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Time to get Fit thread

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Great to hear your positive results, Robert! :thumbup

Intelligent and informed training will always yield better results as long as you don't cross over into overtraining.
 
Robert, that’s a beastly amount of climbing and pedaling. absolutely epic. i’m tired just reading about it.

i’m in istanbul. i walked 25 kms (15 miles) over the last two days and i feel great. i’m with my friend who was in oaxaca with me in january when i could barely get around. i was thinking our bodies are amazing and so forgiving.
 
Thanks everyone.

I'm now signed up for all my winter and spring races. I'll probably do the first as a fun ride with friends. But I will fully be in race mode for the rest.

Jan 27 - Gravel & Whine, Temecula CA
Feb 10 - Rock Cobbler, Bakersfield CA
Mar 2 - BWR AZ, Cave Creek AZ
Apr 6 - BWR UT, Cedar City UT
Apr 28 - BWR CA, San Diego CA

I think my winter training is going to focus on power. My endurance is solid. But I need to be able to push harder on climbs and into the wind without going into the red zone, so I can stay with faster groups and really cut time on these long races. I think raising my power ceiling will help that. So it's time for more Sprint and VO2 Max intervals, maybe 2x a week. They hurt, but I kinda enjoy the pain :laughing. Plus intervals make for a really quick workout.

A Sprint interval set in cycling is something like:
10sec @ 250-275% FTP
2min @ 60% FTP
x8

A VO2 max interval set is something like:
2min @ 110-130% FTP
1min @ 60% FTP
x6
 
Go more into V02 max intervals, please. FTP is? Interested in increasing mine, but I'm not doing long cardio workouts.
 
Ya you probably shouldn't do long cardio workouts to gain VO2 Max fitness. I doubt long cardio would produce VO2 Max results for most with a good base fitness. Intervals are the time-crunched athlete's cheat to getting results before or after work. Some ppl don't like them because they can be monotonous and they are punishing. But they work.

VO2 Max is the effort zone that you can do for 10-30min, harder than Threshold at ~60min and easier than Sprints. VO2Max probably translates to a HR just above 90% of max. Maybe that's a 3K-5K race pace for runners. To gain fitness there, you need to spend time in that zone with some amount of rest. My intervals tend to add up in duration to the ranges I just listed. 2min x6 per set, x2 sets = 24min. The 1min rest between intervals makes it all possible, and I do 10min recovery between sets. If the interval was longer, I'd increase the 1min rest some too.

Anyone with a modern Garmin watch or cycling computer should have "Daily Suggested Workouts" that include various intervals. Those have added a lot of variety to my intervals and it's cool to know that Garmin thinks I should be doing XYZ. If you don't have such a device, I'm sure there are plenty of online calculators that will take max HR, running pace, and/or other data to spit out some useful intervals.

FTP is Functional Threshold Power, ie the power one can hold for an hour. Cycling is borderline obsessed with this number. Riders can take tests to get it and most cycling computers will give you one after recording a bunch of rides. Mine is set at 247w right now. I use that number to calculate the required power for all my intervals. Well, Garmin let's me input percentages for workouts. So when my FTP changes, the workout changes too.
 
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I haven’t done it yet but, i am pretty sure my Garmin will do a guided FTP test for running too.

Good info Robert.
 
Thanks a lot Rob. Good explanation that helps. I'm pretty much stuck w/in 1000 square feet for my (predictable) workouts. I run a Garmin too. I've been @ 1min 90% max HR for 3 sets or so at the beginning of workout. I'll workup to your plan: 2min/ 6 sets (2).

Appreciate the plan. Run it for 30 days and see how it works. How often you suggest?
 
stangmx13 said:
Ya you probably shouldn't do long cardio workouts to gain VO2 Max fitness. I doubt long cardio would produce VO2 Max results for most with a good base fitness. Intervals are the time-crunched athlete's cheat to getting results before or after work. Some ppl don't like them because they can be monotonous and they are punishing. But they work.

VO2 Max is the effort zone that you can do for 10-30min, harder than Threshold at ~60min and easier than Sprints. VO2Max probably translates to a HR just above 90% of max. Maybe that's a 3K-5K race pace for runners. To gain fitness there, you need to spend time in that zone with some amount of rest. My intervals tend to add up in duration to the ranges I just listed. 2min x6 per set, x2 sets = 24min. The 1min rest between intervals makes it all possible, and I do 10min recovery between sets. If the interval was longer, I'd increase the 1min rest some too.

Anyone with a modern Garmin watch or cycling computer should have "Daily Suggested Workouts" that include various intervals. Those have added a lot of variety to my intervals and it's cool to know that Garmin thinks I should be doing XYZ. If you don't have such a device, I'm sure there are plenty of online calculators that will take max HR, running pace, and/or other data to spit out some useful intervals.

FTP is Functional Threshold Power, ie the power one can hold for an hour. Cycling is borderline obsessed with this number. Riders can take tests to get it and most cycling computers will give you one after recording a bunch of rides. Mine is set at 247w right now. I use that number to calculate the required power for all my intervals. Well, Garmin let's me input percentages for workouts. So when my FTP changes, the workout changes too.
Click to expand...
Very cool, Rob, it's not my world but still very interesting to hear about.

In the sprints/jumps world we deal with anaerobic, ATP and Lactacid tolerance (sprints, 200m/400m). However, it's aerobic energy that's used during recovery between jumps.
 
Holeshot said:
Thanks a lot Rob. Good explanation that helps. I'm pretty much stuck w/in 1000 square feet for my (predictable) workouts. I run a Garmin too. I've been @ 1min 90% max HR for 3 sets or so at the beginning of workout. I'll workup to your plan: 2min/ 6 sets (2).

