The last interval almost got me, but completed! ✅ Hardest part was tolerating the huge jumps in heart rate. Needed total focus to control my breathing and not panic, inner mantra: “the body is demanding oxygen, BREATHE…” I’ll tackle #3 next week. Thanks Coach!
I can't mention it to myself how hard workout 2 was let alone to others , a real cage fight , entered a while new arena of slobbering n dripping fluid over the bars , last interval was the limit , cadence at 50rpm and hold erg from the death spiral , wasn't sure what was going on just telling myself to hold it , when eeg released and was in recovery zone looked up and saw the achievement star , felt like a 5 year old and received a smiley face stamp from my teacher , oh yeah age defying right at that moment as I continue to wipe away the drool and my vision is restored , fresh legs a necessity , prioritise it , im not convinced this workout will improve your VO2 max , it is a workout designed to rattle your ability to suffer , will not be returning to do a second time , keep em coming Sarah .
I wasn't worried too much about this workout...until I watched this! I'm one of those "freaks", my sufferfest 4DP said I'm an attacker, so I think I'll be okay on this one, but its still a lot. Good luck everyone. And thanks again Sarah! These are great!
I'm so glad that I'm behind in getting started in Zwift academy. Now I get my in-depth knowledge before I ride. Thanks again for another excellent video.
Thanks for the insight. You are obviously more trained than I am. I find it inspiring that you shared how you struggled with the workout. As I beginner, it helped me understand that my struggles are normal, and not quit. Your insights helped me prepare for the workout and got me to know exactly what I was getting into. When I got to do the workout, I found it much easier than I expected... Not that it was easy by any stretch, but expecting tough, I went in for a war and pushed it 'till the end. Thanks for the inspiration. :-)
Bumped up to 95% of FTP and it worked pretty well. Started “ feeling it” sets 5&6. Thinking I’ll go for 100% FTP going forward. Felt better than I expected so I’m encouraged👍. Snaked on blocks every cool down. Yum😳
Ok I’m glad I have taken a week off , do my 100 and then the baseline 2-3 days later. Good tips and will check in as I go thru. Hope you had decent weather going up Marcy. Been a wet summer up here. I’ll likely be behind you in these workouts, from a timing standpoint, but that’s fine as then I get to benefit from your experience😉
This was the hardest one out of the three to date. Struggled on the last set. Failed in the last red zone but managed to keep it in the yellow zones. Tough workout.
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic I completed the first workout at 100% bias setting, but I thought it was pretty hard. So yeah, bring out the butter knife. 🍞🧈🍽😱
I have mentioned ZA is Hard , it is seriously Fkn Hard 😒, I counted 2 breaths you took Sarah during your explanation , and you still suffered , fresh legs are important , real important , dont rest too much , as don't ride , ride everyday , but easy rides no leg pressure , cadence is your key , 95-105 rpm focus on 100rpm , my tip is caffeine hit 150/200 mg before interval no later than 30 min and no earlier than 15 min , music something like slipknot so can't hear your own pain , I managed workout 1 at my ftp , neighbours knew I was home , the last interval I was 60 rpm , you need to do strength endurance intervals at low cadence , ZA if done properly is harder than Hard for the majority , why I do it , nothing to do with fitness , my reason cause its hard and you have to learn how to put yourself on the cross , sassy descriptive video Sarah , chapeau .
Per your mentioning delayed onset muscle soreness/weakness... I'm so familiar with that phenomenon, tending to overestimate my fitness in activities I don't regularly do. When you said that you had to hold onto the railings to get down the stairs, I thought to myself it's going to take a good 2 weeks before you feel fully recovered from that!!!
