My Cycling Fitness Plan
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- Aerobic capacity and aerobic efficiency and how I work on both during the off season.
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I do NOT have all the answers. The first videos will feature on what I currently do - food, strength, aerobic conditioning. Then I'll visit experts and try to improve (especially form after watching back these videos!). What works for me might not work for you.
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My workout activities run 6 days Monday and Thursday I do a bootcamp circuit class for 30 minutes, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday I do 20 minutes of strength training in a combination of body weight and dumbbell/ barbell work followed by 30 minutes cardio usually treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike or rower, Saturdays this time of year its yard work for between 2-3 hours. When we have a holiday away from work, I like to go for a 5-mile run or 10-mile bike ride. Sunday is day of rest and I go to Mass.
Last year I bought a heavy e-bike to get me back on the road to recovery from the long covid. At 1st I needed the 1st two levels of assistance to help me along. I looked at my garmin stats and I was in zone 3 more than my previous rides on my analogue bike.
Slowly but surely the rides got easier and I was only needing level 1 and this weekend I have experimented with no assistance. The goal is to resume on my analogue bike.
E bikes are a great training aid and definitely are NOT cheating if you use them correctly.
I noted the weight in your backpack, my equivalent is to walk to aldi and then walk back up the hill with 5kg of shopping in my rucksack.
Great series that is great motivation for us. Thanks.
I'd never call them cheating (although I think I did in a video title just to get people to watch). This was my last attempt with one th-cam.com/video/KT9M2HfoNZw/w-d-xo.html
That's great that you are recovering from long COVID - it takes a long time from what I have heard. I got an e-bike(pedal assist) and started riding it last April. As a 60y/o woman, I struggled to keep up with the fast "boys" after about 50km and we usually ride 80 to 100km- I was constantly in Z4 andZ5 killing myself - we live in a very hilly area. This bike has been a total game changer for me! now I can ride everyday and not need recovery for 2 to 3 days like I used to with the analog bike. In Canada we have a 32km speed limit at which point the motor cuts out and then I pedal the heavy bike on my own (it's 28 lbs). I tested a local ride I know well using this e-bike on my own without any power just to see what would happen and I was actually faster!!! 2km faster overall. Same headwinds from the West and everything. I think this is seriously the best money I have ever spent on myself.
@@cyclingonplants7444 BRILLIANT!!!! So many ways eBikes can work for people.
@@cyclingonplants7444 yes, long covid has been a struggle. 2 & half years now and finally seem to be seeing my body gaining strength again. I'm still a long way off where I was but glad to be exercising again without days of recovery after even a light workout.
So glad your ebike is working for you, they are great!
e-bikes are an excellent means of starting from scratch or regaining fitness. They also help avoid over-training and recovery tends to be more thorough as you can avoid over-reaching. My own experience is with eMTB riding. I now enjoy three or four long days out each week instead of riding Sunday and feeling wasted until Wednesday. My weight is down resting heart rate down and my running is improving. In the end you work just as hard as you would on an acoustic bike, you’re just quicker up hills and the like. It’s not cheating if it gets you out and enjoying your riding.
Well! Thank you for introducing Maggie. On one of your earlier videos when you were running I was unsure if you knew you were being STALKED by a small, furry beast. What a relief to know that she's actually your training partner. Bravo on your video series, I am devouring it.
😂😂 small furry beast indeed !
I find zone training tricky because obviously the zones are different for each individual depending on the level of their cardio fitness since zone boundaries are directly derived from max HR. The standard formula for max HR (220 - age in years) doesn’t apply to older athletes with high cardio fitness. So I train based on perceived effort with the intent of being near exhaustion at end of each session. I’m 74 yo with VO2max of 45 and I think my current max HR is close to 190 bpm. Resting HR is about 50 bpm depending on how much training I’m doing. Last year I ran a marathon and never got out of zone 2. Bottom line, I question if zone training is practical for serious athletes. Great video, keep up the good work.
Firstly, wow! Over 70 yrs of age, anything over 40 is considered elite level athlete. While I have the same resting HR as you, 190 is astonishing. (The 220-age is widely discredited).
