Training & Nutrition - Any interval believers here?

I'm talking about wattage, not heartrate. Anyone train like this?

OOppss sorry, I thought this was another of those iritating religious threads, excuse me whilst I back out of the room ... Please carry on :)

Wow, and to feel compelled to comment on your heretofore unknown mistake...

Nope. Since I can't figure out wattage, I go by heart rate.

Never heard of a wattage rate monitor....

Koffee

Powertap, SRM...

BTW, not to be a jerk or anything, but I'm not really interested in taking a roll call of those who don't train this way, just looking for someone who does...

i do in a way. when i go to the gym and ride the bike there it has a wattage indicator. i gauge my effort by it. but it also picks up on my polar hrm strap/transmitter so i can constantly see my HR. i sort of dial it up to a certain wattage then go as hard as i can until i hit a high HR (usually like 190)

the thing about the cycle that's kind of weird and makes it feel a lot different than cycling for real is that you dial the wattage/effort in and if you spin 150rpm or 60rpm you still make the same amount of watts, so as you spin faster it become easier. you can change that but i like being able to spin fast and easy

I do intervals but without wattage measurement. In running we called it the Fartlik (sp?) method of training.

I don't have a HR monitor or a powertap but I have always trained using intervals of varying intensity. It is a more efficient method of training.

I agree. I've gotten amazing results considering the time spent in training. Far quicker results than anything else I've tried. I'm trying to dial in a work/rest interval for building duration. I can go fast and hard for about 15 miles, but kinda run outta gas right around that mark. This spring I was pretty outta shape, but now I'm hanging with the big dogs for a good portion of the ride. I don't have a way to measure wattage either, so I just use speed (on the trainer, which is where I do all my structured training). Doesn't matter what gear you're in, 20 mph requires x watts to maintain . Wish I could afford a powertap...

I don't have a wattage meter or a HRM, but I do do intervals... especially in the winter months on the trainer, if anything it makes the time pass faster... I usually spin up as fast as I can and keep it up for a minute or 2 at a time... rest for a bit, and then repeat... it seemed to really help my riding this year

Jeff

Just got into training with watts late last winter. I bought a Compu trainer to use for my coaching business. Copupled with heart rate i find great results with clients and my own winter training
catfish

Originally posted by Buzzbomb
I agree. I've gotten amazing results considering the time spent in training. Far quicker results than anything else I've tried. I'm trying to dial in a work/rest interval for building duration. I can go fast and hard for about 15 miles, but kinda run outta gas right around that mark. This spring I was pretty outta shape, but now I'm hanging with the big dogs for a good portion of the ride. I don't have a way to measure wattage either, so I just use speed (on the trainer, which is where I do all my structured training). Doesn't matter what gear you're in, 20 mph requires x watts to maintain . Wish I could afford a powertap...

Actually, 20 mph could require any number of watts to maintain depending on environmental conditions.

I've ridden on some days so windy that to keep my speed in the double digits took ~225W and I weigh 160 :mad:

Yeah, without a powertap, I do all my interval training on the trainer. That way I at least know that my wattage output is constant with my speed. What kind of intervals do you use (work time/rest time) in order to build stamina. I have been using mainly two intervals (3 minutes on/3 off, and 4 minutes on/two off), and have gotten much faster on the trails, but seem to run out of gas around the fifteen mile mark. I'm thinking about going to a 6 on/2 off interval to see what happens, but wondered if anyone had a suggestion.