your favorite interval/power routines?

[jimcav]

So, I am trying to be smarter and get something out of my commute miles (50 per day). I have gotten good at what some guys call dieseling.
so, i've started doing some power based intervals. so far i alternate, 10 sec on 20 sec off, about as hard as i can go safely--i do 10, but my goal is 20-30. should i do fewer longer/harder?
next, i go to fiesta island here in san diego, known to be always windy.
I think it is a 4 mile loop, on the windy side i punch it each lap and try to hold a given wattage. since it is windy, i am doing higher cadence (100). i go at 400 for as long as i can (just over 2 minutes), next lap 350, next lap 325. the rest of the lap i try to go over 18, but i allow myself about 30-45 seconds to recover from the effort before getting back up to speed.

what are some routines you like/recommend?

jim

[Ti Designs]

My secret for speed and power is not to do intervals in October...

[false_Aest]

I remember this racer, Brian Haas, telling me that in college his track team did intervals consisting of 100m sprint, chugging a can of Miller and another 100m sprint. You had to finish a 6 pack.

While this isn't necessarily a bicycle type of interval, I imagine that its quite easy to tailor this to OktoberFest riding.

[jimcav]

I remember this racer, Brian Haas, telling me that in college his track team did intervals consisting of 100m sprint, chugging a can of Miller and another 100m sprint. You had to finish a 6 pack.

While this isn't necessarily a bicycle type of interval, I imagine that its quite easy to tailor this to OktoberFest riding.

thanks jim

[jimcav]

My secret for speed and power is not to do intervals in October...

no crits per my wife's concerns about crashing, sole bread winner, father, etc

i may get back to triathlons. love doing hill climbs and events when my schedule allows.

anyway, october in san diego is nice riding--so i'd like to get faster and stronger.

thanks
jim

[johnnymossville]

Find the steepest hill you can find, put your bike in high gear and with a 200 yard head start, go as far up it as you can until you fall over. Turn around and repeat as many times as you can before you pass out. Do this 3 times a week and spend the rest of your time recovering in front of your computer.

[Ti Designs]

I remember this racer, Brian Haas, telling me that in college his track team did intervals consisting of 100m sprint, chugging a can of Miller and another 100m sprint. You had to finish a 6 pack.

Miller??? Those are tough iintervals!!!

In the UK there's a race that starts at the local pub, then goes up the steepest hill in town, then it goes along for a while and brings you back to the pub. With each lap you have to stop for a pint, then it's back on the bike and up the hill.

That race was outdone by the messenger championships where they had to stop and get inked.


I don't need to be fast until May. Throw in there 2 weeks to ease into my weight training program and another 12 weeks for the program itself. 12 weeks of pedal stroke isolation work and 4 weeks of intervals and technique work, and 16 weeks on the fixed gear doing base mileage. The weight training, pedal stroke work and base mileage all happen at the same time, so I've got an extra month and a half to get slow and fat.

I raced for 15 years, coached for another 8. I have the advantage of knowing how my body is going to react to training. I'm not going to make the mistake of thinking that training hard now is going to translate to anything more than being tired and slow come next season.

[Karin Kirk]

My favorite intervals are hill repeats.
On flat roads, you can try pyramids. For example, a 20 second interval, then a 40 sec, then 60, then 40 then 20. Or 1 minute, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min.
I also like short sets of long intervals for TT training. So, two 20 minute intervals with 10 min of rest. That's a lovely workout.

Whether you should do longer or shorter intervals depends on what kind of speed or endurance or power you most want to develop. Also, if you are doing this on the way to work, you've got to be reasonable unless napping on the job is OK at your workplace. ;)

My best suggestion is to check out Joe Friel's book, the cyclist's training bible. It has a whole section on different interval workouts.

Have fun!

[Ozz]

I remember this racer, Brian Haas, telling me that in college his track team did intervals consisting of 100m sprint, chugging a can of Miller and another 100m sprint. You had to finish a 6 pack.

While this isn't necessarily a bicycle type of interval, I imagine that its quite easy to tailor this to OktoberFest riding.
Did you need to bring your own bucket??

[false_Aest]

Ti,

I'm sorry I don't live in Boston anymore. I think I would've done good trading beer and art for your coaching.

Miller??? Those are tough iintervals!!!

In the UK there's a race that starts at the local pub, then goes up the steepest hill in town, then it goes along for a while and brings you back to the pub. With each lap you have to stop for a pint, then it's back on the bike and up the hill.

That race was outdone by the messenger championships where they had to stop and get inked.


I don't need to be fast until May. Throw in there 2 weeks to ease into my weight training program and another 12 weeks for the program itself. 12 weeks of pedal stroke isolation work and 4 weeks of intervals and technique work, and 16 weeks on the fixed gear doing base mileage. The weight training, pedal stroke work and base mileage all happen at the same time, so I've got an extra month and a half to get slow and fat.

