List your "tough" L4 weeks?

Quadsweep said:

When focusing on L4 for a block of weeks what do you consider a "tough" week?

Days of specific L4 work, L4 days done "in a row", minutes at L4 per day, "other" minutes/hours per day, other riding during the week, days off or recovery rides etc etc

Please include your FTP.

Mond.tues.wed. L4/L5, Wed L3, Fri.sat sund. L4/L5 :eek:
This week:

Tues. tss 99- if .917- Np 287 - 1:10hr -LT 42'/60% -302 w.avg

Wes. tss 102.1-if .928-NP 291 -1:12hr -LT 45'/62% -305 w. avg

Turs. tss 109.2-if .98 -NP 307 -1:10hr- LT47'/68%L5 11' -Hour of power 313 w. avg

Fri. tss 76 - if.803- NP265 - 1;20hr-L3

Sat. will do w/o later today - 2:00hrs-L3 75'(250/285 w.) L4 30'(300/330w)
L5 3 X 3'

Sun. off
Warm up and warm down are not entered in w/o
Every week's are very much the same ,for recovery week (when needed/) same intensity but a day off every other day.

FTP ,for this week 313 watts ,last week 310 watts 🙂,Musher

Quadsweep said:

When focusing on L4 for a block of weeks what do you consider a "tough" week?

Days of specific L4 work, L4 days done "in a row", minutes at L4 per day, "other" minutes/hours per day, other riding during the week, days off or recovery rides etc etc

Please include your FTP.

I am riding Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for a total of 7-8 hrs/wk (all indoors.)🙁 No other rides at this point. FTP 335w, 74 kg.

Tuesday-1.5 hr ride averaging ~93% FT, w/ ~30' @100-105% FT

Thursday-2 hr ride averaging ~87% FT, w/ ~60' @ 91% FT

Saturday-3 hr ride averaging ~85% FT (steady pace)

Sunday-1 hr to 1.5 hr ride w/ various 2x20, 4x12, over/under, etc. averaging 102-105% FT for the work intervals.

Last week I did 8284 kJ in 7:50, including warm-ups/cool-downs. I have lost ~2.5 kg, and gained ~10w @ FT. FTP is up from 4.27 w/kg to 4.53 w/kg in the last 5 weeks.🙂

musher said:

Mond.tues.wed. L4/L5, Wed L3, Fri.sat sund. L4/L5 :eek:
This week:

Tues. tss 99- if .917- Np 287 - 1:10hr -LT 42'/60% -302 w.avg

Wes. tss 102.1-if .928-NP 291 -1:12hr -LT 45'/62% -305 w. avg

Turs. tss 109.2-if .98 -NP 307 -1:10hr- LT47'/68%L5 11' -Hour of power 313 w. avg

Fri. tss 76 - if.803- NP265 - 1;20hr-L3

Sat. will do w/o later today - 2:00hrs-L3 75'(250/285 w.) L4 30'(300/330w)
L5 3 X 3'

Sun. off
Warm up and warm down are not entered in w/o
Every week's are very much the same ,for recovery week (when needed/) same intensity but a day off every other day.

FTP ,for this week 313 watts ,last week 310 watts 🙂,Musher

Musher.....how the heck are you doing this in eastern Washington state in the winter? Is most if not all of this done on a trainer? Maybe a mountain bike outside on the road?

Tough training Musher!

postal_bag said:

I am riding Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for a total of 7-8 hrs/wk (all indoors.)🙁 No other rides at this point. FTP 335w, 74 kg.

Tuesday-1.5 hr ride averaging ~93% FT, w/ ~30' @100-105% FT

Thursday-2 hr ride averaging ~87% FT, w/ ~60' @ 91% FT

Saturday-3 hr ride averaging ~85% FT (steady pace)

Sunday-1 hr to 1.5 hr ride w/ various 2x20, 4x12, over/under, etc. averaging 102-105% FT for the work intervals.

