Short intense period before starting base? Chad's short FTP boost plan

Is there any way to save such a user defined week as mini training plan, so I can easily recycle the set of workouts I decided on? I would use this after a short time off, such as travel, family holidays to get back in and don’t want to build the set from scratch.

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Slot the workouts into your calendar, then if you want to do it again just copy & paste.

I’ve been thinking of doing something similar and stumbled across Charing on Friday when I was running sort on time. I know a month or two ago @chad was talking about trying some SIT plans, would these work for this aim and are there any draft plans we could try?

I’m particularly interested as I have less time than normal at the moment so there is a real appeal to being on and off the trainer within 40min…

Almost without a doubt, @zwillis1. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t really embark on a training plan without a couple-three weeks of VO2max in my legs. Even a 1-week block of just VO2max can do wonders and in most cases doesn’t require extra recovery time.

If you train more than 3 times a week though, I recommend keeping those extra days breathe-through-your-nose easy, <60% FTP, no limit on duration, just be sensible and pay attention to your fatigue and motivation.

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Sorry, @WTriathlete, no drafts that I can plunk out there. I wish it were that easy. :wink:

But those super-short workouts that rely on the sprint-intensity work are one of the best ways to stay sharp during life’s busy, busy times. Just search on the keywords “all-out sprints” to see your options.

Word of caution though, I strongly recommend starting with Birling and working your way up. If you truly go all-out, just 4 of these is a tall order in the beginning and can come with a surprisingly high level of fatigue.

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Meanwhile, over at another thread:

It’s a 1 week VO2max/all-out protocol, it will however require at least 1 week of recovery.

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Thanks! Slotted in a week of post-holiday VO2 bliss before starting build. Loving the calendar feature for just something like these changes.

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Very different than what I’m describing. Take a look at the workouts in my list and you’ll see that none of them are all-out efforts. And this study is exactly what I was talking about when I recommended starting the sprint-intensity training with workouts of only 4 sprints/workout. That latter is hugely draining work and should be done 2x, maybe 3x/week in this context.

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thanks for clarifying, that was my assumption and good to see you confirm.

Agreed. Was providing it more to show that yes, even a single week of HIIT can provide improvements.

(That testing protocol is pretty much a stand-alone experiment.)

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Thanks @chad.

I’m going to see how the next could of days go at work but I have a feeling SIT will be getting me through the next two weeks until the holidays - and yes, I’m going to head back and start with the four interval workouts!

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How did it go?

I did just this plan - search for thread called catch 22 on v02 work- after seeing this idea.

Loads of discussion on it and updates
https://www.trainerroad.com/forumt/catch-22-on-vo2-work/8133/79

So @chad I’m doing mid volume and just finished SSB1/2 would you then build a couple of weeks with 2 VO2 and a threshold on sat. with sweet-spot on Sunday. or Would you do a third VO2?

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Plan A, in most cases, @dubrose40. Unless you’ve experimented with VO2max work 3x/week before, I’d see how the 2x/week goes first. That third day has been shown to exhibit generally diminished returns in most riders. But some do tolerate it well, at least for 2-3 weeks, before the gains level off or start to decline.

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What about interstitial VO2max weeks? Was contemplating on dropping a week or two of 3x wk VO2 between SSB1 and SSB2 this winter. Basically a bump to the first base layer of training laid down. Thoughts?

In reading this, isn’t this effectively reverse periodisation? Effectively frontloading the work and then “filling in” the aerobic system after

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I’ve been doing strictly sweetspot + long weekend endurance rides for the past few months and going to transition into sustained build now (preparing a TT). Would a little boost plan like this also benefit this transition? @chad

I’m asking because I like the idea of having two weeks of vo2max and getting some rest from the long muscle endurance work. Anaerobic/vo2max is actually easier for me but I’m focusing on longer stuff this year and kind of miss these shorter efforts ;p

Why not do it? Unless you have an event (can we all come?) do it. Such a workout will also give you a mental change from the LSD work.

As has been discussed on the podcast, with the world’s current situation, now is the ideal time to try new things. If you miss it, do it! And yes, increasing that top end will help with the steady work.

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I’m trying this going from sustained build MV to first half climbing RR MV for the most vo2 max work I had ever done, and now back to SSB2 HV for first time. (After SSB MV before)

The VO2 max work was def a nice mental break but climbing RR kept some good longer efforts too. I’m really enjoying the monotonous SSB now, and also surprising myself just how much I can handle day after day, but only 10 days in so far.

Will be hard to assess actual impact but for the mental variety, I’d recommend it.

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