I raced for 15 years, coached for another 8. I have the advantage of knowing how my body is going to react to training. I'm not going to make the mistake of thinking that training hard now is going to translate to anything more than being tired and slow come next season.

[jimcav]

Find the steepest hill you can find, put your bike in high gear and with a 200 yard head start, go as far up it as you can until you fall over. Turn around and repeat as many times as you can before you pass out. Do this 3 times a week and spend the rest of your time recovering in front of your computer.

what would you say is high--the biggest i could push to the top? and seriously 3x week seems a lot--maybe i need to get used to it, but the intervals i did do really toast my legs--plus 2 times a week we have pretty tough group PT

[jimcav]

My favorite intervals are hill repeats.
On flat roads, you can try pyramids. For example, a 20 second interval, then a 40 sec, then 60, then 40 then 20. Or 1 minute, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min.
I also like short sets of long intervals for TT training. So, two 20 minute intervals with 10 min of rest. That's a lovely workout.

Whether you should do longer or shorter intervals depends on what kind of speed or endurance or power you most want to develop. Also, if you are doing this on the way to work, you've got to be reasonable unless napping on the job is OK at your workplace. ;)

My best suggestion is to check out Joe Friel's book, the cyclist's training bible. It has a whole section on different interval workouts.

Have fun!
i will try pyramids--fitting them into my 25 mile commute will be simpler that doing the longer stuff

[znfdl]

My secret for speed and power is not to do intervals in October...

Ti would the timing of intervals and training power have to do when you have a big race?

I have the Sebring 24 Hour in February and will be starting interval training this week.

3 x 20 miniute intervals.

Believe me when I say that they are not zinfully good, but make you stronger.

Jim:

Do you have a goal to shoot for?

In addition to 20 minute intervals, I also do kilometer intervals, but on different days.

[WadePatton]

Hills--w/o a doubt. Climb, repeat, ad pukeum.

Flats-I sprint the dogs. K9 sprints--remember Eddie?--"He's a mean SOB."

I'm no effing good on pure flats. I'll attack rolling hills though. I have a work to do in all areas-but mainly pulling hard on flat ground. I'm usually saving up for the climb. ;)

[nm87710]

First off, I'm not a certified coach nor do I play one on bike forums, The Internets or TV. :)

Nonethless, MY general non-certified experiences with intervals are:

Intervals less than 1min are a waste of time unless you plan to jump out of lots of corners(i.e. crits) or "win" training ride sprints.

Keep it fairly simple. only need 3 durations (1, 5, 20)

1min on with 3-5min recovery repeat 7-13 times DOE. If you can't do it 7 times then you are doing them too hard. If you can do it 13+ times then you are not doing them hard enough. Sometimes done on hills sometimes flats.

5min on with 5min recovery repeat 4-8 times DOE. Same thoughts on intensity and venues. If you could only do one type of interval this one will give you the most "bang for your buck".

20min on with 5 min recovery repeat 2-4 times DOE. Same thoughts on intensity and venues.

If your goal is Tri stuff or long hillclimbs then work on 20min. If general racing, fast club rides, etc then 5min. 1min if you don't want to be dropped when the ****e hits the fan and already know how to sit-in.

Good luck at whatever you end up doing.
John

[labratmatt]

nm87710's post is very close to what I do in my training. I love the 20 minute and five minute intervals. I do the 20 minute intervals year round and add the five minute intervals a few weeks before the season starts and continue them through the season. If you feel like doing the five minute intervals all year, great!

Another thing that I really like outside of intervals is riding for an hour or so at 85%. Just hold it real steady uphill and downhill. This workout doesn't feel hard in the begining, but starts to get to you after a while.

One of the biggest things with intervals is that you shouldn't do them if you're not fairly well rested. Determine the wattage you should ride at for your interval and if your perceived exertion is through the roof for that interval, hang it up and try it again the next day or the day after.

[Ti Designs]

Intervals less than 1min are a waste of time unless you plan to jump out of lots of corners(i.e. crits) or "win" training ride sprints.

Sorry dude, gonna have to shoot that one down.

Think of training as giving your body instruction, just slogging away mile after mile doesn't make you faster, it just makes you smell bad. The goal of interval training is to raise the AT and shorten recovery times, the only way you're going to do this is called overload - push the system beyond it's bounds and it will adapt. Here's a brief description of an interval session - keep in mind that intervals are the last step in a long and involved pedal stroke program. If you're pedalling ugly and wasting 15% of your power by pushing in the wrong direction, intervals aren't what you need.