Secondly, the use of RPE is exactly what Donnie Campbell advocates in this video. It's ideal for someone who doesn't want to be constantly watching their zones.
HR and Power are best for serious athletes. But the zones have to be correct. They're usually determined through finger-prick lactate tests to determine threshold, or linked up to a machine that measures the gases exhaled while you exercise. These change when you go through thresholds and can be mapped to HR and power.
I've had both done to me over the years and knowing precise zones was exceptionally helpful - helped me loose weight and get faster, but that was a decade or two ago.
Glad you like the videos.
@@alwaysanotheradventure Thanks for the reply Simon. I had no experience with zones until I got my Garmin watch a couple of years ago. The default zones the Garmin assigns are way off. I finally discovered you can input a max HR and the zones will be recalibrated. Problem is what is max HR? I say mine is 190 because I saw that value a year or two ago on the run leg of a triathlon and it was hot and humid that day. In reality my max HR for the purpose of determining zones is probably significantly lower. I think I need to research the blood lactate test approach. I find your videos inspirational so keep them coming please.
@@doernerrr You can get a lactate test kit online, but it's obviously better if someone does it. Dr Peter Attia talks about it in the book I mentioned in this video (this one amzn.to/460XzSW).
If you search for VO2 max test, then that should give you accurate zones based on a true max HR in the test, but mainly the point where your gas exchange changes - your threshold. I don't know where in the world you are (I've just had a comment from an aircraft currently flying over Canada!) but Garry Palmer at Sportstest in Stafford, UK did mine twice and I can thoroughly recommend him. He's just so damn far away from where I now live. Best of luck with the research.
Thank you for saying this. I always thought it was me….
Zone 2, not easy lol. To slow. Going to really try zone 2 for 6 ish weeks .let's see how it is . maybe a few v02 maz efforts too😂
this is an interesting and informative series! I'm 72, have biked all my life, but got more serious at 60. I was able to reduce my weight from 178 to 148 pretty quickly, and got interested in doing lots of climbing on the bike. I improved steadily through my 60s but now in my 70s it's a challenge to just keep what I've got. Each ride include 3 or 4 good climbing opportunities, which is my version of a HIIT workout I guess. I keep my weight at 150 and do a 40 minute yoga routine once or twice a week. Flexibility is key I think. For strength I just focus on legs and my core by doing squats and planks. Getting enough sleep is CRITICAL too!!
Absolutely!
I recently started reading Outlive and found it inspiring. I’m back to riding indoors, walking hills, soon to be on snow shoes and looking forward to a good snowfall so that I can start cross country skiing again. I live in Newfoundland and the snow will be on the ground for at least three months if we’re lucky. I notice that Scotland has already had snow and you’re not so happy about it. I turn 80 in January.
Hi Michael - yeah we never seem to be ready for snow, although we haven’t had any on the coast yet. In places like Norway or where you are you get it, it stays, and you live with it for a few months. Here it’s really just transitory, so we’re always caught-out and never really cope well. It’s a great book though and I find myself going back to it frequently.
Roughly the same age as Simon, I've been riding cycle time trials for 35 years, and training seriously for about 25 years now. I do most of my training on a smart trainer via TrainerRoad which offers pretty good training plans continually monitored and updated by some algorithm (aka 'AI'). My road cycling is usually pretty steady state stuff. I do stretches daily, and I've just started using dumbells in the same way as the earlier video. I don't run, as I dislike it, but pretty much walk everywhere locally rather than use the car. Fitness-wise, I'm hanging in there pretty well at least by club cyclist standards. If I lived in the west coast of Scotland, I might just take up hill running! But as it is I hope to be back cycle touring in the Hebrides next year after a 5 year gap due to pandemic and family commitments. I monitor various physiological parameters daily - a recent cold really demonstrated how long it takes me to fully recuperate these days!
This year has been a disaster for me due to family bereavements and family Illness. This time last year I was probably at the fittest I’d been for many years. Eight months of not doing enough cycling or eating correctly. Six weeks ago I decided it was time to put myself first as I was struggling when even walking!
