Training Ratios L2:SST & L2:L4

vladav

Well so far SST & L4 work has produced some encouaging results since November.
My thanks to all the SST advocates and coaches on the board.

So now that I overtrained a bit I'm going back to basics with L2 because I'm having trouble maintaining SST & L4 wattages. (The over training was semi-intentional to take advantage of a 4day/5day/5day back to back weekends; sigh)

So I'm wondering what all the SST guys have to say about mix ratios of L2 with SST. For me and I'm sure for others, all-SST all-the-time is a bit much.


Thanks!
Dave

daveryanwyoming

Dave,
I think it depends in part on how you define SST. I don't do a full week of the 88-94% variety originally described in Hunter and Coggan's book but do quite well with a broader definition starting around 80% and going up from there. But in the end you can only do what you can do. If SST reaching down into the Tempo range is leaving you too tired or mentally burned out to train then by all means drop some workouts down to a more reasonable range. In the end long term training consistency is the most important thing. The "perfect" training intensity is useless if you burn out after a few weeks or months and hang the bike up.

Personally when things start to feel tough or life throws some other stresses into the mix I cut out the L4 work first and then move towards lower end SST work performed in longer continuous intervals. If I'm still too fried mentally or physically then I take some extra rest days or do some other activity for a while. I can only speak for myself but I didn't need to back off to indoor L2 work last winter and haven't yet this winter. But everybody's different and everyone reacts to stress differently so listen to your body and do what you need to do to stick with your training for the long run. In the end sticking with your program will do more good than hitting the perfect intensity only to burn out and detrain.

Good luck,
Dave

frenchyge

It's all a spectrum, so where you draw the lines is a bit academic. Likewise, a ride doesn't have to be all L2 or all L3. If you're feeling burned then consider trading some intensity for duration and just do what feels like a moderate effort on that day. If you feel like pushing up a climb or along a headwind section during a L2 ride then go for it, or if you want to dial down the intensity then add 30 minutes to the ride.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's easy to ride SST by feel, and that I don't typically look at ratios or even levels when my focus is SST. Mix it up.