L5 Efforts, How do you...



Porkyboy

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Apr 28, 2006
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Hi

I'm going to retart doing some L5 work having read some of the wisdom and the approach of RapDaddyO. I'm going to test what wattage I can just hold for 5 minutes and then do five 4 minute efforts at that wattage and see how that feels, to make sure that when I'm doing the effort I am genuinely working at my L5 power level.

My question is when you start each of your L5 efforts do you raise the power steadily over say a minute and then hold it for the 4 minutes or do you roll along and then when the time comes just go immediately up to L5 and hang on? :eek: Just seems that going from say 175W up to say 350W over a few seconds might be a bad start to the effort!

Just wanting to know what the perceived wisdom on this is!

Thanks.

PBUK
 
Porkyboy said:
Hi

I'm going to retart doing some L5 work having read some of the wisdom and the approach of RapDaddyO. I'm going to test what wattage I can just hold for 5 minutes and then do five 4 minute efforts at that wattage and see how that feels, to make sure that when I'm doing the effort I am genuinely working at my L5 power level.

My question is when you start each of your L5 efforts do you raise the power steadily over say a minute and then hold it for the 4 minutes or do you roll along and then when the time comes just go immediately up to L5 and hang on? :eek: Just seems that going from say 175W up to say 350W over a few seconds might be a bad start to the effort!

Just wanting to know what the perceived wisdom on this is!

Thanks.

PBUK

After a warmup, you go straight to the wattage you intend to do - say 350watts and hold it for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes rest (maybe spinning at low wattage), go again.

Some people for example will do 4 x5 @ the same watts. I find this very hard, so my first interval will be - say 340watts. The next 2 at 360W and then go for broke in the last interval @370W for as long as I can hold it.
Tyson
 
Porkyboy said:
My question is when you start each of your L5 efforts do you raise the power steadily over say a minute and then hold it for the 4 minutes or do you roll along and then when the time comes just go immediately up to L5 and hang on? :eek: Just seems that going from say 175W up to say 350W over a few seconds might be a bad start to the effort!

PBUK
Just go for it. It's not that bad as it sounds like. I know what you mean, I am always a bit nervous before L5 workouts; can I do it, is it going to hurt bad
redface.gif
? But first 30-60 secs even 2 minutes in couple of first intervals do not feel hard at all. It's the end of the last ones that are really killing.
 
frost said:
But first 30-60 secs even 2 minutes in couple of first intervals do not feel hard at all.
When I do L5 intervals..the first 60 sec. is hard..and the last 2 minutes (of a 3 min. interval) is REALLY hard. And, at the end of 4x3s I feel like puking..but then again, I'm not used to doing them..maybe once a month or so. THEY SUCK!
 
Porkyboy said:
Just seems that going from say 175W up to say 350W over a few seconds might be a bad start to the effort!
Nawww... you can do that in 1-2 pedal strokes. As the others have said, it's later when your heartrate and breathing catch up that you'll start to feel it.

Enjoy! :)
 
Personally, I ease into mine. I'll take anywhere from 30-60 secs (depending on rep length) to reach my desired wattage on the first rep, and then adjust the averages of the remaining reps so my final set average is what I wanted. This way I don't start off too high.

The first ALWAYS hurts the most. Thereafter, my pain tolerance has set in and they still hurt but definitely not as much as that first one...
 
Porkyboy said:
Hi

I'm going to retart doing some L5 work having read some of the wisdom and the approach of RapDaddyO. I'm going to test what wattage I can just hold for 5 minutes and then do five 4 minute efforts at that wattage and see how that feels, to make sure that when I'm doing the effort I am genuinely working at my L5 power level.

My question is when you start each of your L5 efforts do you raise the power steadily over say a minute and then hold it for the 4 minutes or do you roll along and then when the time comes just go immediately up to L5 and hang on? :eek: Just seems that going from say 175W up to say 350W over a few seconds might be a bad start to the effort!

Just wanting to know what the perceived wisdom on this is!

Thanks.

PBUK
For a L5 sesson I do a good warm up for 20 mins with gradually increasing intensity and then straight up to power and hold it steady for 5 mins then 5 mins spinning a low power for recovery and then repeat 3 more times.

Generally the first interval feels OK throughout and then it gets harder on each subsequent one. If the first one was so hard that it was only just possible to finish then I know there'd be no way I could complete the whole session.

Neil
 
Warm up well and get in amongst it. Taking a minute to get up to desired wattage in a 4 or 5 minute interval means you may as well call it a 3 or 4 minute interval. Warm up for 15 or 20 minutes then build up the revs over a few seconds. Then wait for the hurt.

