Originally Posted by
DropDeadFred
and I did say that hammering under the right conditions is ok, like doing intervals twice a week. Thats my next step, now that my endurance is returning, I need to work more on strength. Hill repeats and intervals are in my near future, twice a week.
I still think your definition of hammering as strictly zone5 stuff is wayyy too narrow. Most cyclists don't limit hammering to max-HR zone5 work. My zone4 and even upper zone3 stuff is hard (and fast) enough that I and most nonelite riders would consider it hammering, but I can hold that zone4 for a good 45-60 minutes.
You're really talking about sprinting or all out efforts, which can be sustained for short periods, like 5 minutes or less. That's hammering too, but a very specific part of it.
Obviously OP should do a range of training, but riding fairly hard should be a big part of it if he wants to get faster. Doing sprints all-out is part of that, but obviously cannot be even close to a majority of it - even a professional cannot train at zone5 HR all the time, or even close to it.