Appreciate the plan. Run it for 30 days and see how it works. How often you suggest?
Click to expand...

"How often" is tough to recommend. Balancing load and recovery time is always the goal. Good well-performed intervals should be more load per hour than most other workouts - that's part of the reason why they work well. That also means they may need more recovery. If you are already near your limit for load, you should need to decrease your other workouts so you don't burnout. If you are nowhere close to your limit, you may not need to change anything.

Im training for 10-12hrs a week these days. I do intervals 1-2x per week, so 1:30-3hrs of intervals with warmup and warmdown. That fits the general guidelines that I see for cycling. High intensity should be around 20% of my load and zone2 should be the other 80%. I usually do an interval day before or after a zone2 day. I have done interval days back to back occasionally, but never with the same type of intervals (Threshold, Vo2Max, and Sprint). My Fri-Sun last week was Sprint, Vo2Max, then Zone1-2. I was exhausted on Mon :laughing.

Seeing results in 30 days might be tough. If you are religious about 2x a week, don't already have a high VO2Max, and have good recovery time, Id bet Garmin will pick up an increase. Over the past year with very lax use of intervals, my VO2 max has increased 10 from 52-62. The 52 was a low for me because I wasn't training much. Getting back to my prev high of 58 only took 2 months. Getting to my PB of 62 took the past 6 months. Maybe it'll increase faster now that I'm more strict about doing intervals.

Also, I did a VO2 Max test in a lab at UCSD last year. The result was within 1pt of Garmin's number (57 vs 58 at the time). So I've validated Garmin at least for me and cycling.
 
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Climber said:
Very cool, Rob, it's not my world but still very interesting to hear about.

In the sprints/jumps world we deal with anaerobic, ATP and Lactacid tolerance (sprints, 200m/400m). However, it's aerobic energy that's used during recovery between jumps.
Click to expand...

One cool thing I learned about anaerobic efforts recently is that lactic acid is actually a primary fuel used for anaerobic efforts. So all that training for lactic acid tolerance is also about using the fuel faster and more effectively. It's terrible that I learned about this recently, because of course I was taught in PE class in school that lactic acid causes soreness (wrong). Human metabolism especially during exercise is so complicated and that makes it intriguing for me.
 
If I saw a 10 point increase in my VO2 max over 12 months I could die happy :laughing

62 is impressive Robert. I'm at 47. I want to break in to the 50's before Rock Cobbler by trying to do whatever my watch tells me to between now and then. Finding time to run is easy. Finding time to ride is harder. Pre-work trainer sessions probably have to happen, ughhh.... lol
 
10 points is huge, IMO. I'm not even at 50. 48 was the last number I checked a few weeks ago and then again, my training isn't focused on Vo2, but I would like to move V02 and sprint results upward. As you know, I'm not using the fitness for cycling, but it seems to have solid crossover benefits for the moto/ Jetski racing. Jetski racing, especially, which is more strain on the entire body. 30 days sounds super unrealistic, indeed with your explanation.

The other reason I'm interested in V02 Max/ Sprint/ and threshold is to break up my workouts into something newer and interesting. I've got about 5-6 hours/ week on dedicated workouts and then whatever I do on the weekends which is active, but not recorded nor formal. That's almost always outside the gym and various activities.
 
If you guys weighed as little as I do, your VO2Max would be higher. But I suspect most adult men don't want to be as skinny as I am. Also I have low-ish bone mass, which skews the number even higher.

I had a custom suit made a few years ago. I wore it for the first time in 2yrs on Monday. The legs were TIGHT :laughing. That is prob helping the VO2Max as well since I'm about the same weight.

I do enjoy intervals for the variety. So many of my cycling friends seem to hate them because of the pain. But I'll take some quick pain over a slow ride on the same old roads any day.
 
bird-vantage! LOL on tight legs. You still have a track bike?
 
I meant suit and tie suit :laughing

Ya I still have the same R6. Need to sell it.

My new bicycle build is almost finished. Gravel Superbike pics coming soon :D
 
Hahaha! whups! March should be good selling time...fingers crossed.
 
stangmx13 said:
One cool thing I learned about anaerobic efforts recently is that lactic acid is actually a primary fuel used for anaerobic efforts. So all that training for lactic acid tolerance is also about using the fuel faster and more effectively. It's terrible that I learned about this recently, because of course I was taught in PE class in school that lactic acid causes soreness (wrong). Human metabolism especially during exercise is so complicated and that makes it intriguing for me.
Click to expand...
Knowing the science/biology of what is happening in your body is definitely a path to knowing how to train/compete even better! :thumbup
 
i’m back stateside after eating my way through a couple of countries. i am not on my usual digital scale but hopped on one with a dial at my sf place and appear to be at, or a few lbs below, the weight i was when i left. i’ll chalk that up as a win.

five miles of walking per day seems to be the new default/minimum. in sf i commute by walking so this is easily accomplished. when i was in walking around berlin with a friend he commented he likes walking with me because of my fast pace.

my recently acquired walking shoes feel too big even after relacing them so i’m going in to get fitted this week. when i get back to oregon i’m cleaning out my closets. my mom is thrilled about her new wardrobe. ha. i have been hoisting my pants up (like urkel) with a belt to make them fit so new pants are on the way. i went from a 3x to an xl this year. i can shop at normal size stores again!!! i love the non scale victories. i love feeling great the most, though.

:banana
 
Always glad to read about your gains, TWT!

You've likely added years to your life with this active lifestyle and loss of weight!
 
Thanks, Brett. I appreciate the support I get on this thread, and it keeps the fire lit.

I rage-quit my pants mid-day and went shopping. What a relief to be in clothes that fit right again.
 
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