My training has to be different from other as I have ME and Pulmonary Sarcoidosis so I have only 60% capacity and my lungs only inflate so far.
I started to get coached at the age of 59 and what a difference it made and I learned so much! Anyway I started back on a proper diet and have shed weight and feel so much better basically anti -inflammatory and cutting UPF’s. I’ve now added in the all the training drills I was set in previous years on my smart trainer as easier to control so the usual VO2 max, ST, aerobic and cadence drills to build my strength. Then I’ll go loads of long zone 2 for endurance. Last year over winter I did nothing but long zone 2 and climbing and that worked well but I need to build the strength I’ve lost.
It’s so true the saying use it or loose it.
I’m working on my sleep now as I only sleep about 2-4 hours max. Interestingly I saw something today that said getting 8 hours was a myth. Your body will sleep for what it needs and it was most important to get up at the same time each day and not to worry about getting to bed early, go when tired.
Anyway looking forward to the Kit List video. I do think Maggie stole the show 🐶🐾🐾
If you enjoyed Maggie she has her own channel @maggietheborderterrier ! Yeah, there's conflicting 'ideas' from random folk (like me!) on sleep. But peer reviewed research shows that, while we can survive on no sleep or minimal for a short duration, long term most bodies need 7.5 to 8.5 hours. All animals sleep; a species of dolphin has learnt to turn off half its brain, but it still sleeps. If sleep wasn't important - evolution would have got rid of it because it leaves us so vulnerable. There's more in the book I recommend in the links below each vide. tinyurl.com/OlderAthleteLinks
Can you tell I've been planning one on sleep 😁
Bravo and thanks for the series. I went keto about ten years ago, lost 100 lbs. Starting running and cycling again. 3 years ago, at age 59, I completed my first sprint distance triathon. I now train almost daily, Zone 2, weight, cycling, running and swimming. I race 3 or so triathlons a year. I feel better now than when I was 40 though it is hard to do at 62. Also a fan of Dr Attia... Outlive is something everyone should read and learn from. My word on aging: Defiance!
Great video, much better than the book, which I’d never recommend for a general audience. Peter Atia seems to live a totally unbalanced life, full of obsession, definitely didn’t leave me inspired to follow his advice : all the best - Steve
I think having a trainer to help with gym and weight training is a good idea. I recently started with a trainer and in the two months so far no injury. I am sore but in the good way. I work out 3 days a week at the gym and ride 6 hours a week indoor and outdoor when the weather is nice. Keep up the good fight! I know my fight is improving my fitness when my power and speed has increased 20% since last year.
Hi Thoroughly enjoying your videos, retired 18 months ago and i am 67 years of age, I go to the gym weight training 3 times a week , do online yoga classes 5 times per week and play Pickleball 4hrs per week, looking to get back on the bike in the spring, you are an inspiration to us all keep up the good work. regards Kieran.
I had to check what's 'Pickleball' but that sounds like a great routine. And yes, roll on some decent weather.
Living in a Cornish parish with no level ground all my exercise is hill reps. To maintain different zones I just stick to my hr monitor esp as I have sinus bradycardia. With a resting hr of 38 to 40bpm I have to calculate % max and use the 80/20 ratio. I try for minimum 5 hours a week bike, walk, run depending on weather. The older you get the more exercise you need as long as it's structured. Another good vid Simon. 👍😀 😅
Thanks Paul
In addition to the physiological benefits, there’s no greater psychological benefit to our age group than actually *working* on something, setting a goal and pursuing it, looking forward to it.
Absolutely. Hopefully that’s the attitude I mentioned in the first of this series.
Absolutely. Hopefully that’s the attitude I mentioned in the first of this series.
So true, I enter events so have something to train for. Age group events are fun, people smile but still risk their lives to outdo a friend 😂🤣
Another concise and cogent exposition, Simon. Thank you. Exercise is such a cornerstone for building enjoyment and contentment into life as we get older 😁😁
Glad you enjoyed it Ian!
