Road Cycling - 16 mph = No mans land?

Usually I ride by myself, but lately I've tried to do some club rides. At the club rides, it seems that no one goes my speed, and I ride by myself anyway. The recreational cyclists don't go that fast, and the racers don't go that slow. How long did it take you to get out of no-man's land and into the pack with the racers?

I've made good progress, increasing my speed from 14.8 over 20 mile rides to now 16.0 over 60, but still I ride alone. At what point (speed) will the group rides I do actually have me with a group? Any tips on how to get there?

I commute to work 10 miles total each day, ride a 30-40 miler sometime in the week and a 50-60 mile ride on the weekends. Do I need to do intervals? How do I do them?

I'm frustrated.

NML is the enemy we all face and most of us fall into its trap.

On training rides it is easy to settle into a rythm of effort that is uncomfortable but sustainable over a long haul. Welcome to NML!

When doing training rides you must train at an intensity that takes you outside of the "bearable pain zone". Lactate threshold training is where I find this most difficult. LT training is supposed to be in the just below too much effort zone which can easily put you into the too little effort zone as well. HRM's help here but I hate wearing them so I just play it by ear and perceived effort. If I am training and I don't feel as though I am about to blow then I push a tad harder.

On the flip side recovery is as important. Recovery rides in my opionion need to involve such little effort as to seem like a total waste of time.

My training rides typically exceed 20mph ave while recovery is at about 14-15mph. This is on a moderately rolling route with no climbs longer than about 3/4 mile.

While I think it's a great goal to improve yourself to the point of keeping up with the "racers", I also think you are a victim of plain bad luck as far as finding the right group to ride with.

How big is this club? How many ride options do they offer on a weekend day? If it's a big club with many options, I would suggest trying different rides. Specifically the ones that the most popular. If you are starting with a group less than a dozen strong, then it's more likely that you willl end up alone than if you start with a group of 20 or more.

Search around, you'll find some people in your range. Once you find somebody, exchange contact info and try to arrange to do the same rides. Makes it whole lot more fun.

55/Rad

While I think it's a great goal to improve yourself to the point of keeping up with the "racers", I also think you are a victim of plain bad luck as far as finding the right group to ride with.


i agree - sounds like your not finding the right people. i don't know about your area, but we have several bike clubs here that have ratings. some list the average speeds you should be able to do. try to find a club that has a bit more information. you might want to contact the ride leaders and let them know where you stand and they might be able to introduce you to other riders in your leauge.

I found that after I could consistently average 18mph on solo rides I could hang with a fast-paced group ride (average more than 20MPH).

Oh and a recovery ride for me concentrates solely on limiting my BPMs. For example, on recovery days I concentrate on keeping my rate below 160 at all points during the ride (even up hills).

I found that after I could consistently average 18mph on solo rides I could hang with a fast-paced group ride (average more than 20MPH).

Oh and a recovery ride for me concentrates solely on limiting my BPMs. For example, on recovery days I concentrate on keeping my rate below 160 at all points during the ride (even up hills).

Nice Pic. I'm impressed that you can go that fast on such a tiny bike! Just think how fast you could be on a full-sized road bike! :D

Usually I ride by myself, but lately I've tried to do some club rides. At the club rides, it seems that no one goes my speed, and I ride by myself anyway. The recreational cyclists don't go that fast, and the racers don't go that slow. How long did it take you to get out of no-man's land and into the pack with the racers?

I've made good progress, increasing my speed from 14.8 over 20 mile rides to now 16.0 over 60, but still I ride alone. At what point (speed) will the group rides I do actually have me with a group? Any tips on how to get there?

I commute to work 10 miles total each day, ride a 30-40 miler sometime in the week and a 50-60 mile ride on the weekends. Do I need to do intervals? How do I do them?

I'm frustrated.


Story of my life... too fast for the slow group, too slow for the fast group... I have gotten better trying to keep up... my avg. speed has gone from about 16 mph to nearly 18... but I did end up riding by myself a lot of the time...

The trick for me was to try adn keep up with the fast group as long as I could, and then if you fall back, you fall back.. my club has route sheets for each ride, so I never get lost... and occasionalyl I'll find someone that rides at the same level as me... and as I've gotten faster, I find there are more and more...

don;t give up.. it jsut takes some time :-)

jeff

Nice Pic. I'm impressed that you can go that fast on such a tiny bike! :D

I'm all about the high cadence.

