i read an article from the british coaches saying these 4 minute intervals done at 80% of your time trial pace will really improve your fitness. they say do 2-3-4-5 once a week with the same rest as your interval. great results will follow..
i was wondering if doing these at 90% of max heart rate is doing them too hard..
after my good warm up of some spinning at sprints, i do these on my indoor trainer.i dont have a hr monitor, but i do feel my heart beating very hard so i count the reps. i think my max is 200. at the end of a 4 minute interval i am 30-31 beats for 10 seconds. 180-186beats..
i start doing 3 of these once a week, then go up to 6. then i take a rest week and repeat. i think these work soooo good. trouble is, i dont want to peak at all...i just want to stay in very top shape. i am not racing this year, but i still like keeping up on the hard team rides...is doing them this hard ok without peaking?
my other weekly rides are a long club ride sunday of 3-4 hours hard. mon- trainer 45 minutes spin.. tues - trainer 45 minute ez spin . wed the 4 minute intervals on the trainer..thursday 2-3 hours outside moderate tempo.. friday 45 minute ez spin on trainer..off sat..
another question... is doing 6-10 of these too much??? i wanted to challenge myself and build up to that many. maybe decrease the hr on these to 80-85% of max hr. when i do 2-3-4 of these i'm at 90% of max hr.
bottom line is, i dont want to peak, just have a super hard mid week training session. per my schedule, i only go hard 2x a week. i am 54 and try to get plenty spinning recovery rides... i am a cat 2.
thanks steve

Lots of things going on here...
without knowing what this Time Trial Pace is, sounds like a vague assumption to me.

And anyway, say we talk about a 4min long time trial (which is kind of unlikely). 80% of the max mean power over this duration doesn't sound too tough to me.

As far as I'd be concerned, my max HR is pretty much equivalement to HR reached at Vo2Max= ~190bpm (maybe with few extra clicks left). 90% of this, 171bpm places me spot on high end threshold HR. That wouldn't be very difficult sustain. I could even sustain it with no rest for the full duration of the maximum number of reps (6x4 = 24min, I could even hold 40-60min at 175 which is > 90% of my max HR).

No I don't think that these alone will get you to peak, and even if they would, since you have no racing schedule, what would be the issue?

really here, I don't see why you'd be so scared of experimenting a peak. You will undoubtedly experiment ups and downs. Now, an up can be seen as a peak, so what?

Hi, if you are 54 then your Max. heart rate would be around 170 not 200. By all means start using a HR monitor if you are training seriously, because doing an 80% interval is different than doing it at 90%, in fact that would be two different intervals.

Like the other poster said, what's wrong with reaching a peak ? If you do it properly it's a great achievement and later on you will still be in good shape.

His max heart rate could be up around 200. Working out max heart rate is a very personal thing. Everyone is different. Effectively those charts you see at the local gym etc. Are an extremely rough guide. There could be differences of between 30-40 bpm between people of the same age due to fitness levels and weight

So true, I am 47 and my max is around 197. mY wifes is higher than the formula would indicate as well.

I used to do 7 Minute Abs until I discovered 6 Minute Abs. Now I'm really going to town.

__________________
"I am two lesbians in a man's body."
--Eddie Izzard

Max.HR is Max. HR regardless of fitness or weight. Anyway I agree that the
220 - Age = Max. HR ___formula is just a reference, there are more accurate scientific ways to find that out.

(why can I not see peoples avatars and mine once you sign in ?? )

Hi there

You should be able to see them, what do you see instead? dead image or nothing?

regards

__________________
Steve
CyclingForums.com

hi. nothing:
User name, an ON/OFF sign, and "registered user", no avatar nor dead image.

and when i come in as a guest i can see them...

Hi

You had the option "Show Avatars" un ticked in your profile, I've updated it for you.

For other who might have this disabled;

usercp -> edit options -> scroll down about 3/4 of the way.

regards

__________________
Steve
CyclingForums.com

Yeah obvious holes in that plan

ok i see avatars now... thanks !

well doing abs is not the same as training seriously as a cyclist, i wouldn't take interval training as a joke, it could make all the difference between a succesfull or a mediocre cycling career... it is not a good analogy anyway

First, y'all need to step away from your intervals, take a deep breath, get a grip, and look at the rest of the world. Second, you obviously need a comedic reference. Third, it's not as if I was making jokes about mother raping or father raping (another comedic reference you'll fail to get, displaying in the process a complete lack of cultural and musical awareness). No, I just made a less than serious comment in the context of interval training. Lastly, it's time we all remember what Confucius said: Fark you if you can't take a joke.

__________________
"I am two lesbians in a man's body."
--Eddie Izzard

i've seen the movie and i also think its funny. You know the original poster doesn't really know what he is talking about so its ok !