Grrrr...L5's WTF! Any alternatives?

whoawhoa

What a rider can target on l5 intervals is fairly individual. 110% seems to be a good target for me on the occasions I do 5 minute L5s. Riders with high FTP relative to 5 minute power especially if that's because of low AWC need to be fairly conservative.

Also, if you haven't already you should do the math on the workout to see what it comes out NP-wise. You might be pushing on your power/duration curve which means the workout is too difficult.

whoawhoa

Unless you're racing on a course that's basically a climb of several minutes followed by sitting in on the downhill, racing is probably pretty poor l5 training. Fast group rides/races tend to be more micro-interval style l4 with tons of l6 and l7 attacking and bridging. L5 work requires consistent work intervals to get close to vo2max and shorter rest intervals to get you back near v02max sooner and sooner on each successive interval.

L5 is probably the hardest thing to train in a group-l4 is possible with the right kind of group, l6 is easy for a mostly slow-twitcher.

NJK

I don't see the need to do back to back Level 5 intervals especially in a structured progressive plan. Why do them when your tired or feeling the slight effects of a previous day of level 5. Do a day of endurance/tempo then see how the legs feel

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frenchyge

I got ~298w NP for 45 minutes at 340w, up to ~304w NP at a 350w target. It's tough, but I didn't see a huge issue there.

rmur17

hmm ... what does Vo2max have to with anaerobic fitness?

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rmur

Bailsibub

I should have stated that the 2-minute intervals wouldn't be at his VO2 max power. They would be done at a higher power. I left that out. Thanks for getting me back on the subject.

By the way, Rmur, are you a rider from the Washington, DC area?

bing181

1. What intensity relative to FT are you riding these intervals at?

FT is 240W (no laughing ... I'm a lightweight!). These I do at 270W

2. What happens with the volume of other stuff, threshold tempo, L2?

Not much! I do these on the trainer, so I get my longer/hilly ride on the weekend, plus perhaps one other 2 hour "spin" ride. I usually do a block of 3, then a day or two off, then another one or two. Compared to 5 x 5's I find them much more manageable, but my understanding is that they are long enough to be working VO2 systems.

3. How many weeks before target races do you do vo2max workouts?

I don't race. I throw in a week or two of these to break up L4 work once in a while.

4. What sort of improvement gains do you see?

Hard to say. Power is on my Tacx Flow. But ... I have a couple of regular loops I do and am definitely getting faster .. whether it's these or my regular diet of L4, can't say. Will test FT again in a couple of weeks.

Subplot here is that I do hilly century/event rides, where the hills are short and sharp. I figure 4-5 minute intervals are near the top of the list of what I need to be working on.

B

rmur17

DC - no I'm afraid I'm around 2000 km NE of there ;-)

St John's, NL, Canada 47° 37' N 52° 45' W

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rmur