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Posted: 12 Apr 2009 03:22 AM PDT I keep teaching you that VO2 max is the key to success in road cycling. Your maximal aerobic power has such a great influence on your race performance that every serious cyclist should include VO2 max intervals in their training plan. If these previous posts about the benefits of VO2 max training still havent convinced you, Im glad to inform you that there will come a new FREE training program here on Training4cyclists.com on the 1st of May:
I would like to emphasize that both runners and cyclists train very hard and push their bodies to the limit of what they are capable of. Bottom line, though, is that runners train significantly less but still manage to perform VO2 max results similar to cyclists. Thus, runners training is more time effective and that is quite interesting. What are the secrets we can learn from these time effective runners? It is well accepted among scientists that well trained athletes need training intensity close to their VO2 max to secure further progress. That will say an intensity from 80% up to 100%. Most runners do quite a large amount of intervals, speed sessions or races at this high intensity. It should be clear to everyone that these high intensity workouts compensate for many hours of long slow distance training (Read more about LSD Training). I guess it is also obvious that runners train with a relatively higher intensity than cyclists on average. I believe cyclists like runners can achieve the great results with less training if they spend more time on intervals and speed sessions close to their VO2 max.
Day 1 Total time: 1hr training 20min incremental warm up 5min easy rolling 5min VO2 max test 30min Easy/medium rolling Now it is time for you to enter the VO2 Max Booster Program by performing the 5min test as the first step out of 14 steps to a higher VO2max. Good luck!
Day 4 Total time: 1hr training 20min incremental warm up 6 x (40+20sec) 95% / 50% of your VO2 Max test result 4min easy rolling 6 x (40+20sec) 95% / 50% of your VO2 Max test result 4min 6 x (40+20sec) 95% / 50% of your VO2 Max test result 14min easy rolling Keep up the good work and enjoy your extra free time!
Day 5 Total time: 30min training 10min incremental warm up 20x(15+15sec) 100% / 50% VO2 max test result 10min easy rolling
Avoid failure training Still I have to underline the importancy of not burning out. If you are not able to complete that extra interval you will have to pay for it. There are both psychological and physiological debts you have to pay afterwards. Therefore I always recommend you to keep yourself in safe distance from failure training. That means you have to stop intervals before you are not able to maintain the correct power output. Today Ive designed intervals where you are the one to decide when youve got enough. I would like you to stop the intervals at the where you are completely sure that you could do 1 extra intervals if you had to. Day 7 Total time: app. 1hr 10min incremental warm up 5min 70% VO2 max 3min 75% VO2 max 2min 80% VO2 max 10min 60% VO2 max ?? x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% VO2 max (close to your max repetitions, but no failure training) 15min easy rolling
Day 6: Time Effective VO2 Max Intervals Still only 1hr training per day, but with a more comprehensive VO2 max interval session than youve tried before. Day 7: Avoid Failure Training - If you are not able to complete an extra interval you will have to pay for it. There are both psychological and physiological debts you have to pay afterwards. Learn yourself to stop intervals before failure. That was the first week and you have probably already experienced some difference in your attitude to VO2 max intervals. Hopefully you are ready for the last 7 days because they will help you to make significant improvements in your VO2 max. Today you will have an easy workout with just a few intervals close to your VO2 max. Day 8 Total time: 1hr 20min incremental warm up 3x (5+3min) 80 / 50% VO2 Max 16min min medium/ easy rolling
Nevertheless this day will be a great training for you and you might experience that the last 8 days already have helped you. If that is not the case, dont worry. I dont expect you to super compensate for the accumulated training load before at least a couple of days after the VO2 Max Booster Program. Day 9 Total training: 1hr15min 15min incremental warm up 50min criterium/fartlek 10min cool down
Day 13 Total time: 40min 20min incremental warm up 5min 85% 5min 50% 10min esy rolling Day 14 Total time: 1hr15min 20min incremental warm up 8 x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% 7min 50% 8 x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% 7min 50% ?? x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% (Maximum number of intervals possible!) 10min easy rolling Congratulations! Youre have completed the VO2 Max Booster Program! Afterwards I recommend you to take some easy days, maybe a day off, to recover from this overload of VO2 max intervals. Remember what I said about overreaching? You are not overtrained now, you are overreached and in the next couple of days you will begin to super compensate for the last 14 days impressive workload. 5min max test to find your new VO2 Max When you have had 4-6 days with easy training it is time to do a new 5min maximum test to track your progress. I will appreciate if you share your results with the readers here at Training4cyclists.com by posting a comment with your results.
Aerobic power 1 (50 minutes) 15 minutes - Warm up (increasing intensity) 5 x (4min high intensity + 2min low intensity) 5 minutes cool down This program is designed to increase your maximum oxygen consumption. It gives you 20 minutes at very high oxygen consumption, but it is not designed to be ridden to complete exhaustion. Your VO2 max will gain improvements even at a more comfortable pace. It is, however, still important to push yourself very hard
during the intervals. In the resting periods you should maintain intensity at about 60% of VO2 max. Aerobic power 2 (49 minutes) 15 minutes - warm up (increasing intensity) 5 x (40 sec. very high intensity 20 sec. low intensity) 3 minutes recovery 5 x (40 sec. very high intensity 20 sec. low intensity) 3 minutes recovery 5 x (40 sec. very high intensity 20 sec. low intensity) 3 minutes recovery 5 x (40 sec. very high intensity 20 sec. low intensity) 5 minutes cool down This program is also designed to increase your maximum oxygen consumption. You work with a slightly higher intensity during the intervals than in the previous Aerobic Power 1 program. You will also gain increments in your anaerobic capacity. You can expect results after only a couple of training sessions. This program really rocks. Aerobic power 3 10min warm-up 3min (semi-high intensity) 2min low intensity 8 x (3min high intensity + 2min low intensity) 5min cool down This program gives you 24minutes at very high aerobic oxygen consumption. Your aerobic engine will love this program and you will be glad that these tough intervals are separated into short 3minutes bursts. It is though important to maintain some intensity in the recovery periods since that will help you to recover faster. This winter training program is a free download from Training4cyclists.com. Jesper Therkildsen http://www.training4cyclists.com/ Aerobic power 4 10min warm-up 3min (semi-high intensity) 2min low intensity 4 x (6min high intensity + 4min low intensity) 5min cool down This program also gives you 24minutes at very high aerobic oxygen consumption, but it will be tougher for you to maintain the same power outputs as in Aerobic Power 3 since the intervals are twice as long. If you compete in time trial events this program is good for pacing control training. Power sprints
This exercise improves your maximal sprinting power through neural adaptations. You shall perform a maximal sprint acceleration starting from slow speed (0-5 km/hr). Use gear 53/14-17. Between each sprint you need full recovery (5+ minutes). Recommended reading: Basic Principles of Cycling Training 5 Simple Tips for Better Recovery How To Boost Your Performance With Alternative Workouts How To Achieve Better Results With Spinning 5 Steps For Better Heart Rate Monitor Training 3 Reasons Why PowerTap SL is so Popular How You Can Make Training4cyclists.com Even Better Support on 12 Week Winter Training Program I dont offer personal consultation on this training program, but I will gladly try to answer your questions, if you post a comment on one of my posts on training4cyclists.com. Thus, more people can learn from the answers from the readers and me. I wish you good luck with your training. Jesper Therkildsen This winter training program is a free download from Training4cyclists.com.