Last week I did 8284 kJ in 7:50, including warm-ups/cool-downs. I have lost ~2.5 kg, and gained ~10w @ FT. FTP is up from 4.27 w/kg to 4.53 w/kg in the last 5 weeks.🙂

3hrs inside... holy [censored]!!! 2hrs is my limit... 3hrs, now that's commitment! is that one session or do you split it?

the only thing i would ask is don't you think it would be better to swap you saturday and sunday rides... i'm convinced of the LeMond-Guimard recomendation of allway putting shorter higher intensity days before longer lower intensity days... first of all it's just always easier to do a longer, lower intensity day after a higher intensity day and also you're high intensity workout is going to be of higher quality after a rest day or after less consecutive days workouts... you don't need to be fresh in order to do long low intensity... anyway, i find that works well.

doctorSpoc said:

3hrs inside... holy [censored]!!! 2hrs is my limit... 3hrs, now that's commitment! is that one session or do you split it?

the only thing i would ask is don't you think it would be better to swap you saturday and sunday rides... i'm convinced of the LeMond-Guimard recomendation of allway putting shorter higher intensity days before longer lower intensity days... first of all it's just always easier to do a longer, lower intensity day after a higher intensity day and also you're high intensity workout is going to be of higher quality after a rest day or after less consecutive days workouts... you don't need to be fresh in order to do long low intensity... anyway, i find that works well.

Yes, that's 3 hrs in one session. You may be right about swapping the saturday and sunday rides, but with my approach I am finding that tuesdays are my breakthrough days. I find the shorter sunday ride easier to recover from than the saturday ride (3hr @ 85% is hard for me) and I am usually "chomping at the bit" by tuesday.

doctorSpoc said:

the only thing i would ask is don't you think it would be better to swap you saturday and sunday rides... i'm convinced of the LeMond-Guimard recomendation of allway putting shorter higher intensity days before longer lower intensity days...

YA, that's a very good point and I agree. SWAP Saturday and Sunday's rides. The Lemond approach to scheduling training days is best, going form most intense work to least intense work before taking a rest or recovery day. However, you can do 2-3 days of the same intensity(ie L4) followed by1-3 days off or recovery riding with good results(block training) as long as you take the time off or recovery rides so you can recover. David Morris(Block training guru) also recommends doing a little less "volume" of the same type of training in each successive day in a block before taking time off but personally I think you can go by "feel" on this.

I think with your limited days you would see better results doing this>>>
Remember training on the trainer, especially when doing L3 and up, is generally more efficient than training on the road so you can get away with less total time (...constant pressure....no tail winds...no traffic lights etc etc.)

You should be sprinting year round.

Saturday...Crank down the tension on your trainer and do a 10-15 second sprint every 3-4 minutes for 30 minutes. Then do L4(98-100% FTP)....3X20. 2 hours total with warm up. Do sections of 10 minutes at various cadences from 80 to 105 or so.

Sunday....L4...2X20 and then 30 minutes L3. Total 1.5 hours. Choose a cadence you like best.

Monday...off

Tuesday..3X20 L4(98-100% FTP)then 30 minutes L3. Cadence 100-105. Total time 2 hours

Wednesday off.

Thursday..3X 15 (100% FTP) with bike up about 6 degrees. Cadence 85 and then 30 minutes L3. Total time 1.5 hours.

Total time for the week....7 good quality hours and this would be more effective than the 15- 20 hours per week that many guys do.

Starting Feb 1 start doing some L5 work one day a week BEFORE the L4 work...perhaps Sunday. You may need to drop the L3 work on that day.

When doing the L5 listen to this he he he....