It's getting there. It was mostly the stabilizer muscles that failed, things I don't typically use as often and were hammered descending. Then having to switch back to larger muscle groups that were already pretty heavily utilized ascending and being out on the mountain for 8 hours between hiking and taking in the views, it was a foregone conclusion. Fitness was spot on, no major fatigue and I probably could have kept going on the day, but hiking is just it's own animal you activate completely different muscle groups than cycling or even running. It's like going to the gym for the first time in a while, you're going to feel it. This was just like going to the gym and hitting squats and dead lifts for 8 hours straight 🤣
Last year I hiked up to the top of the mountain overlooking Missoula, Montana, with my camera equipment… This was after 10 years of being fairly sedentary at work. What should have taken me a couple of hours took me 7, and I’m so glad that there were railings on the steps leading to the parking lot because I didn’t have the strength to go down one more step without a lot of help from my arms! It took me a week before I could do the three steps from my doorstep and 2 weeks before I could walk normally! While I was in terrible shape compared with you, and my hike wasn’t anywhere near as tough as yours, it was the downhill that was the killer for me as well. Incidentally, that was what got me to get back on the bike and eventually discover Zwift! I love your vids!
My strategy is not to follow the herd mentality of doing in as a Group Event. Rather, I timed my workouts between rest, recovery and other ride events to balance out my effort. There is no need to rush through the program (my 5th Academy) like past years. You want to optimise the benefits of the Academy training to come out stronger, fitter and confident of your ability on the bike; not burnt out, tired and angry.
Thank you for your well explained videos, it have help in many ways on my trainings. Question: O your opinion, when vo2max workouts will be more optimal on the training schedule during the different cycles or season? Thank you
Mostly during your "in season" so spring to Autumn for most folks and then sparing use during base/winter allowing the body to recover and rebuild 🙂 How often and when each week really depends on total volume, but at least 1-2 days between intensity is best for adaptation.
My beef with it is how hard it is to ramp up to a very higher power from a low easy level both quickly and accurately. Those of us doing ZA without a trainer with erg mode take a little time to find the power and its real hard to get to the higher levels accurately. Finding those power levels was actually harder than the physical effort!
My biggest issue in this workout was bluetooth dropping twice :| again. And finding a gear that works smoothly with a frankensteined 11spd cassette and derailleur + 10spd chain and shifter. Thanks UPS for forgetting the other parts.
Sarah not sure if this is ok to post. GCN has a 20 minute warmup up guide on the Zwift workout library. Called GCN zero to hero program, week 7 and Called SAT or Sun Race Day. Just a Tip for a structured warmup up program
I thought it was the easiest ZA workout so far between this year and last, but I’ll admit that these types of intervals seems to be in my wheelhouse. Short and sharp (not all out), with plenty of recovery. I hope they weren’t too hard on me because I’ve got a big dumb ride (145 miles) on holiday Monday, so I’ve been trying to get some recovery.
Thanks for your .insights Sarah, appreciate all the effort you put into your videos. Do you have any recommendations on how often we should be doing these workouts to have any benefit? If you want to do them as a group workout; Zwift has them running once a week ... seems a little too little?
I would say beginner to intermediate can effectively introduce these 1-2x per week. Intermediate to advanced 2-3 times. Usually placing some recovery or endurance days in between. The group workout schedule is truly limited by not wanting to wallpaper the schedule with ZA workouts and not getting out too far ahead of people who can't get in more than once per week. These workouts live inside the workout menu and will stay in that folder forever, so you can pick them to at any point during the program. If you find one you like, you can use it well after the program has ended. 😉
Can you have your outro music at the same volume as you are speaking? I'm turning volume up to hear your voice well and then at the end of the video suddenly I have this techno-party which is breaking walls in my aptartment in the middle of the night.
Sara, I do have a question and need your feedback about the VO2 Over/Under workout. I was able to complete the workout but, failed to properly complete the last 3 segments in the last set. Should I do it again or just move forward to the workout #2?
