Interval training
 

Hello all. I am looking to improve my time trialing and would like to know what level of intervals and their duration would work best. In using a heart rate monitor as it it my only means of gaging my intensity; my MHR is 187 bpm and I normally time trial at around 165 bpm. Should I concentrate on intervals of around 3 to 4 minutes at say 170 ~ 175 bpm? Should it be higher? Should I do longer intervals of say 10 or 15 minutes with a slightly lesser HR than 170 bpm. Any ideas and training plans would be appreciated. Thanks.

Riding a long TT you're at or slightly above Lactate Threshold for a sustained effort. Thus to go fast, you need to train to 1) be able to hold an effort at LT for the length of the event , and to raise power at LT. One of the best way to do this is steady state intervals. Steady states are longer efforts at LT. For a 40k TT you need to work at LT for approximately an hour. So when I'm preparing for the state TT championship (the only 40k TT I do) I do steady states working up to a total of an hour. Steady states should be at least 6 minutes, and done on 5 minutes rest. So you might start with a set of 4, 6 minute intervals, and work up to 6x10, and 3 x20.

If you don't know your LTHR, there are threads on that.

You can obviously do other intervals, and need to mix things up with rest and base miles, but IMHO, Steady states should be the core of your TT training.

Thanks. How do I know when it is time to increase the steady states to a longer interval length? Should I be doing the different lengths now and just mix them up during the week (i.e. 4x6 on Mon., 6x10 on Wed., and 3x20 on Fri.)? Is the HR the same for the different interval lengths?

In the Carmichael Training System Program, the HR for steady states is always LTHR +/-3 beats. Other philosophies prescribe a little bit more latitude around LTHR.

In my program, its a gradual increase, like 4x6 for the first week, then add either numer or minutes, so the second week might be 4x8 or 3x 10 etc. 3x 20 done right is fairly difficult. When you can do quality 3x20. or 2 x30, you're ready to do a 40 k TT.

Do a google search for tabata.

You also want to determine your rate-limiting step. What stops you from going faster in a TT? Sore muscles that start cramping up if you push harder? Or burning searing lungs & heart that's pounding itself out of your chest? You'll want to focus on training your weakest link. Train your weaknesses and race your strenghts. :)