;)

-mark

Me too. I ride with a very large group that is very fast. I just try to hang on as long as possible. After that, I get my milage in at my own pace. 18.5mph for 60 - 65 miles.
I am slowly getting faster. But these guys get faster in the summer too.

I think it depends on "how" you are getting dropped. Are you comfortable with pack riding? If you sit in the pack you should easily be able to increase your average speed by 2-3 mph. Maybe you're drifting off the back and can't latch back on. Or are you getting dropped on the hills? If so, you need to do more hill workouts.

I had difficulty making the leap between the slower Saturday ride and the faster Sunday ride. I was able to manage on the flats and rollers by staying in the pack and conserving my energy by not going out in front and leading the pace any more than was necessary to maintain appearances. Our A-ride has regroups at the top of major climbs (typically those over 3 miles or more than 1500 ft.) They will wait up to 10 minutes for the laggards to arrive. It took me a year before I was able to keep up sufficiently that I was not in the back of the group.

One thing that helped me was to continue riding past the regroup point at a reasonable pace and catch back on as I was being passed. This helped to build up my endurance and allow me to finish with the group even though I am not always riding "with" them.

Here are two papers I have on intervals. They are rather long :eek: as there intended not as "how to" but more as research reports written for an audiance made of professional coaches. I am not a coach however and I did not write these. The first is on intervals in general, the second is on cycling intervals.

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the first
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Splitting some of his training sessions into sets and repetitions is familiar territory for the serious track athlete who wants to run faster or boost endurance. Yet it can usefully be adapted for conditioning athletes in any sport. Once you understand the principles, you can tailor your workouts to give yourself the optimum benefit.

Even though interval training is far from a new concept, coaches still lack the courage to be imaginative and tend to stick to simpler traditional sessions to boost fitness. These may often be sound in nature but there is a danger of the athletes becoming bored and stale when the same workouts at the same venues are repeated time after time.

If you're a soccer player, you may already perform high-intensity shuttles separated by short recoveries to improve your speed endurance. This may also have the added benefit of boosting your aerobic system, because volumes of research have shown that the best way to lift your V02max (an index of aerobic fitness) is to train at an intensity close to, or above, V02max. Realistically, this work has to be done in an interval format if the session is going to last any serious length of time - otherwise, after one hard burst for a few minutes you may end up collapsed in a heap of fatigue.

This where the true benefits of interval training become clear: by separating your efforts with short bouts of recovery, you can keep the intensity high, yet extend the volume.


Plan the session first
Our soccer player, however, may be guilty of the cardinal sin of all training: not thinking about and planning the session sensibly beforehand. The very nature of the session - working at high intensity - leads to the belief that the athlete should be thoroughly exhausted at the end. Yet it is the route to that exhaustion that is often ill considered - how to make the session more than simply running flat out for as long as possible and then going again on command.

The coach should have a clear idea of the physical demands of the sport concerned, particularly the metabolic demands with regard to which energy systems are utilised during the performance. Video analysis of a match can determine typical activity patterns for games players, or heart rates and lactates can be monitored in a race. Armed with such information, you can make sure that the session you are considering is geared to the demands of your sport. Most coaches can gather this information from books and articles about their sport, but measurements on individuals can also help to build up the picture.


Getting the recovery time right
With the demands of the sport in mind, the coach should carefully consider each of three key aspects of the session: intensity, duration and recovery. Each of these can combine to govern which energy system is utilised to provide the bulk of energy in the muscles used during the mechanical work.

If, for example, our soccer player wishes to improve his speed off the mark, he should choose a session with short but explosive activity such as 30m sprints at maximal speed. Here intensity is the key factor, so High Energy Phosphates (HEP) will be the immediate major source of the ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) needed to fuel such activity. In such short intensive work, the recovery should be long enough to allow repletion of the HEPs, because if the recovery is too short an alternative energy system will have to be recruited and the quality of the session will be impaired.