I live in Surrey moved here 36 years ago from St Helens. My Club has justed put membership on hold at 350, having trouble finding enough courts to suit people still working, other areas are no where as popular, it's a great game view on you tube. Kieran
Good video, 58 Yr, running in trails, three times a week, 10 to 12k depending on season, mostly zoom 2 , was in 48 VO2Max , had to slow down 😂 now at 41 . I do MTB but I find it easier to reach one hour zoom 2 when running than cycling, so I do more running 🏃🏽♂️👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
This is a great series. I'm a big fan of Dr. Attia. Keep them coming.
Thanks - I'll do my best.
Cross country skiing, shoveling snow, phat biking and sessions on the turbo trainer held keep fitness up over the winter months.
That's great if you're doing enough every week and it works for you Jonathan
This content is fabulous! thank you so much. Maggie is the cutest piece of kit I have ever seen 😍
She knows it! And she has her own channel @maggietheborderterrier
I'm enjoying and learning from your videos Simon, thank you. I'm 64 and have been a runner for 48 years - just did NYC marathon. I keep my running to 3-4 days a week max with a healthy dose of cycling, yoga, swimming, kayaking, and weight training. This has been a very successful formula to extend my running life and also to enjoy those other activities.
Love the scenery where you run and ride. Maybe you could set up a group ride there? 😉
Glad you enjoy the scenery Scott. Not enough cyclists in the immediate area for a group ride, and I sort-of like riding alone. However, we did start an informal ParkRun 9am Saturday morning that has turned into a very social gathering.
What was your time in the marathon?
3hr 32mins so much fun there.@@runninab8168
Great series. Thanks ;)
I took up running, currently about 40 miles a week. I run harder than most, typically Tempo, Threshold & VO2 Max, just done a ParkRun for the first time in 3 months 50 second PB 🏆. Find what works for you & stivk at it. Occasionly challenge yourself. Have fun
Excellent! We didn't have a parkrun here so I started an unofficial one to get a few of us together. Always worth doing!
Very informative video. Thank you. Looking forward to the next.
Another good concise vid Simon👍🏽 Time restricted eating and low carb high fat foods really help 👍🏽
Great special bit of kit 😉 Mine helps tremendously 👍 Have found this series of video’s excellent. Two things I need to work on as a result of watching are diet and strength training. I find the former hardest especially over winter. Thanks for producing the series 🙏
For diet it’s about finding what works for you - very individual. More to come in a few weeks on the strength training - I’ve found a coach but she’s taking me back to square one!
I used to do almost every rides to the death! Since I’ve become more focused on moderating my efforts, my fitness level continues to improve to levels I never expected to reach again. I still do very hard efforts, some to the death to keep that capability intact. But I now bury much harder, power building efforts into my longer rides at a more moderate pace. I also add interval sessions about one/week if my body can accept it, and I believe these are the cherry on top for reaching peak fitness. Just my 2¢.
Sounds like it's working for you.
My fitness improved when i learnt to finally slow down on the bike & go much further, at a lower intensity. I then after 50-60 miles put in max efforts fot mylast 10-15 miles home. Followed by a good cool down. Post stretches are advisable also.
Sounds like you've worked out what works for you - that's great!
Really enjoying this series, thank you. I've two very energetic dogs so steep hill doggo walks is one of my main ways to keep fit. Also it's great fun 😊
They'll keep you busy!
Enjoy your videos….will be turning 60 in August . I do run regularly and do light weights. Do you have any videos on stretching you do?
I’ve mentioned it but I use Elkhart Yoga and Recover Athletics - that one is free with Strava Premium.
Wonderful video.
Stunning location!
Makes me want to book a flight and head to Scotland!😊
Like you, interval training is a very important part of my overall Fitness plan. I have many different types of interval training programs that I follow, so I alternate for maximum benefit and to keep motivated.
I also feel fortunate that I've been able to maintain a pretty good VO2 Max for my age, which means I have a lot of power when I need it. Living at a higher elevation 6-7 months out of the year also helps, because I'm training at 2400m just heading out my door, with about 500m of elevation gain on most days, without even trying. Because of this lately I've been focusing on endurance and Zone 2 specific training. This has been very helpful.
There was an excellent video on Zone 2 training for cyclists posted on GCN (presented by the other Si) a short while back. If you haven't seen it check it out. Lots of excellent beta.
