View Single Post
Old 10-11-11, 07:42 AM
  #1584  
AzTallRider
I need speed
 
AzTallRider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 5,550

Bikes: Giant Propel, Cervelo P2

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by Cleave
Hi AzTR,

Do you have a reference on how you are calculating your power zones?
I use the Allen-Coggan book; table page 48.

1. Active Recovery <55% of FTP
2. Endurance 56-75
3. Tempo 76-90
4. Lactate Threshold 91-105
5. VO2 Max 106-120
6. Anaerobic Capacity 121-150
7. Neuromuscular Power 151+

I am far from an expert but I thought that one could only train or compete above threshold for a small percentage of a total workout or event.
The higher zones are accumulations of shorter bursts over the course of the ride. Corners, short hills, etc.

For instance, in the 5-zone system that I use (based on % of max heart rate), I am lucky if I can hold Z4 for 2-3 minutes at a time and maybe 6 reps. Z5 is an all out sprint for 15 seconds. TIA.
z4 is where you cross the threshold in both power zones and the HR zones I use. Should be able to hold z4 for quite some time. Maybe your zones are set too high and you're really up in z5? HR zones are ideally set by finding your lactate threshold. Max is only useful in determining LT, and people vary in where LT is in relation to MHR. It turns out my LT is low compared to my MHR. At least it was when I got a metabolic test a year ago. I estimated my MHR using my LT, and then went way over that max when I started going crit's. I'm going to schedule another test to nail down my aerobic zones for base training.
AzTallRider is offline