Judging the exact recovery time to perfection is not always easy. Research has shown that the repletion of HEPs, after a sprint, starts off very quickly and then slows. It takes about 20 seconds for the HEP stores to get back to half of their resting level, but a further 170 seconds to be topped up to normal. So if our player wants to keep the quality high, the recovery period should be about three minutes. In winter this may mean putting on and taking off clothing in between the short reps.

Sprinting quickly is only one aspect of soccer, and there may also need to be a session dedicated to the ability to repeat high-quality sprints in rapid succession. This will require a different type of interval session because the player is working on the recovery aspect. Here he should cut the recovery between bursts so that the work is repeated before the HEPs are fully back to resting levels. Such activity requires a greater contribution from glycolosis, a different energy pathway that breaks carbohydrate down, producing ATP very quickly. A series of such sessions may well improve not only lactate tolerance but also the time required to replenish the HEP stores, both of which should enhance soccer fitness.




The type of recovery between efforts is also of paramount importance. Simply standing around with hands on hips, or bent double, is far less effective than walking or, better still, jogging. This active recovery actually helps to remove and disperse lactate that accumulates in the working muscles during intensive exercise. Indeed, active recovery can almost halve the time that is taken for muscle and blood lactate to return to resting levels after an intensive burst, and is likely to be even more effective in the aerobically training athlete.


Fartlek for games players
Another type of session can work on both of these aspects as well as on the oxidative system. Although not a structured interval session split into reps and sets like those already described, 'fartlek', mixing fast with slow work, can be of immense benefit to those who play field sports. Fartlek comes from the Swedish for 'speed play' and has been used by distance runners for years. But for games players, the session should not just use running, but also jogging and walking to fit in with the demands of the sport. After all, no soccer player actually runs for the whole 90 minutes of a match - the pace is varied. Similarly, the direction of work should not always be straight ahead. This may be important for the track runner who has to cover the ground as quickly as possible in one direction, but the games player has to go forwards, backwards and from side to side.

This must all be taken into account if the training session is going to mimic accurately the pattern experienced in a match. Remember, if you are a games player, you are not training to be a better sprinter, you are training to be better at your game. Therefore, sprinting should not just take the form of back and forth shuttles but should make you change direction or even imitate a slalom. This is where the imaginative element comes into play.

Progression is another aspect you need to consider. If you are to improve your condition, there should always be some element of progression in your schedule. With interval training, you have plenty of options to work with. For instance, you can lengthen the distance of your efforts. This is fine if you are a runner, a rower or a cyclist because you can build up the distance closer to your actual race distance. For the games player, or sprinter, however, this may not be so appropriate. In field sports, it is rare to have to sprint more than 30m in one go, so it is questionable whether long sprints are a suitable focus in training.

You can improve the intensity, which usually involves performing your reps a little faster. Here you must be careful to keep things specific, because if you are, say, a 1 OK runner it may not be appropriate to be running reps too fast in training. For example, you may be performing aerobic intervals, where the idea of the session is to give optimal stimulus to the aerobic system. The session might be 5 x 1 mile, where the intention is to be working at your maximum aerobic steady state. You can use heart rate in such sessions to control the intensity and make sure that you are not going too fast
However, if you are performing quicker, shorter repetitions on the track, heart rate may not be the best guide. In such supramaximal intensities, the heart rate does not quite reflect the high intensity encountered, partly because the reps are too short and the heart rate needs time to reach a steady state. Here it may be more appropriate to use split times to set your goals, with a gradual reduction from session to session to ensure an element of progression.

To improve your endurance, you can cut the recovery time allowed between reps. You can do this systematically - for example, by cutting the recovery time by five seconds each week. If you use a set recovery period, your heart rate before each rep will rise throughout the session. Alternatively, you can use your heart rate to determine your recovery. If you want to maintain quality in a session of 3 x 800m, rather than use a specific time for recovery, you can try waiting for the heart rate to drop to a specific level such as 120 or 100. As individuals vary so enormously in both their resting and maximum heart rates, it's impossible to give a general figure for everyone to aim for, but trial and error should produce a rate that works best for you.

Another way to build endurance is to add to the volume of your session. You can increase the number of reps performed in various sets during the session or even build on the number of sets performed. As long as this is part a structured plan and conforms to the demands of your sport it should work well, being a tried and tested method for improving fitness in most sports.

