Thanks for this short video, it makes a lot of sense. I have been liking TR's polarized plans mainly because they have 2 hard workouts, a VO2 Max early in the week and a threshold workout (100 to 105%, duration 8min and 16 min repeats). I didn't think I had it in me. Sometimes, I go back to the SS plans because they seem a lot less daunting. I guess I just have to toughen up :-).
Ive been doing a lot of 3x15 Threshold with 10 second bursts of late but I think I'll give those 5x5 with 30s bursts a try and also the lactate clearance, thanks for another great training video, I'll check out the discord channel
the 3 x 15 with bursts are solid! But yeah I agree, if you're nailing those, change it up. And hit that 8-10m power also before base season arrives. Thanks for checking out the video!
podcast coming on that one soon! Spoiler: lots of marketing by some. realllly hard to get accurate measurements, and this is the comment coming from a lot in the science world from what I hear
Thanks for all the info hombre! I Want to approach my base season differently this year. What about adding (low) tempo to the zone 2 instead of ssp? ( (Kind if time restricted athlete - 12 hours). Want to go through a few blocks of this combined with gym work and start adding supra threshold and vo2max in a later stage. Feel like the tempo will give a bit more bang for buck and allow me to get work done in the gym, which isn’t the case with sweetspot.
the only prob with tempo is you're becoming more glycolytic; less is more early on, and 12h is still a lot. i used to train just 10-12h and got to cat 1 on that; not sure where you are at but 12 is no joke; i know lots of fast people at that. i'd do some tempo, but not all!
not a huge fan to be honest; a few sessions is okay, but if I were time strapped OR stuck indoors due to the weather, I'd keep it endurance and sprinkle in those over-unders. Sweet spot is just going to make you tired in the long haul. Even tempo bursts would be a better option (different way of seeing Over unders!)
@@EVOQBIKE I definitely did too much sweet spot last base season and started the year a bit burned out. 5 week on cycles also didn't help. Lesson learned, I'll try out the tempo bursts.
Hey - I am going to do a power analysis of my latest CX race but, high level, I had 4% of my race spent at sweet spot...a lot of nuances here; course, weather, race tactics, etc., but in the opportunity cost analysis of your allotted training time and the workouts that would be most beneficial for cyclocross...spending time working on 4% of the race is not what I would recommend. I did spend 30% of my race at FRC/FTP and above. Some FTP, VO2max, FRC & PMax workouts would be time well spent, IMO. Checkout the Cyclocross Training Block videos I did for some specific workouts; ruclips.net/p/PLiOww7FfCwdlp19oHsPpmmukaPL1_BTZ- - Josh
@@EVOQBIKE Hey Josh, thanks a million for your detailed answer. Just one more question: how much base training should I do? AFAIK I don't need a huge aerobic capacity for CX racing, but do to a surgery a few month ago my fitness level is a bit sh*tty at the moment.
@@xtra9996 That's a tough question to answer...high level - as much pure endurance riding as you can do but not at the expense of other cx specific workouts. There are so many benefits from endurance rides (checkout Brendan's video, ruclips.net/video/4uld9mAlF7Y/видео.html) that people forget about or are unaware of. VO2max aka max aerobic is the max amount of oxygen your body can consume during max intensity exercise...That's basically CX in a nutshell. So, get out and do some quality endurance rides (constant pressure on the pedals, no coast, 10% or less Z1, etc.) but find a balance with your cx specific work. Also, be sure to keep the endurance rides as PURE endurance! CX workouts are hard! You don't need added fatigue from 'KOM' watts on your endurance rides. - Josh
@@EVOQBIKE Thanks again Josh, very helpful information. Especially the hint on doing pure endurance riding is important, because I'm really sloppy here. Another cyclist in front of me: try to be faster. An e-bike rider: pass him, even when riding uphill. And yes, when my bike computer signals a segment being ahead of me: try to ride as fast as possible. I really have to overcome this bad habit.
