Well certainly I’m not saying Baxter is harder from an IF perspective - I’m saying that for me, personally, Baxter is harder mentally because I can’t break it down into blocks (“just get through the next x minutes then you can take a break” type thoughts) like I can in Antelope or other interval workouts.
I agree its a taxing workout and my theory is it changes things up so frequently and theres never a rest interval.
Its probably the most (in)famous workout in the catalogue due to Nate loving it so much😁
I like Baxter, and use it quite a bit during my off season to keep ticking over. I think it can seem hard because it’s easy to underestimate it… It looks too easy to psyche yourself up over and you can easily underfuel for it too.
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Since I got erg mode, baxter (and variants) has replaced Petitt as my go to “not quite feeling up to it” or if I’m squeezing in an additional workout. I can’t say I’ve found it particularly hard, especially not compared to antelope!
Having said that, I did Kennedy Peak* a couple of weeks ago, which is all endurance and just one tempo interval, and I found the last interval hard.
*I wanted something longer without necessarily the extra intervals of going for a + version of the SSB1 Saturday workout.
Did a trimmed version of Baxter (1hr, same intensity) on Saturday. Didn’t find it particularly difficult power-wise.
I did however, focus on doing those high cadence drills, which made things quite exciting.
I definitely need to do those spins more often as I found that I have trouble keeping my body from bouncing at 120+ RPM.
Bringing up an old thread. I did Baxter today as the third workout in SSB1. I didn’t think it was too hard. For the first half I thought it was going to be way too easy but eventually after an hour I started to get a bit fatigued. New milestone for me. I completed the entire workout without taking a pedal break. Never pedaled 90 minutes straight before!
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Bringing up and old thread. I used to HATE Baxter. For all of the above reasons. Today I did Baxter +2. Granted, stopped to make some pasta midride (ready for dinner). But I did the regular Baxter last week, expecting failure and misery but completing. I normally thrive on z5/6/7 intervals and just seem to do better on those, but consistent z3 and z4 training + raising my FTP via TR seems to have finally made me capable of 2 hours of Baxters. Huge January 1st win and a testament to both TR and training your weaknesses. Happy New Year’s everyone!
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Baxter’s easy, just not as easy as one might think, and that’s the problem.
Go into it thinking it’ll feel like Lazy Mountain, and you’re in for it.
Go into it thinking it’ll feel like any sweet spot workout and you’ll be smooth sailing.
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Remind me, what’s the IF range of Baxter? It’s low 80s, right?
Baxter is pretty easy but the last 15 min makes it a little tougher depending on your energy and the length you are doing.
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I’m a Baxter fan too (along with Colosseum/Perkins)- one of my go-to workouts when I’m not on a plan and the UK summer weather does it’s thing and keeps me indoors. It’s just the right level to do a decent block of work but be able to watch TV at the same time - which I just can’t do with SS intervals.
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To me Baxter is definitely not easy but definitely not hard. It will not leave your legs trashed… And it’s also a good gauge of if your body is tired or not (at least for me)
I usually use Baxter or colloseum as my go to bike workout during more running focus period to add volume and not loose all the bike fitness
I use Baxter at the end of a recovery week to ease back into a little intensity - 80%FTP …but it is not meant to be hard and is nowhere near as intense as Antelope - unless there is a problem with your trainer. That said if people are finding Baxter tough - either 1/There FTP is set to high or 2/ They need to focus on zone2 endurance rides - like Colosseum, Brasstown, Fletcher, Andrews etc at the expense of SS or other sessions initially as if these sessions don’t become routine then SS will be to fatiguing.
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If you’re struggling to complete Baxter then you need to have a look at your training / nutrition because something is seriously wrong.
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Well yes that’s another way of putting it! 
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It could be due to the short interval lengths and frequent power changes. Early on I preferred Baxter because the frequent pace changes kept me engaged and not bored. Now I prefer workouts of the same duration / IF that have the 12-15min ‘intervals’ so I can settle in and cruise along. Sometimes the body prefers to hold steady for a while vs changing every 2-3 min.
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I use Baxter when I want a decent aerobic 1 hr workout but my legs need 30 min of warmup to get going.
I’d agree with that. If Baxter is hard then ask yourself if you’re fuelling adequately. If it’s still too hard then drop the intensity or dial down your FTP.
yep - that’s why I like it …reduces the tedium
Imo, fuelling should not really be a factor for Baxter (unless trying to lose too much weight to quickly and running a big calorie deficit at the time.)
If eating healthily, decent meals before and after, and fuelling is an issue, it might be worth working on not being so dependant on your glycolytic system or checking if your FTP is set correctly.
Agree with others, if it feels harder than it should it’s often a sign of over doing it in previous sessions, high fatigue and poor recovery.
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