Finally, if you intend to start interval training or rethink your schedule, remember:
1. Think about the aims of the session must, before you go to exhaustion.

2. Make sure the session is specific to the demands of your sport in terms of intensity, duration and volume. 3. Consider carefully the mode and length of recovery.

4. Keep the movement patterns similar to those used in your sport - you don't always have to run!
5. Make sure there is progression from session to session, but avoid improving more than one aspect at a time. 6. Be imaginative in building your sessions - you don't always have to use sets of 10!
Joe Dunbar

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second artical :)
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How red-hot interval training fires up performance in seasoned cyclists

High-intensity interval training is known to boost endurance performance, but not much is known about which type of high-quality interval training produces the largest performance gains, especially in well-trained athletes. The optimal intensity and duration of intervals, as well as the length of the recovery period between intervals, have been largely unknown.

This lack of clarity around interval training has been particularly apparent in the field of endurance cycling. Only one published scientific study has taken a close look at interval training optimisation in endurance-trained cyclists, and the research produced somewhat perplexing results. In this lone investigation, carried out in South Africa, 20 endurance cyclists were split into five groups, each performing a different high-intensity interval workout twice a week for three consecutive weeks.

Surprisingly, this research revealed that sub-maximal intervals (8 x 4 minutes per workout at 85% of peak power output, with 90-second recoveries) produced the same improvement in 40k time-trial performance as a greater number of shorter but much more intense ‘supra-maximal’ intervals (12 x 30 seconds per workout at 175% of peak power output, with 4.5-minute recoveries). It was unclear why these supra-maximal, ‘anaerobic’ intervals improved endurance performance as much – in an event lasting about an hour – as traditional ‘aerobic’ intervals with longer duration, lower intensity and shorter recovery. And critics of the work suggested that the research needed to be repeated with a larger number of subjects in each interval-training group before they could be confident of the results.

More recently, researchers from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, have attempted to improve our understanding of the effectiveness of interval-training by examining the effects of three different high-intensity interval-training regimens on 38 highly-trained cyclists, triathletes, and duathletes. All the participants had been training for, and competing in, cycling events on a regular basis for six years, with an average weekly cycling training distance of 285k (177 miles).

In tests carried out before the actual training began, the researchers gathered information on the following variables for all athletes:

VO2peak (the same as VO2max, measured in milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute);
PPO (the peak 30-second power output, in watts, produced during the VO2peak test);
Pmax (the minimal power output – in watts – which elicited VO2peak during the progressive VO2peak-exercise test);
Tmax (the maximal amount of time an athlete could exercise continuously at Pmax). The Tmax tests ended when athletes could no longer maintain a cycling cadence of at least 60 rpm, and the total amount of work completed during the Tmax test was calculated as the product of Pmax and Tmax;
40k time-trial performance.
The athletes were assigned to one of three groups, based on their 40k time-trial performances and VO2peak tests. All the athletes carried out their special high-intensity-interval workouts twice a week for four weeks, along with their usual training, and were reassessed physiologically after two and four weeks of the programme. The interval sessions were structured as follows:

Group 1. For each interval workout, the eight cyclists in this group attempted to complete eight work intervals at Pmax (the minimal intensity that induced VO2max) for a work interval duration of 60% of Tmax, with a 1:2 recovery ratio. For example, if an athlete’s pre-training test showed he could maintain an exercise intensity of Pmax for a total duration (Tmax) of 360 seconds, his work-interval duration would be 60% of 360, ie 216 seconds. Using a 1:2 recovery ratio, his recovery intervals would last for 2 x 216 = 432 seconds. Thus, the workout would consist of 8 x 216 seconds at Pmax, with 432secs recoveries;
Group 2. As Group 1, but with recovery time lasting only as long as it took the athletes’ heart rates to return to 65% of maximal;
Group 3. The athletes in this group attempted to perform 12 x 30secs work intervals per session at a sizzling intensity of 175% of PPO, with 4.5-minute recoveries.
Subjects assigned to a fourth (control) group stuck to their usual moderate-intensity, base-training programme, with no added high-intensity interval training. The key differences between the three ‘active’ groups are shown schematically in the table below.