Thanks for this short video, it makes a lot of sense. I have been liking TR's polarized plans mainly because they have 2 hard workouts, a VO2 Max early in the week and a threshold workout (100 to 105%, duration 8min and 16 min repeats). I didn't think I had it in me. Sometimes, I go back to the SS plans because they seem a lot less daunting. I guess I just have to toughen up :-).
they won't be easy, but they will be worth it!! those tough ones will make you faster and stronger! Let's get it!!!! 🚀🚀🚀
Ive been doing a lot of 3x15 Threshold with 10 second bursts of late but I think I'll give those 5x5 with 30s bursts a try and also the lactate clearance, thanks for another great training video, I'll check out the discord channel
the 3 x 15 with bursts are solid! But yeah I agree, if you're nailing those, change it up. And hit that 8-10m power also before base season arrives. Thanks for checking out the video!
Great video. What are your thoughts on the vlamax discussion? Keep up the good videos.
podcast coming on that one soon! Spoiler: lots of marketing by some. realllly hard to get accurate measurements, and this is the comment coming from a lot in the science world from what I hear
Looking forward to that video. The conversation is interesting.
It might be good for someone with a lot of Type IIa fibers or a stroke volume that dips at VO2 max.
Thanks for all the info hombre!
I Want to approach my base season differently this year. What about adding (low) tempo to the zone 2 instead of ssp? ( (Kind if time restricted athlete - 12 hours). Want to go through a few blocks of this combined with gym work and start adding supra threshold and vo2max in a later stage.
Feel like the tempo will give a bit more bang for buck and allow me to get work done in the gym, which isn’t the case with sweetspot.
the only prob with tempo is you're becoming more glycolytic; less is more early on, and 12h is still a lot. i used to train just 10-12h and got to cat 1 on that; not sure where you are at but 12 is no joke; i know lots of fast people at that. i'd do some tempo, but not all!
What's your opinion on sweet spot during the base season?
not a huge fan to be honest; a few sessions is okay, but if I were time strapped OR stuck indoors due to the weather, I'd keep it endurance and sprinkle in those over-unders. Sweet spot is just going to make you tired in the long haul. Even tempo bursts would be a better option (different way of seeing Over unders!)
@@EVOQBIKE I definitely did too much sweet spot last base season and started the year a bit burned out. 5 week on cycles also didn't help. Lesson learned, I'll try out the tempo bursts.
When it comes to cyclo-cross specific training I was recommended to do 4x 10-15 minutes sweet sport with sprints every 3 minutes. Good or bad?
Hey - I am going to do a power analysis of my latest CX race but, high level, I had 4% of my race spent at sweet spot...a lot of nuances here; course, weather, race tactics, etc., but in the opportunity cost analysis of your allotted training time and the workouts that would be most beneficial for cyclocross...spending time working on 4% of the race is not what I would recommend. I did spend 30% of my race at FRC/FTP and above. Some FTP, VO2max, FRC & PMax workouts would be time well spent, IMO. Checkout the Cyclocross Training Block videos I did for some specific workouts;
ruclips.net/p/PLiOww7FfCwdlp19oHsPpmmukaPL1_BTZ-
- Josh
@@EVOQBIKE Hey Josh, thanks a million for your detailed answer. Just one more question: how much base training should I do? AFAIK I don't need a huge aerobic capacity for CX racing, but do to a surgery a few month ago my fitness level is a bit sh*tty at the moment.
@@xtra9996 That's a tough question to answer...high level - as much pure endurance riding as you can do but not at the expense of other cx specific workouts. There are so many benefits from endurance rides (checkout Brendan's video, ruclips.net/video/4uld9mAlF7Y/видео.html) that people forget about or are unaware of. VO2max aka max aerobic is the max amount of oxygen your body can consume during max intensity exercise...That's basically CX in a nutshell. So, get out and do some quality endurance rides (constant pressure on the pedals, no coast, 10% or less Z1, etc.) but find a balance with your cx specific work. Also, be sure to keep the endurance rides as PURE endurance! CX workouts are hard! You don't need added fatigue from 'KOM' watts on your endurance rides. - Josh
@@EVOQBIKE Thanks again Josh, very helpful information. Especially the hint on doing pure endurance riding is important, because I'm really sloppy here. Another cyclist in front of me: try to be faster. An e-bike rider: pass him, even when riding uphill. And yes, when my bike computer signals a segment being ahead of me: try to ride as fast as possible. I really have to overcome this bad habit.
Brendan... are you doing 6 gap this year?
weather pending! ;-)
TrainerRoad will sue you, SweetSpot is their business model LOL
a lot of their users fall into the new bucket; so it works. it just fizzles after 6 months. so it's a good place to start.