Loving this series.
Keep up the great work!
I'll look for it now, thanks for that.
Interesting stuff glad to see i'm doing most of it already ( in my own way).I'm 58, I cycle 10 miles a day for my commute to work which involves a 300ft climb each way. That sorts out my zone 2. I also run twice a week normally zone 4 plus 5 a side touch rugby which is great for the fast twich muscles. Then i sprinkle in some regular 10 minute yoga sessions when i find the time. Lastly i've fitted a pull up bar in the garage which has transformed my upper body strength. Keep up the good work.
I have to get a pull-up bar - looks really good
@@alwaysanotheradventureYou'll know this anyway, but make sure you take it easy to start with. I was shocked how weak i was and i'm pretty active.
Great and informative video
Love this! Thank You
You are so welcome Michael!
Age wise. The number of people who are visibly fit and healthy I know long term is zero. The acquaintances I meet along the keep fit adventure seem to do well though. There is a huge deficit of wellbeing.
Great content thanks .
Zone 2 training seems to be the current "Big thing" and I have no doubt it works and is recommended by some serious athletes and trainers. Issue is though they all say do at least 4 hours Zone 2 a week plus then your other training/riding etc. Although I'm retired and have the time I'm not sure I want to do multiple hours of training every day. Aside from potential fatigue build up theres the boredom factor. Where I live(West Wales) it's pretty hilly so doing a zone 2 ride outside be tricky and the thought of 4 hours churning away on the turbo doesn't appeal. I'm not sure what the solution is though. I enjoy fitness training and cycling but I tend to just go by feel and do what I enjoy. However maybe I should follow a more structured regime and see what benefits I get.
Anyway, this is just me thinking aloud(in print). Keep up the good work, loving the content.
It’s quite unusual to go by feel and get it right as you age. Instinctively your body wants to do less. There’s a link in the video description to more reading and listening. The one podcast linked it worth listening to and see if it convinces you. The Zone 2 has been a ‘thing’ for decades and doesn’t all have to be in your chosen sport - walking fast uphill does it for me and my dog, esp with weights.
As it happens I did some just now, 1 hr and 40mins at Zone 2 on the turbo. To stave off boredom I watched episode of Inspector Morse, I have entire series boxset so plan to work through those yet again over autumn/winter.Just pedalling along otherwise be tough.@@alwaysanotheradventure
Yes Zone 2 has been around since the late 1960s, e.g. the NZ coach Arthur Lydiard. In the running boom of the 1970s and 1980s we called it "LSD" - long slow distance. Dr Inigo San Milan has been researching the effects of Zone 2 at the cellular level of the mitochondria.
I see quite a few people forgetting to add in the 15 % of faster interval Zone 4 training required in a balanced training program. Zone 4 and 5 are harder on the brain, and need a slow build up over time to cope with the mental and physical effort.
Simon, thanks for these great videos!@@alwaysanotheradventure
Is there a reason you only ride alone (plus I guess your camera person)? To me group efforts are an essential part of fitness. They have become much harder to do now. I moved, I'm aging. I get dropped now because the locals here have never heard of collecting the group. But still group riding is essential for motivation, for getting out of my comfort zone, for making it interesting. I'd say boredom is the #1 enemy of all training plans, and not everybody has the self-discipline to keep training alone when it gets tedious.
Hi Jonathan - no camera operator, only me doing my thing.
Where I live in the Scottish Highlands I'm an hour's drive and a ferry ride away from the nearest club, and it's MTB focused. So riding solo began as a necessity, then when I was training for triathlon, it became a useful way to ensure I stuck to the intensities specified by my coach. It has now become the default way I ride. It doesn't help that my best mate sold his business and moved to France. Shooting the videos is actually a great motivation to get out and ride in good weather.
On the occasions I do get to ride in a group or with friends, it's great. Companionship is excellent, which is the reason I started a local version of ParkRun. It's unofficial - too much off-road, steps, narrow paths etc for ParkRun to have our course - but the social aspect of that is great.