Read the articles on this great web site! They follow the Lemond approach, which is a great(best?) way to train without drugs.
http://www.cycle-smart.com/

🙂

postal_bag said:

Yes, that's 3 hrs in one session. You may be right about swapping the saturday and sunday rides, but with my approach I am finding that tuesdays are my breakthrough days. I find the shorter sunday ride easier to recover from than the saturday ride (3hr @ 85% is hard for me) and I am usually "chomping at the bit" by tuesday.

sounds something like my own fav. SST schedule 🙂. I try to get outdoors when I can and Saturday is our traditional longish group ride day here. So I stick to that over the winter as well and so something shorter & harder on Sunday. It seems a little backward but has worked well for me.

In addition, if you have a race or test or key workout on Tuesday - if you want to - you can lighten Sunday's workout. Alternately use it as a backup in case the weather is better.

FWIW, I tried 3hrs yesterday on the CT and made it to the 2:40 point before calling uncle. I'll get there soon 🙂

Quadsweep said:

When focusing on L4 for a block of weeks what do you consider a "tough" week?

Days of specific L4 work, L4 days done "in a row", minutes at L4 per day, "other" minutes/hours per day, other riding during the week, days off or recovery rides etc etc

Please include your FTP.

[font=Courier New]Mon: Off
Tue: Mid-upper L4 (often split workout, au bloc, TT bike) [/font]
[font=Courier New]Wed: Mid-upper L4[/font]
[font=Courier New]Thu: Tempo usually solo and just steady[/font]
[font=Courier New]Fri: Easy L2[/font]
[font=Courier New]Sat: Hard/long small group tempo+ ride (often with 1+ hrs of sustained L4 with some dodgy L5 🙂)[/font]
[font=Courier New]Sun: Mid L4 (training TT on TT bike)[/font]

Total: 4-6 hrs of L4 at or above FTP, 6-8 hrs L3 ~0.85IF, rest filler

That's in-season when I can ride the TT bike regularly. Pre-season I'd follow the same pattern except performing nearly all my L4 on the CT and the hardest workouts in ergo mode.

TiMan said:

Musher.....how the heck are you doing this in eastern Washington state in the winter? Is most if not all of this done on a trainer? Maybe a mountain bike outside on the road?

Tough training Musher!

Yes, TiMan trainer training only until Feb. .
Here it snow and snow a lot 🙂 ,For my training 6 to 8 hrs weekly on the trainer,

Intensity,intensity,intensity,...

That's my coach talking (2005 /2006 ) Amateur World Champion Hawaii Triathlon.🙂
Musher,

musher said:

Yes, TiMan trainer training only until Feb. .
Here it snow and snow a lot 🙂 ,For my training 6 to 8 hrs weekly on the trainer,

Intensity,intensity,intensity,...

That's my coach talking (2005 /2006 ) Amateur World Champion Hawaii Triathlon.🙂
Musher,

Good work! When you get back to the road it will seem easy Musher...way easier than the death machine(trainer)!...and your FTP will be way up.
😄
Just be careful not to burn out mentally before Spring. 🙂
As a way to get in some very good cross training....for that mental break....try some nordic skiing in the beautiful Cascades. I do believe their is track set skiing at your only 20-30 minutes from Wenatchee.

TiMan said:

Good work! When you get back to the road it will seem easy Musher...way easier than the death machine(trainer)!...and your FTP will be way up.
😄
Just be careful not to burn out mentally before Spring. 🙂
As a way to get in some very good cross training....for that mental break....try some nordic skiing in the beautiful Cascades. I do believe their is track set skiing at your only 20-30 minutes from Wenatchee.

Hi, it 's a little windy in you back of the wood😄 ,yes the nordic ski track is 30' from here ,but my wife and i like snowshoeing 15' from here up Mission Ridge above the ski slopes, great view and w/o.
Do you know "Tyler Farrar" (from wenatchee) i was wondering if you have race with him before he turn " Pro".He is with Cofidis Team know. Spring will be here soon,🙂
Musher,

Be good to see more examples of tough L4 weeks from others.
Don't be shy.[img]cyclingforums.comrolleyes.gifOpen ↗[/img]