High-Intensity Interval Workouts for Groups 1-3
Group Intervals/Session Intensity Interval Length Rest-Interval Length
1 8 Pmax 60% Tmax 120% Tmax
2 8 Pmax 6 0% Tmax 65% HRmax
3 12 175% PPO 30 seconds 4.5 minutes

The work intervals in the active groups were so intense that the cyclists could not always complete the prescribed number of work intervals per session. In fact, Group 1 participants completed an average of just five work intervals per training session (instead of the prescribed eight), while Group 2 members finished approximately four per workout (instead of eight), and Group 3 an average of nine, rather than the recommended 12. Given that both the intensity and length of the intervals were strikingly different for Group 3, yet another variable (Wtrain – the amount of work actually completed per training session) became an important part of the analysis.

As it turned out, the athletes in Group 1 performed significantly more work over the course of the eight workouts (two per week for four weeks) than those in Group 2, who, in turn, completed significantly more than those in Group 3. These distinctions are important, because the volume of high-intensity work, which is, actually completed plays a strong role in determining how much fitness will be derived from any particular form of training.

Group 1 athletes also enjoyed considerably more recovery time between work intervals than those in Group 2 (a total of 2,028 seconds v 1,248 seconds for the eight workouts). This was, of course, because using 65% of heart-rate max as the end point of the recovery interval tended to produce shorter recoveries than using 120% of Tmax as the criterion. This could also be an important factor since, while shorter recoveries tend to keep oxygen-consumption rates higher during ensuing work intervals, the residual fatigue can make it more difficult to complete large amounts of high-quality work.

In the Tmax test completed after four weeks of training (cycling for as long as possible at Pmax), only the athletes in Group 1 were able to complete more work than in the pre-training period, possibly because of the increased amount of work they were able to complete during workouts. Athletes in Groups 2, 3 and, of course, the control group maintained their initial level of work output. By contrast, athletes in all three active groups significantly improved maximal oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in the course of the study. It might seem surprising that members of Group 3 were able to boost VO2max significantly, since their intervals were short and ‘anaerobic’ and their recovery durations long, leading to a situation in which average oxygen-consumption rates during the workouts were extremely modest.

Fast adaptation to training

However, bear in mind that the highest rate of oxygen consumption recorded during an incremental VO2max test is a function not just of the heart’s ability to work as a pump and the muscles’ ability to extract oxygen from the blood; it also reflects the ability of the neuromuscular system to generate high levels of muscular force in short periods of time – a process which can create an incredible demand for oxygen. If this concept is difficult to grasp, simply think of the heart and muscles as having reserve potential; in some cases, they may be waiting for an athlete to develop the capacity to generate unusually high muscular forces on a more-than-momentary basis, so that they can really ‘strut their stuff’ when it comes to oxygen consumption. Of course, this ability to reach very high levels of force production was enhanced by the type of supra-maximal training carried out by Group 3.

Naturally, what really matters to serious cyclists is competitive performance ability. So, how did they fare in their 40k time trials? Well, all three active groups improved on their original performances and pedaled faster over 40k than the controls at the end of the study period. In their final time trial, non-control cyclists managed to cycle about 2k per hour faster than they had done four weeks before. That represents an impressively fast adaptation, showing that the training techniques used in this research were highly productive.

So, what have we learned – and can we say that one interval-training program is really better than the others? The answer is, of course, that each type of training is associated with unique benefits. For experienced cyclists, conducting interval workouts twice a week at Pmax, with work-interval durations at 60% Tmax, can increase the amount of work it is possible to complete during high-intensity interval sessions (Group 1), boost the amount of work completed at Tmax (Group 1), boost VO2max by between 5% (Group 1) and 8% (Group 2), magnify PPO (Groups 1 & 2) and increase speed in a simulated 40k race by around 2k per hour (Groups 1 & 2) – all in just four weeks!



However, carrying out interval workouts at 175% of PPO (which happens to be about 185% of Pmax), with very abbreviated 30-second work intervals and extraordinarily long (4.5-minute) recoveries, can also provide a nice boost to seasoned cyclists. This training schedule, as performed by Group 3, increased VO2max by 3% in just four weeks, took PPO up by a similar amount in the same period of time and super-charged 40k time-trial speed by over 4%.