I am 67 yr old. I ride about 8 months of the year and use the Trainer Road to “keep me honest”. It tends to be “intervals” oriented in my opinion, and is generally pretty difficult. Not sure if you have familiarity with this one. I weight train ongoing.
My max heart rate is about 160, and when I am in good shaped I can sustain 145 for a decent stretch of time - say a longish hill climb. I have not been able to find any literature nor discussion on heart rate of older athletes. Can it be improved, what is a safe/good target, etc. The published HR training rate is 78 to 132 which seems really quite low.
Any thoughts , or literature you (or your readers) can recommend??
Hey Jerome - firstly you really need to watch this please
How hard to train? A Cardiologist on heart health for older athletes
th-cam.com/video/olg90Dq9ay8/w-d-xo.html
Your HRmax declines with age (220-age is rubbish). Your VO2max also declines but can be maintained or improved by such interval training, but make it less than 20% of your total.
Highly recommended reading - ‘Outlive’ by Dr Peter Attia.
You are some machine, Simon! My experience with the talk test and Zone 2 suggests it isn't all that accurate. For example, I was out gravel riding last Friday with two pals who are a lot fitter than me. They were Z2 most of the way while I spent more than half the ride in Z4 yet the conversation flowed without pause. For me, my upper level of Z2 is about 140bpm but I can talk in complete sentences up to about 170bpm which is well into Z4. I've noticed that the talk test is a better indicator when I am running rather than cycling and I wonder if that has more to do with the impact effects from footfall.
Yeah, simplifying things for digestibility isn't always straightforward. Like you, my talk-test works best running. Oh, and the machine is faulty today with a little sciatica in my left leg😩
@@alwaysanotheradventure You have my deepest sympathy re the sciatica. I contend with that from time to time too.
You are doing a far better job than most TH-cam 'influencers' when it comes to distilling down the basics for a lay audience. I'm well impressed.
@@alwaysanotheradventureI found the same with large Z2 variance between bike and run. Luckily my Garmin watch allows for tweaking these and have been enjoying Z2 runs for several months (and the VO2 max increases that accompany it!). Great video!
36 million Americans play Pickleball its additive, its also professional over there.
Wow! I don’t think it’s a ‘thing’ here. But it’ll come. We’re always a bit behind you 😁
I would love to cycle those kind of gravel roads. What size/type tire are you using and where are these lovely gravel roads? (I’m in US)
I’ve been messing around with tyres recently. These are 53mm and drag a bit on road - I’m not really convinced about them for most riding. I’ll try some 50mm soon but I tend to max out around 43.
I’m lucky that all this is on my doorstep in the west highlands of Scotland.
Sounds too much like an obsession than sport. Just get out and ride. Make sure you push enough to do some good. More important to enjoy being fit than to track your numbers. Grab a beer afterward. I mountain bike an hour or two at elevation (Colorado). My heart rate hits low 170's (I'm 60). As long as I don't crash it's a good ride.
Whatever works for you - we’re all different and like different things
Maggie!
She stars in a few of them - but you know that already!
Thanks for sharing. I find Zone 2 can best be done on an indoor bike trainer. It's much easier to maintain that zone 2 HR for an extended period of time. ALSO slightly unrelated but how do you get those tracking videos on your bike. is it a drone? if so which one?? Cheers.
Gosh I'm not sure I could stand doing 2 hours indoors! 90mins has been my limit to date. I suspect if I got utterly absorbed in something I could but I doubt it - we're all different!
As for the shots, yes it's a wee folding drone with amazing noise cancellation built-in that cuts-out the sound of its own rotors. I've done a few videos about it in this playlist tinyurl.com/HowIShoot and I wrote about it on the blog with some test videos - blog links from AlwaysAnotherAdventure.com
@@alwaysanotheradventure thanks for the reply Simon. I can't do 2 hours indoors either but i can do multiple days of 1 hour zone 2 which is perfect for rainy days. I'll look at the video playlist and blog links. Cheers.
One of the best training aids is a dog.