I presume you're doing this to get fitter in races or give your weekend ride buddies a hard time. Do you ask attacking riders if they wouldn't mind building up to their attack over a minute, or do you jump instantly and grit your teeth?

It's not supposed to be easy!
 
i do 1 minute at the interval power towards the end of my warmup, just to get the legs used to the torque that's going to come when the first interval starts, then just go straight into it.
 
I have two related questions:

1) How often would you do VO2Max intervals if the goal was to perform well in a 2-3 hours mass start race?

2) Perhaps a stupid question, but does training at level 5 help you when you are not racing at level 5? I'm asking because looking at the graphs from my races, L5 is the level I ride the least in. I don't know if that's unusual, but I actual ride more in L6 than L5?
 
koger said:
2) Perhaps a stupid question, but does training at level 5 help you when you are not racing at level 5? I'm asking because looking at the graphs from my races, L5 is the level I ride the least in. I don't know if that's unusual, but I actual ride more in L6 than L5?
I would take into consideration some of the time spent at threshold is a part contribution of VO2/L5 training. Some L5 work is needed to maximise threshold gains and it will encourage a peak in performance so I would think that even if you don't spent chunks of time in your vo2 zone during a race, you can attribute some of you threshold ability/-or time spent within- to your vo2 work.
 
koger said:
2) Perhaps a stupid question, but does training at level 5 help you when you are not racing at level 5? I'm asking because looking at the graphs from my races, L5 is the level I ride the least in.
Not stupid, the answer is yes. Above L5, your aerobic engine is still maxed out and any additional needs are supplied by anaerobic sources. So, even when you're in L6, you're still using all your aerobic engine to the fullest (or, at least it's ramping up, depending on the duration), so you could also think of it as L5+ if it helped. In any case, your L5 training is helping to reduce the amount of additional supplementation that is required during those race efforts.

koger said:
I don't know if that's unusual, but I actual ride more in L6 than L5?
Not unusual, unless your ride is comprised of several steady-effort 3-5 minute hills or pursuits.
 
Porkyboy said:
Hi

I'm going to retart doing some L5 work having read some of the wisdom and the approach of RapDaddyO. I'm going to test what wattage I can just hold for 5 minutes and then do five 4 minute efforts at that wattage and see how that feels, to make sure that when I'm doing the effort I am genuinely working at my L5 power level.

My question is when you start each of your L5 efforts do you raise the power steadily over say a minute and then hold it for the 4 minutes or do you roll along and then when the time comes just go immediately up to L5 and hang on? :eek: Just seems that going from say 175W up to say 350W over a few seconds might be a bad start to the effort!

Just wanting to know what the perceived wisdom on this is!

Thanks.

PBUK
The warmup is the key. A gentle 5 minute spin isn't going to cut it - a 10 minute warm up steadily increasing to almost "full gas" will. That said, I wouldn't just hammer from the get go on the L5 efforts either. You never saw Boardman starting a 5km effort at full gas even when setting world records, start pretty hard and quickly roll on the effort and get to the desired point around 15 seconds.
 
swampy1970 said:
You never saw Boardman starting a 5km effort at full gas even when setting world records, start pretty hard and quickly roll on the effort and get to the desired point around 15 seconds.
I dunno... the power put out at the start of a pursuit/prologue is usually above the average for that period because you need to get up to speed.
 
Jono L said:
I dunno... the power put out at the start of a pursuit/prologue is usually above the average for that period because you need to get up to speed.
There are probably many on this forum who actually know what elite pursuiters put out in the start. With just common sense I would assume the first 15 secs is very high watts.
 
frost said:
There are probably many on this forum who actually know what elite pursuiters put out in the start. With just common sense I would assume the first 15 secs is very high watts.
It is but typically not the maximum such a rider is capable of. The first 5-6 seconds it is OK to go very hard, then the acceleration phase through to about 15 sec mark is solid but not usually maximal. At that point you should pretty well be up to the desired pace and it is essential one doesn't attempt to accelerate much beyond that.
 
Alex Simmons said:
It is but typically not the maximum such a rider is capable of. The first 5-6 seconds it is OK to go very hard...(cut)

No,not maximum,but the original question was if one should ease up the power in L5 intervals and in comparision to that I assume the pursuiters go out very hard (simply to get the bike moving at all with that gear) and especially those 5-6 secs they go way over the average of the whole pursuit?
 

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