It is important to bear in mind, however, that the mechanisms underlying the various positive changes probably differed between the groups. We know, for example, that Group 2 athletes augmented maximal aerobic capacity slightly more than those in Group 3; yet both groups achieved equal improvements in 40k performance, suggesting that Group 3’s gains were achieved in a different way – perhaps via an enhanced muscular fatigue-resistance, improved intramuscular buffering capacity (ie an enhanced ability to soak up the surplus hydrogen ions which appear in muscle cells during very hard exercise), or an increased efficiency of exercise. Similarly, although Group 1 was able to carry out more work per workout and during the Tmax test than Group 3, the two groups performed in similar fashion.

Ditch the classic heart rate formula

Thus, it makes sense to believe that the best interval-training programme would involve blending elements of the different schemes used in this study. By combining the controlled, Pmax-type training with the close-to-maximal 175% PPO intervals, one might reasonably expect to achieve greater gains in VO2peak, PPO and performance speed than could be achieved with only one type of training. One might, for example, use a 4-6-week ‘block’ of Pmax workouts and then move into a similar-length phase of supra-max intervals; or you could simply alternate the two types of effort over a 10-12-week period. It is not clear which combined scheme would produce the greatest gains.

So what practical advice can be given to serious cyclists? There is debate about the average duration of Tmax for experienced cyclists, but in the Queensland study mean Tmax for the 38 highly-trained subjects was about 244 seconds. Thus, it would be reasonable for you to put your bicycle into a preferred racing gear, then ride as far as possible on a measured course for four minutes; (this should be done on a day when you are feeling well-recovered, and at a time when winds, rain, and other climatic problems are not likely to hamper your performance). Your average speed during this four-minute test will thus be your vVO2max (velocity at VO2max), which you can use as a surrogate for Pmax. You can then conduct intervals at this level of effort, using a work-interval duration of 60% of Tmax, or .60 x 240 = 144 seconds (2:24). Attempting eight of these intervals per workout, with double-duration (4:48) recoveries, or with recoveries that last as long as it takes to get your heart rate down to 65% of max, would be a reasonable thing to do.

At the same time, working at very close to your max intensity for 30-second work intervals (in a separate workout, of course), with long recoveries and around 12 work intervals per session, should also produce major benefits. Note that if you decide to use 65% of max heart rate to determine the duration of your recovery intervals, you must be sure what your max heart rate really is. One of the best ways to determine this is to throw away the classic 220-minus-age formula and proceed as follows: warm up thoroughly, cycle as intensely as possible for two minutes, recover with easy pedaling for one minute, and then go all-out again for another two minutes; your heart rate at the end of the second two-minute supra-max bout should be within a beat or two of maximal.

Try this simple four-minute test

As you contemplate whether to include Pmax interval training in your overall programme, it should be motivational for you to think about how large the benefits of Pmax training can be. In the study described above, the two Pmax groups hoisted VO2max by 5-8%, PPO by 5-6%, and 40k time-trial speed by 5 to 6% – in just four weeks! Over comparable time periods, other types of more-traditional (non-Pmax) interval training have generally produced 2-4% gains in PPO and 40k time-trial performance.

The high movement speeds and heavy rates of oxygen consumption associated with Pmax training are likely to be key factors underlying the hefty physiological and performance gains; it is reasonable to believe that training at VO2max is the most potent way to induce improvements in this key variable. It is also important to note that the athletes in the Queensland study performed a Pmax assessment after just two weeks of training (after only four Pmax sessions) and then adjusted their subsequent training to reflect the new and higher Pmax values. The ability to assess Pmax with a simple, non-disruptive four-minute test makes this form of training even more attractive for cyclists, since they can adjust their training every 2-3 weeks-or-so to reflect their higher states of fitness – and thus create a greater stimulus for physiological improvement.

Intervals pack a major fitness wallop

Research from other laboratories also suggests that such interval workouts pack a major fitness wallop. For example, in a study carried out in Australia and the UK, endurance runners improved Vmax by 4% and VO2max by 5% after just four weeks of Vmax training; (Vmax is the running velocity which elicits VO2max and it is thus directly comparable to Pmax, the power output which produces VO2max).