Step 1: find your baseline. Baseline is where you stabalize at 75 - 80% of your AT. I like using a mag trainer for this interval session because the resistance is linear. The gear and the RPM where you're at baseline is what you return to as soon as the interval is over - baseline. The format is simple, start out with 30 seconds on, 120 seconds at baseline, 30 seconds on, 120 seconds at baseline... The real trick is to always reture right back to baseline when you're not in the interval. Think of baseline as a power output number. you're tracking heart rate within the rest period, the area
above your AT is oxygen debt, the area below the AT is recovery. As long as the recovery is greater than the debt you can do the next interval. With each one the crossover point moves, reducing the recovery:debt ratio until you can no longer continue.

Hill climb intervals are mostly covered in pedal stroke work as they are as much about technique and control as they are about training. Longer intervals or time trial intervals are more about learning the body's limits and gauging effort over time.

[dripfaucet]

comment removed by user.

[kerrycycle]

Assuming it is during the season, you first need to define your goal and identify your weaknesses. Your interval workouts and other training should focus on getting to your goal. Intervals without a goal & knowledge of your weaknesses are useless.

My favorite & most common workout:

20-30 min warm-up
4 intervals of 12-15 min in Zone 4-5a with 3 minutes pure recovery between intervals
20-30 min Spin & cool down.

I only do this workout after a day of rest to get the most out of it. If done properly, it will put the hurt on. I do this workout beginning late base and carry it into build phases.

There are many other great interval workouts out there depending on where you are in your training.

[nm87710]

Sorry dude, gonna have to shoot that one down. ...

Although I'm no cat skinner(nor do I play one on the Internets), I'm pretty confident there is more than one way to skin those furry little creatures... :)

IMO Stephen McGregor provides good guidelines when it comes to putting together interval strategies that could help the OP achieve stated goals(heavily dependent on LT abilities). It's much easier to add anaerobic and/or neuromuscular intervals (i.e. ~1min or less) as “icing on the cake” before a key peak or event than it is to build core LT/VO2max fitness.
Cheers,
John


Stephen McGregor:
VO2max Interval Recommendations
Duration: To train VO2max, intervals should be
– At least 3 min
– Less than 10 min
Intensity: Intervals should be
– Less than 120 % VO2max
– More than 80 % VO2max

LT/MSS Interval Recommendations
Intervals should be at least 10 min long at MSS power (1 hr effort) up to 30 min
Minimal cumulative time at MSS power/effort should be 30 min per session
Maximal cumulative time at MSS should likely be 60 min, maybe more
(depending on level)
– Reducing intensity level slightly results in ability to accumulate
substantially more time

LT/MSS Training Adaptations
LT/MSS intervals elicit dramatic improvements in
– Sustainable power
– Duration at pre-training MLSS power
– CHO oxidation at MLSS
Oxidative Type II fibers
Peripheral adaptations

[jimcav]

Although I'm no cat skinner(nor do I play one on the Internets), I'm pretty confident there is more than one way to skin those furry little creatures... :)

IMO Stephen McGregor provides good guidelines when it comes to putting together interval strategies that could help the OP achieve stated goals(heavily dependent on LT abilities). It's much easier to add anaerobic and/or neuromuscular intervals (i.e. ~1min or less) as “icing on the cake” before a key peak or event than it is to build core LT/VO2max fitness.
Cheers,
John


Stephen McGregor:
VO2max Interval Recommendations
Duration: To train VO2max, intervals should be
– At least 3 min
– Less than 10 min
Intensity: Intervals should be
– Less than 120 % VO2max
– More than 80 % VO2max

LT/MSS Interval Recommendations
Intervals should be at least 10 min long at MSS power (1 hr effort) up to 30 min
Minimal cumulative time at MSS power/effort should be 30 min per session
Maximal cumulative time at MSS should likely be 60 min, maybe more
(depending on level)
– Reducing intensity level slightly results in ability to accumulate
substantially more time

LT/MSS Training Adaptations
LT/MSS intervals elicit dramatic improvements in
– Sustainable power
– Duration at pre-training MLSS power
– CHO oxidation at MLSS
Oxidative Type II fibers
Peripheral adaptations

in 2003 or 2004 i volunteered for a research study at that had me do a VO2 max test, but i lost the results during one of our moves. i remember them saying i missed my calling as a marathoner--something about lactate--anyway it was funny because i pronate badly--used to run and was never that fast and if i tried to train harder i got injuries--either ITB or shin splints

[nm87710]

in 2003 or 2004 i volunteered for a research study at that had me do a VO2 max test, but i lost the results during one of our moves. i remember them saying i missed my calling as a marathoner--something about lactate--anyway it was funny because i pronate badly--used to run and was never that fast and if i tried to train harder i got injuries--either ITB or shin splints

You've probably already discovered the monthly Fiesta Island TT http://www.fiestaisland.com/ but just in case check it out since it's in your backyard. Fun course with friendly locals and world class cyclists always showing up. Up Mt. Palomar is also a great workout and/or TT.

Enjoy,
John