Power Meters / Powermeters (SRM, Powertap, Quarq, Ergomo, Vector, Stages, power2max, P2M, 4iii, InPower, Cinch)

surely improving your FTP is a function of increasing your absolute power output and the % of that you can hold for an hour.

What you are trying to do with these 40/20 things is improve your absolute power, but you cant ignore the other section and hope to improve.

In the same way for a 5k, doing 100m sprints is great at improving your raw speed, just doing those wont be very good at helping you hold that raw speed for longer, you need to do some longer slower runs as well.

FTP has aerobic and anaerobic elements. The more aerobic you have the higher the base your anaerobic starts from. Generally you push FTP up aerobically in the winter then pull it up anaerobically later in the year with the benefit that your aerobic takes longer to degrade and your anaerobic quicker to develop

Sweet spot does both but possibly isn't quite as deep an aerobic foundation as heaps of Z2 in the winter nor as efficient at anaerobic improvement as harder Z4/Z5 intervals. #traininghearsay

Re:Sainburys.
Granted. But threshold is hour power. Training below that level is going to stimulate far less training response, and certainly isnt going to help you adapt to holding more. I only really need to look in the mirror to see the result of lower output training. Buckets of endurance and a somewhat disappointing FTP.

If I want to improve my 5km running. I run intervals of 1km at the target pace. So my body learns the pace and adapts to the output. I wouldnt do 100m stuff.

FWIW im only doing 40/20s because im straped for time. There are dozens of reasons not to totally rely on short intensive workouts of course.

I totally agree with this.

If I had the time to get out then I would, but at the moment this is working for me. The only riding out I do (besides the odd leisurely 60 miler) is on the velodrome anyway, and I've found that my muscular endurance and recovery have massively improved since starting properly training it. When I'm on the road I can't be arsed to do zone training, but on rollers/turbo (with a powertap) it's all I'm interested in. I'm interested to do another FTP test in a week or so as I know it will have improved, even if it's just from my psychological ability to suffer for longer.

Training below that level is going to stimulate far less training response, and certainly isnt going to help you adapt to holding more

But volume is still the biggest factor that affects improvement IMO. Intervals have their place in a time limited training program, but you'll never improve long term without increasing volume over time, and you can't just keep doing more intervals. Need longer sessions at lower intensity to increase training load.

I'm going to start running up and down the plane aisle whilst we are in flight in order to stimulate adaptation - an added bonus will be that this will be at (significant!) altitude.

Well I have a decent amount of volume in the legs. Ive climbed 31,000m this last 3 months. Probably at or around sweetspot for the most part.

So im only presenting half the argument. Doing these short dharp workouts without that behind would be a bit fruitless.

So i agree that you need both broad types of training.

All im saying is, that its the supra threshold interval stuff you add onto your base fitness. That sees the quicker FTP gains.

This discussion came from someone commenting that they have suddenly seen a massive reduction of available training time. That person already being quite fit. Seemed intervals were the answer. As has been said. Aerobic fitness degrades far slower. So he should be able to hold onto that.

Depressurize the plane first of course.

Or just punch it in the face and steal its dinner money.

Need longer sessions at lower intensity to increase training load.

Yup I've had to restart Z2/3 miles because of detraining in my speed phase. Tour of Sufferlandria gave less TSS than my 15hrs Z2 and 3hours intervals.

Actually, maybe you do. The fastest 5k runner in the world is also the fastest 10k runner in the world and he runs 100 MILES a week in training.

The fastest 5k runner in the world ... runs 100 MILES a week in training.

Citation? I'd be surprised. I've done 100mile running weeks and it's fucking hard, really fucking hard. I'd be very surprised if they were able to do any effective speed work as part of that kind of distance.

Or maybe I'm just soft.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8448650.stm

Be surprised. You one of the the fastest runners in the world? No? Welcome to what the elite of the elite can do. Yeah, sucks to be us.

Ha! Unfortunately running 100mile weeks didn't make me one of the fastest runners neither...

You mean it did? Double negative nerdery.

Bugger. No, sadly it didn't. It does seem to have affected my ability to write in english though.

A mate of mine prescribes to the long and slow training (running) technique with the aim of encouraging fat-burning. He was fat, now he his not, and he's smashing out marathons in 3:30. Keeps an interesting blog on training and fueling, which is confusingly entitled 'endurace speedskating'. Anyway, none of which I think is particularly newsworthy, but I keep tabs on it all the same.

So much breeze in this thread...

In the budget crank PM world, P2M or Quarq?

I've got both, and can't really say there's anything to split them. The only functional difference is that the P2M gives a calculated (but not real) left-right split, while changing the battery is easier on the Riken. But they both Just Work and I have no complaints about either. The numbers seem consistent between them too.

So much breeze in this thread...

I can't keep up with you youngsters and your slang.

Ta

Can we have some more bullshit about how TT'ing is a piece of piss please?

Why are you all speaking about only one training pass per day?