In this study, five well-trained, county-level, middle-distance athletes with good fitness (VO2max = 61 ml/kg-min) initially completed VO2max, Vmax, and 3k time trial tests and then undertook a four-week training programme consisting of two high-intensity interval workouts and one recovery run per week.

After four weeks, the same tests were repeated. The interval workouts were conducted at an intensity of Vmax, with six work intervals per workout and a recovery duration of between 60 and 75% of Tmax; (of the total of eight workouts carried out, two featured recovery durations of 60% of Tmax, three were set at 65%, one at 70% and two at 75%). The recovery run was a simple 30-minute affair, pitched at an intensity of 60% of Vmax. After four weeks of this kind of training, the athletes improved 3k time by 3% (from 10:17 to 10:00), increased Vmax itself by 4% (from 20.5 to 21.3 k/hour) and enhanced VO2max by 5% (from 61.5 to 64.5 ml/kg-min). This type of interval training was thus extremely effective: athletes should jump at the opportunity to improve Vmax by 4% with just eight quality workouts.

Memorable work by French exercise scientist Veronique Billat also provides support for the use of Vmax training. Billat found that completing just one Vmax workout per week (5 x 3 minutes at Vmax , with three-minute recoveries), along with easy running and one weekly ‘tempo’ workout (2 x 20 minutes at 85% of Vmax , with a five-minute recovery) caused Vmax to surge by 3% and running economy to improve by 6% – again in just four weeks!

In our focus on Vmax (Pmax) training, we have not intended to short-change the concept of supra-maximal training, which is also supported by scientific research. In an extremely interesting three-week study carried out at the University of Cape Town Medical School in South Africa, completing two interval workouts per week at an intensity of 175% of peak power generated a greater improvement in 40k time-trial performance (2.4%) than doing the same work at intensities of 100% or 80% of peak power.

So what’s the take-home message? A thorough understanding of the available scientific research suggests that a combination of the two types of interval training (Pmax and supra-max) will produce consistently excellent performance results for experienced cyclists and other endurance athletes. Inexperienced athletes would probably also benefit from these techniques, although they should be very careful about introducing the training into their programmes; the high speeds and intensities associated with Pmax and supra-max workouts can produce a significant amount of muscular soreness and stiffness in athletes who do not have a good foundation of sport-specific strength.

Experienced athletes, on the other hand, can use Pmax and supra-max interval workouts in almost all phases of their training – not just during the run-up to major competitions. The prudent use of Pmax and supra-max interval workouts fairly early in the training year can improve Pmax, VO2max and movement economy quite dramatically, leading to higher-quality training as the year progresses.

Last night, for the first time this year, I was able to finish the group ride (22 miles I believe) at what I considered a reasonable pace. There were only three of us and I am WAY outmatched as far as bike technology and basic fitness.

That being said, we averaged 17.5 for the ride which I was very happy with. One of the guys, riding a 5900, would blast away up front and the other guy, on a beautiful Litespeed, would let me draft and pull me along. Man, he even was taking the time to "coach" me about where I should be in relation to his wheel, etc. At major points along the way we would group together, or should I say I would catch up, and start off again.

I get frustrated as well, but KNOW that I could hang better with a larger group of riders on the same course. I can't wait until I buy a new bike that weighs less than my '88 Trek 400, which I'm guessing weighs in about 24 pounds.

PJ

Usually I ride by myself, but lately I've tried to do some club rides. At the club rides, it seems that no one goes my speed, and I ride by myself anyway. The recreational cyclists don't go that fast, and the racers don't go that slow. How long did it take you to get out of no-man's land and into the pack with the racers?

I've made good progress, increasing my speed from 14.8 over 20 mile rides to now 16.0 over 60, but still I ride alone. At what point (speed) will the group rides I do actually have me with a group? Any tips on how to get there?

I commute to work 10 miles total each day, ride a 30-40 miler sometime in the week and a 50-60 mile ride on the weekends. Do I need to do intervals? How do I do them?

I'm frustrated.

Sounds like you're plenty fast to me for club rides. Why not lead a ride yourself? You can advertize it as a 16 mph average pace. I'll bet there are other people in the club who want to ride at this pace too.