Value of 10 minute intervals

[BullGod]

Unable to make it to a crit yesterday die to snow, I decided to indulge my lust for pain on the trainer.

Ended up doing 10 mins on / 10 mins off x 6 with each "on" at as close to 350w as I could hold it. FTP is currently around 330-335.

This was hard. especially after a 2 hour "am I gonna make it to the crit or am I gonna turn back, yep I'm gonna turn back" outdoor ride in 2 degrees and snow, hail etc.

Have previously read that 10 mins is a bit "neither here nor there" in so much as it is too long for a V02 max interval, but too short for pure threshold.

However, I did find that it hurt a lot (no pain, no gain) and that my HR was actually in the V02 max zone for most of the interval, especially the second half.

I'm also wondering if shorter blocks above FTP can help drag it up, rather than 20mins at 95% etc.

any thoughts?

 

[Alex Simmons]

Unable to make it to a crit yesterday die to snow, I decided to indulge my lust for pain on the trainer.

Ended up doing 10 mins on / 10 mins off x 6 with each "on" at as close to 350w as I could hold it. FTP is currently around 330-335.

This was hard. especially after a 2 hour "am I gonna make it to the crit or am I gonna turn back, yep I'm gonna turn back" outdoor ride in 2 degrees and snow, hail etc.

Have previously read that 10 mins is a bit "neither here nor there" in so much as it is too long for a V02 max interval, but too short for pure threshold.

However, I did find that it hurt a lot (no pain, no gain) and that my HR was actually in the V02 max zone for most of the interval, especially the second half.

I'm also wondering if shorter blocks above FTP can help drag it up, rather than 20mins at 95% etc.

any thoughts?

Sometimes it helps to ride above FTP to improve it, so no issue there.

"At some point, you have to increase the power" - Andy Coggan

Overall your indoor effort was 2hrs with an IF of ~ 0.9 (NP 295W) and 160 TSS (I assumed ~ 150W during rest intervals). That's a pretty solid 2hrs, bang in the sweetspot.

 

[frenchyge]

I'm also wondering if shorter blocks above FTP can help drag it up, rather than 20mins at 95% etc.

Sure, also known as the pull up approach, as opposed to push up.

No matter how you slice it up, it all comes down to how much aerobic training stress the body is made to endure, and what it is capable of adapting to.

 

[Piotr]

I rather "enjoy" 6 x 10 min (10 min "off" @ L2) on occassion, though I don't push more than 5-10 W over FTP. Like Alex and Frenchy said, pull up the FTP while putting in a solid SST ride.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

....Have previously read that 10 mins is a bit "neither here nor there" in so much as it is too long for a V02 max interval, but too short for pure threshold....

10 minutes is the generally accepted minimum for L4 work. It's not too short although many folks feel you get a bit better training with longer efforts even if you have to back off a bit. I agree with the posts above, it's a good "pull up" L4 effort and nothing wrong with it especially if you have the tenacity to accumulate as much time in level as you managed. Good effort!

-Dave