I think the zone training and the grifters trying to profit off the books - is nothing more than the LSD-training by Arthur Lydiard in the 70s and it is obvious. Keep your heart rate/effort down on long distances and do most of your training at a lower heart rate, aka effort. I find the wrist heart rate monitors to be wildly inaccurate for mountain biking (I assume the jolting) and running (bouncing). Indoors - I'm either in super-human shape or they are just inaccurate on the lower scale - I can't get out of zone 1 on a stationary bike with pushing to the point of injury.
Oh... to be old.
I'm 60 and race EMTB bikes but train on my turbo trainer all winter due to total slop in Somerset in the winter,I'm currently at 185 wats FTP which I'm coping with fine ,is there a target I should be shooting for or is it personal dependant ,I want stamina rather that outright power and most of my races are 35 plus miles over the hills of Somerset and Devon?
I honestly don't know, so I won't try to BS. You'd need to ask a coach, sorry. (For what it's worth, that's my FTP too!)
Thanks for your videos. When I look at the zones idea I see there is a difference between zones based on maximum heart rate and zones based on lactic acid. So which one I should use and what is the difference between using either of them? Thanks
Hi Oded - when I don't know something, I reply "I don't know" because BS does no-one any good. I think I can answer this correctly, but I might miss some fine points.
When setting Zones, the main thing we're trying to establish is the point where a workout switches from aerobic to anaerobic. Google the differences.
The gold standard test is a lactate blood test, with finger or ear pricks every minute while doing a ramp test on a treadmill or static bike. You can get hand-held lactate meters, but clearly this is not easy to do by yourself!
The other way to scientifically establish this threshold is when hooked-up to a mask and machine that measures the gases you exhale. A sports scientist can set training zones from this.
Both tests are regularly done by amateurs but you have to go to a specialist with the correct equipment. Consequently people look for proxy measures.
Rate of Perceived Exhaustion (RPE) at the other end of the scale is often the best because it takes into account day-to-day variability. This is what Donnie talks about - can you sing, getting out of breath just towards the end of the line? You're probably in upper zone 2. Can you only breath through your nose? Again, Zone 2 (with practice and no nasal obstructions).
In between the RPE and full-on science approach are Power Zones (which measure exactly how much effort you're putting into your pedals) and Heart Rate. The latter can be expressed in several ways, but the most common is as a % of maxHR (which of course you have to establish correctly).
There are several different ways to set zones based on maxHR, all producing slightly different figures. Then there's the question - how many zones? My coach used 3 zones; others use up to 7 zones.
So you can now answer your question yourself.
It's no wonder different approaches give different zones. If you're still in doubt, either go to one specific platform and stick with that, or better still, seek out a coach and go with whatever works best for them.
This content is brilliant but making me feel bad. I'm the same age as Simon but never really train, just go out for a ride 3-4 times a week. Does that count as investment in my cycling future? Please say yes because all that structured work looks a bit of a pita.
Sadly, the evidence shows that the most beneficial thing we can do as we age is strength training. Check the Best Podcast I've put in these links tinyurl.com/OlderAthleteLinks There are always some folk who can get away with just doing one sport but they're very rare,
@@alwaysanotheradventure Nothing worse than asking for advice and having your lifelong convictions overturned. Looks like some rethinking on my part is required.
@@weeringjohnny Same happened to me last week. I saw a strength coach and thought they'd just tweak my form and add a few exercises. Oh no. Apparently I need to go right back to basics...
So 4 min hard 4 min easy x4 but how many times per week?
This is where the 80/20 mix comes in - hard/easy. The session takes about an hour so twice in a 10hr training week. Once in a 5hr training week. Both are 20%. That’s how I read the 80/20 idea but I’m trying to learn more.
@@alwaysanotheradventure I'm confused lol. how many time per week should you do the V02 max part of it?
It doesn’t work that way. It’s a function of training volume. The VO2max sessions should be less than 20% of your training time - as I understand it.
Loving this series. I smiled when you mentioned Attia and Siler…..thats where I started with this stuff. I’ve been told by a sport science guy I know that with Z2/Z4 polarised training, most people go hard in the Z2 part and not hard enough in Z4 so I try to avoid this problem. I guess thats why most people hate VO2 Max interval sessions….they are supposed to hurt!