You could move ahead and always circle back to try this workout again the following week, you're working similar energy systems in block one, so it won't hurt to move to workout 2 and even 3. When you circle back to it, you could find you'll get further in the workout. 🙂
see you video after finishing the workout. Ok it was hard but not too hard; the 95% sections helped me, getting heart rate a bit down, how did you call this, probably i´m also a freak ;-),
🤣 yep, this workout will definitely be bread and butter for some folks... People better keep an eye on you in a race... You'll be softening them up with attacks 💪
Thanks great tips, I have a quick question please? Im new to zwift (lvl 8) I always push in my rides, though not done a FTP test (I feel im always pushing so the auto FTP is probably close). Im 6ft ~80kgs with zwift FTP at 209 I found the first workout not too tough, so I upped bias to 110% for 2nd last, back to 105% for last interval. Should I do a zwift FTP test now? Or just push through and complete ZA as is? BTW - by the last interval of workout 1 I was really pushed Thanks, and appreciate your help and videos👍
0:17 But...but...you have orange halloween coloured lights and a fire burning behind you while you complain. =D. I'm confused. Thank you for the heads-up on this. Edit: and by "this" I mean the insane workout, not the halloween stuff in the stores. =D
The last interval almost got me, but completed! ✅ Hardest part was tolerating the huge jumps in heart rate. Needed total focus to control my breathing and not panic, inner mantra: “the body is demanding oxygen, BREATHE…” I’ll tackle #3 next week. Thanks Coach!
You're crushing some serious YT content lately! Loving it!
I can't mention it to myself how hard workout 2 was let alone to others , a real cage fight , entered a while new arena of slobbering n dripping fluid over the bars , last interval was the limit , cadence at 50rpm and hold erg from the death spiral , wasn't sure what was going on just telling myself to hold it , when eeg released and was in recovery zone looked up and saw the achievement star , felt like a 5 year old and received a smiley face stamp from my teacher , oh yeah age defying right at that moment as I continue to wipe away
the drool and my vision is restored , fresh legs a necessity , prioritise it , im not convinced this workout will improve your VO2 max , it is a workout designed to rattle your ability to suffer , will not be returning to do a second time , keep em coming Sarah .
I wasn't worried too much about this workout...until I watched this! I'm one of those "freaks", my sufferfest 4DP said I'm an attacker, so I think I'll be okay on this one, but its still a lot. Good luck everyone. And thanks again Sarah! These are great!
Thanks for your tips! Increasing cadance before the start of each block helped me enormously! Really clear and complete video!
I'm so glad that I'm behind in getting started in Zwift academy. Now I get my in-depth knowledge before I ride.
Thanks again for another excellent video.
I followed your tip about starting with a high cadence for each set and that really helped! Love the content and keep it up 💪
Sarah thank you for the tips. Even more importantly your honesty.
I find that Workout 1 is harder than this. Also, I find that your videos are very much better and beneficial than GCN. Keep it up !
Thanks for the insight. You are obviously more trained than I am. I find it inspiring that you shared how you struggled with the workout. As I beginner, it helped me understand that my struggles are normal, and not quit. Your insights helped me prepare for the workout and got me to know exactly what I was getting into. When I got to do the workout, I found it much easier than I expected... Not that it was easy by any stretch, but expecting tough, I went in for a war and pushed it 'till the end.
Thanks for the inspiration. :-)
Bumped up to 95% of FTP and it worked pretty well. Started “ feeling it” sets 5&6. Thinking I’ll go for 100% FTP going forward. Felt better than I expected so I’m encouraged👍. Snaked on blocks every cool down. Yum😳
Yes this was harder BUT I took your advice and got my pre workout nutrition prepared and only died a little bit towards the end
Awesome! It really makes a difference!
Ok I’m glad I have taken a week off , do my 100 and then the baseline 2-3 days later. Good tips and will check in as I go thru. Hope you had decent weather going up Marcy. Been a wet summer up here. I’ll likely be behind you in these workouts, from a timing standpoint, but that’s fine as then I get to benefit from your experience😉
Thanks, Sarah - I’m doing WO#2 this morning. Will use your tips and let you know how it went.
Great videos, Sarah! Keep up the good work! Very helpful.
Awesome walk-thru Sarah, gonna do #2 this afternoon with your tips in mind! THANKS!!
