How Should I Feel Post-Interval?



jamester

New Member
Jan 11, 2005
5
0
0
Recently I started to do LT and vo2 intervals. I space out my intervals with at least one rest/recovery day in between and I recover between intervals with at least a 1:1 ratio (15 min int. 15 min recover).

My question pertains to how much pain I should be feeling at the end of an LT and vo2 interval. I have found gearings that I can pedal at around 90 rpm for either 15ish minutes or about 4 minutes. For about the first quarter of both intervals the resistance feels good and for the last minute or two of both intervals I pretty much just will myself on until I can will no more :eek: .

Is this the proper way to do intervals or should I take it a little easier?

Thanks ;)
 
jamester said:
... much pain I should be feeling at the end of an LT and vo2 interval ...
I reckon the pain you feel is a bit irrelevant. What matters is whether you have been working in the desired zone or not.

The first VO2 or LT effort probably should not hurt much (or at all). In my first 4 minute VO2 effort I'm always pretty comfortable. From the third on, though, it's a different story.

Have you tested and calculated your zones correctly ? There is lots of stuff on this site (and easily found) that suggests how you can test yourself ... or recommends that you get formally tested.

There is also some good stuff about what the different zones should feel like.

And then - in a perfect world - you could get a power meter !

Regards, MJH
 
I have never heard of a 15 minute interval before that sounds more like a hard steady maximum sustained effort. I think you would need shorter intervals to get above that effort in order to improve but I'm not an expert so any experts out there please chime in.
 
I do all of my intervals (L4-L7) at a pace that represents about 90% of my max power for that duration. With adequate recovery (~0.30:1 for LT and ~1.1:1 for VO2MAX), you should be able to do repeats without ever feeling you're going all out. I think intervals done at one's max power (i.e., all out) for a given duration are unnecessarily stressful and it's not clear to me that they result in any greater improvement in power.
 

Similar threads