Anyone seen this VO2 max workout protocol?
03-18-18 | 02:46 PM
#2
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 4,444
Likes: 1,429
From: Music City, USA
Bikes: bikes
That's not a vo2 max workout, it's a threshold workout.
I think it's kind of pointless, too, as it's really short and not really specific to anything. Unless it's a stepping stone workout to something much harder and/or longer.
I think it's kind of pointless, too, as it's really short and not really specific to anything. Unless it's a stepping stone workout to something much harder and/or longer.
03-18-18 | 05:48 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
The idea is that the first 2.5 minutes raise your O2 consumption to near max and then the next 7.5 minutes you ride at a level where you won't accumulate more lactate than you can clear. Thus, you ride a 10 minute interval at near maximal O2 consumption and at a lactate level >4 but sustainable.
03-18-18 | 06:41 PM
#4
Hear myself getting fat
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 758
Likes: 277
From: Inland Northwest
Bikes: Sir Velo A Sparrow
Crocodile Dundee
That’s not a VO2 Max workout
THIS!
https://sparecycles.blog/2017/12/13/prescribing-vo2max/
...is a VO2 Max workout.
That is an amazing blog by the way, lots of sources to read through.
THIS!
https://sparecycles.blog/2017/12/13/prescribing-vo2max/
...is a VO2 Max workout.
That is an amazing blog by the way, lots of sources to read through.
Last edited by aplcr0331; 03-18-18 at 06:45 PM.
03-19-18 | 06:02 AM
#5
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 4,444
Likes: 1,429
From: Music City, USA
Bikes: bikes
The idea is that the first 2.5 minutes raise your O2 consumption to near max and then the next 7.5 minutes you ride at a level where you won't accumulate more lactate than you can clear. Thus, you ride a 10 minute interval at near maximal O2 consumption and at a lactate level >4 but sustainable.
And you're certainly not riding anywhere near maximal for 10 minutes.
To break down the numbers for myself personally (which isn't totally applicable, but by extension can be) if I did that workout with a threshold of 340 and at the top of z4 (350) and z5 (400), my average power (360) for ten minutes would still be lower than what I could do for a full 20 minutes straight (370), and quite a bit lower than what I could do for 10 minutes, which is way lower than what I could for for 100% vo2 max at 5-6 minutes. The top of z5 may or may not be near someone's actual vo2 max. Personally, the top of z5 is still 30 watts below my actual vo2 max wattage. So I wouldn't even accumulate time at 90% vo2 max.
To do a vo2 max workout, you need to be targeting at least 95% vo2 max for 8-15 minutes or so (meaning you're trying to average closer to 100% vo2 max wattage), and you probably need to be doing a max of 3.5-4 minute repeats with equal recovery. Otherwise you're not going nearly hard enough.
The workout you're proposing is nothing more than a short threshold workout as you're working around that area..