You are amazing. I love your sincerity and advise
This was the hardest one out of the three to date. Struggled on the last set. Failed in the last red zone but managed to keep it in the yellow zones. Tough workout.
Well, that seals it. I'm toast. 😩😩😩
These are mean workouts... I need to talk to the manager 🤣
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic I completed the first workout at 100% bias setting, but I thought it was pretty hard. So yeah, bring out the butter knife. 🍞🧈🍽😱
@@SignorLuigi 🤣
I have mentioned ZA is Hard , it is seriously Fkn Hard 😒, I counted 2 breaths you took Sarah during your explanation , and you still suffered , fresh legs are important , real important , dont rest too much , as don't ride , ride everyday , but easy rides no leg pressure , cadence is your key , 95-105 rpm focus on 100rpm , my tip is caffeine hit 150/200 mg before interval no later than 30 min and no earlier than 15 min , music something like slipknot so can't hear your own pain , I managed workout 1 at my ftp , neighbours knew I was home , the last interval I was 60 rpm , you need to do strength endurance intervals at low cadence , ZA if done properly is harder than Hard for the majority , why I do it , nothing to do with fitness , my reason cause its hard and you have to learn how to put yourself on the cross , sassy descriptive video Sarah , chapeau .
Per your mentioning delayed onset muscle soreness/weakness... I'm so familiar with that phenomenon, tending to overestimate my fitness in activities I don't regularly do. When you said that you had to hold onto the railings to get down the stairs, I thought to myself it's going to take a good 2 weeks before you feel fully recovered from that!!!
It's getting there. It was mostly the stabilizer muscles that failed, things I don't typically use as often and were hammered descending. Then having to switch back to larger muscle groups that were already pretty heavily utilized ascending and being out on the mountain for 8 hours between hiking and taking in the views, it was a foregone conclusion. Fitness was spot on, no major fatigue and I probably could have kept going on the day, but hiking is just it's own animal you activate completely different muscle groups than cycling or even running. It's like going to the gym for the first time in a while, you're going to feel it. This was just like going to the gym and hitting squats and dead lifts for 8 hours straight 🤣
Last year I hiked up to the top of the mountain overlooking Missoula, Montana, with my camera equipment… This was after 10 years of being fairly sedentary at work. What should have taken me a couple of hours took me 7, and I’m so glad that there were railings on the steps leading to the parking lot because I didn’t have the strength to go down one more step without a lot of help from my arms! It took me a week before I could do the three steps from my doorstep and 2 weeks before I could walk normally! While I was in terrible shape compared with you, and my hike wasn’t anywhere near as tough as yours, it was the downhill that was the killer for me as well.
Incidentally, that was what got me to get back on the bike and eventually discover Zwift!
I love your vids!
Great
My strategy is not to follow the herd mentality of doing in as a Group Event. Rather, I timed my workouts between rest, recovery and other ride events to balance out my effort. There is no need to rush through the program (my 5th Academy) like past years. You want to optimise the benefits of the Academy training to come out stronger, fitter and confident of your ability on the bike; not burnt out, tired and angry.
"Sometimes you're the hammer and sometimes, you're the nail". Having said that, it sounds like fun :-)
Thank you for your well explained videos, it have help in many ways on my trainings.
Question: O your opinion, when vo2max workouts will be more optimal on the training schedule during the different cycles or season? Thank you
Mostly during your "in season" so spring to Autumn for most folks and then sparing use during base/winter allowing the body to recover and rebuild 🙂 How often and when each week really depends on total volume, but at least 1-2 days between intensity is best for adaptation.
Look like the kind of workout i Enjoy!
My beef with it is how hard it is to ramp up to a very higher power from a low easy level both quickly and accurately. Those of us doing ZA without a trainer with erg mode take a little time to find the power and its real hard to get to the higher levels accurately. Finding those power levels was actually harder than the physical effort!
My biggest issue in this workout was bluetooth dropping twice :| again.
