March 26th 8:00am Ride Notes

Threshold Build (Triple Bypass)

*You can adjust the view in Zoom by pinning a view.

If you have downloaded the workout I recommend putting your Garmin in front of you and match your resistance. You can upload this to Zwift and follow our workout. I recommend following our workouts instead of the Zwift workouts since ours are fully coached.

TODAY’S FOCUS---Anaerobic Threshold Workout- I love this type of workout. It includes cadence and power variations. This type of work is a great bang for your buck.. Limited long term cost and substantial effects on building threshold

  • Warm-Up-Gradually and gently ramp up. Don’t ride hard and create lactic acid during the warm up. Let everything come on line slowly. Today is a sugar based effort. This isn’t a ride to do fasted.

  • Self-Test during warm up. I know how they feel at 50% and how they feel at 80%. Pay attention to how you feel during warm up. But don’t let in influence the entire ride… remember that you can feel better/worse as the ride continues.

  • Three of these intervals during the ride today:

    • 2 minutes at 100% (Low RPM 55-70 If you have bad knees stay closer to 70)-Imagine being on the lower slope of the climb. This is a good time to flush out the congestion in your legs.

    • 7 minutes at 80-85 % (hit your interval button to adjust your output if needed)(I am still able to talk. I am probably just below my anaerobic/lactate/ONE MORE TERM threshold.)

    • 2 minutes at 100% (High RPM/Cadence 95-105)

As you go through the intervals learn from them and apply changes to the subsequent intervals. Possibly shifting to an easier gear or a 1-2 degree steeper grade

  • Two minute interval at the end of the workout-Use W-Prime to help guide yourself during this last effort. This effort should be a little higher than the 2 min efforts at the start and finish of each 11 min block.. If you can manage to lose 30-50 W prime points your in a great place..

VQ Terminology

  • VO2 Max intervals- Intervals significantly about threshold: 30 seconds to 5 minutes in duration

  • VO2 Max Power- What you can hold for 4-5 minutes

  • The locker room tracks the relationship between between 5 min power and 20 min power

  • (FTP) Functional Threshold Power-Actual power output for a given amount of time, usually one hour.

  • Anaerobic threshold- Sweet Spot-High Tempo all mean the same thing= 80-95% of your FTP

  • Aerobic or Fat Max Power-The power output where fat is the primary fuel source. Usually between 40 and 75 %. To be safe ride at 55-65% of your FTP for a long period of time

Reminders:

  • White clock shows time elapsed
  • Yellow clock shows time left
  • Lowering RPM-Adjust gearing or gradient on your trainer to get power up and cadence down.

Thoughts on VO2 Max

It is one component and often thought of as the most important variable. I don’t always think it is. What makes the difference between athletes who have similar VO2?

  • The ability to work at a higher percent of your VO2 max.

What allows you to do that?

  • Physiology is a huge factor

  • Muscle type

  • Training adaptation

  • The ability to burn fat at high intensities

  • The Brain. Top athletes have a never quit mindset. Their brains are wired to carry-on. They see people win races despite not feeling great. They know to just stick with it. Focusing on the growth is what matters.

We can improve some of these things. Spending time right around the sweet spot will get us closer to our VO2 Max.

NOTE: Before a big event I tend to fill my glycogen stores. This causes me to feel full and heavy. I use this feeling as a marker that my stores are full and that as they deplete I will feel better. SO….if you aren’t feeling great at the beginning of an event, just give it some time.

Athlete Story-David set a goal and worked on his percent of VO2 Max all the way up to 88% of VO2 MAX with a focus on anaerobic threshold with low cadence. Low RPM recruits the fast twitch muscle fibers and brings them to the slow twitch side of things. His anaerobic threshold went from 210 to 240. This process worked! Lowered SOMETHING and RAISED SOMETHING…

But now what? His races were cancelled. So we re-worked the plan. A little more VQ2 max work, increased his strength work and increased high end range to prepare him for his race which will now be in the fall. The result is that David improved. His focus is on improvement not the actual race.

The more fit you are, the easier it is to come back to fitness. When a top athlete is coming back from an injury, he/she is able to come back so much more quickly than someone who went into the injury less fit. Aerobic pieces were developed and they do not all just go away when we stop. The scaffolding is in place and all you have to do is the finish work…

You may want to pivot a bit with your training and create more strength, VO2 and aerobic fitness and hold off on really taking a crack at Threshold until you have a better idea of when you're racing.