
I like to do the first 10s seated, then blast my dick off out of the saddle for 20s, then seated for the last 10.
The Vegan Cyclist thanks for the info champ
thanks so much!!!!!!!!
Wait... Since when do 30 10-minute intervals take 3 hours? 8:26
i am 68 been racing triathlons for 17 years but not any more, i just cycle and i don't race i ride 3-4 times a week and want o get faster should i do intervals?
If you want to get faster, yes. But maybe just one set a week.
what does 4x4 mean?
Nice explanation though you do contradict yourself about interval training and you need a power meter or heart monitor. Any interval training is better and more time effective than no interval training. i'd suggest start interval training and thenget the power meter to go to the next level of training.
Great video I just bought a smart trainer and I was normally doing 100+ Miles a week but with the trainer I only do about 60 miles but it’s all intervals and my question was am I getting better even though the volume is down.
Too bad i cant sync my trainingpeaks workout, so i just stick to wahoo workout 😧
Thought there are Buddhist Monks chanting in the background then realised it's dirt bikes (or chainsaws!?)
I love you.