And finding a gear that works smoothly with a frankensteined 11spd cassette and derailleur + 10spd chain and shifter. Thanks UPS for forgetting the other parts.
Sarah not sure if this is ok to post. GCN has a 20 minute warmup up guide on the Zwift workout library. Called GCN zero to hero program, week 7 and Called SAT or Sun Race Day. Just a Tip for a structured warmup up program
awesome, thanks!
hahaha!!! you're awesome... gezzus!
I thought it was the easiest ZA workout so far between this year and last, but I’ll admit that these types of intervals seems to be in my wheelhouse. Short and sharp (not all out), with plenty of recovery. I hope they weren’t too hard on me because I’ve got a big dumb ride (145 miles) on holiday Monday, so I’ve been trying to get some recovery.
great video, btw where did you get that tshirt? :)
I honestly don't remember... it actually might have been REI a couple years ago 🙂
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic thanks! REI rocks....please keep doing what you are doing with the videos, very inspirational
Thanks for your .insights Sarah, appreciate all the effort you put into your videos. Do you have any recommendations on how often we should be doing these workouts to have any benefit? If you want to do them as a group workout; Zwift has them running once a week ... seems a little too little?
I would say beginner to intermediate can effectively introduce these 1-2x per week. Intermediate to advanced 2-3 times. Usually placing some recovery or endurance days in between. The group workout schedule is truly limited by not wanting to wallpaper the schedule with ZA workouts and not getting out too far ahead of people who can't get in more than once per week. These workouts live inside the workout menu and will stay in that folder forever, so you can pick them to at any point during the program. If you find one you like, you can use it well after the program has ended. 😉
Can you have your outro music at the same volume as you are speaking? I'm turning volume up to hear your voice well and then at the end of the video suddenly I have this techno-party which is breaking walls in my aptartment in the middle of the night.
Sara, I do have a question and need your feedback about the VO2 Over/Under workout. I was able to complete the workout but, failed to properly complete the last 3 segments in the last set. Should I do it again or just move forward to the workout #2?
You could move ahead and always circle back to try this workout again the following week, you're working similar energy systems in block one, so it won't hurt to move to workout 2 and even 3. When you circle back to it, you could find you'll get further in the workout. 🙂
Wow you weren't joking! I had to pull the plug after 3 sets at 100%. Just made up to the hour with z2 and a few high cadence drills 🤢🥵
It's a gross one 🤕
see you video after finishing the workout. Ok it was hard but not too hard; the 95% sections helped me, getting heart rate a bit down, how did you call this, probably i´m also a freak ;-),
🤣 yep, this workout will definitely be bread and butter for some folks... People better keep an eye on you in a race... You'll be softening them up with attacks 💪
Thanks great tips, I have a quick question please?
Im new to zwift (lvl 8) I always push in my rides, though not done a FTP test (I feel im always pushing so the auto FTP is probably close). Im 6ft ~80kgs with zwift FTP at 209
I found the first workout not too tough, so I upped bias to 110% for 2nd last, back to 105% for last interval.
Should I do a zwift FTP test now? Or just push through and complete ZA as is?
BTW - by the last interval of workout 1 I was really pushed
Thanks, and appreciate your help and videos👍
@Tim thanks mate, might do the ramp test a day or 2 before the ZA workout 2🍻
Do I have to do workout 1 three times to be able to get to the second one? I can't see any events
You need to open it from the workouts folder. There are no group events for workout 2 until Monday.
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic aah okay, thanks!
How did you already get to do it? My companion app doesn’t show it as an available option until Monday.
Just pull it from your workout menu and do it any time 🙂
0:17 But...but...you have orange halloween coloured lights and a fire burning behind you while you complain. =D. I'm confused.
Thank you for the heads-up on this.
Edit: and by "this" I mean the insane workout, not the halloween stuff in the stores. =D
That's because I'm basic 🤣 Good luck on #2!
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic Ha! =D. Thank you.