Vo2 Max Sessions

[BILLYHOLMES]

[SIZE= medium]After several weeks of doing 2 x 20 minutes I think I should have a crack at some VO2 Max sessions – I obviously know these are going to be difficult and I’m wondering if I should start with 5 x 3 minutes or should it be 5 x 5 minutes? I’m asking this as during the 2 x 20’s I’m nearly at full gas and know how much each minute hurts so doing 5 minutes at a pace higher than that is quite daunting – anyways, any help would be appreciated. [/SIZE]

[SIZE= medium]Bill[/SIZE]

 

[gudujarlson]

I think anything between 3 and 10 minutes will work. Try to average about 90% of your max power for the duration. Start out slow and build up the intensity rather than going too hard at first. You'll figure out the pacing after a few iterations.

 

[tomw1974]

10 minutes is a little too long for VO2max intervals. They are a bare minimum of 3 minutes up to an absolute maximum of 8 minutes. The most common workouts are between 3 and 5 minutes.

The reason you cannot imagine going harder is because you have 20 minutes to worry about.Worrying about 5 minutes is much much shorter. The power output is not THAT much higher, usually only about 5% higher. As Gudujarlson pointed out, 90% of your best power for the duration is a good target to aim for.

Remember that the goal is to actually complete the interval at the target power, not start out too hot and fade. If you drop more than 10%, you are just doing 5 minutes at threshold and not gaining the VO2 max benefit.

 

[tomw1974]

10 minutes is a little too long for VO2max intervals. They are a bare minimum of 3 minutes up to an absolute maximum of 8 minutes. The most common workouts are between 3 and 5 minutes.

The reason you cannot imagine going harder is because you have 20 minutes to worry about.Worrying about 5 minutes is much much shorter. The power output is not THAT much higher, usually only about 5% higher. As Gudujarlson pointed out, 90% of your best power for the duration is a good target to aim for.

Remember that the goal is to actually complete the interval at the target power, not start out too hot and fade. If you drop more than 10%, you are just doing 5 minutes at threshold and not gaining the VO2 max benefit.

 

[BILLYHOLMES]

Thanks guys that makes it clear.
Bill.

 

[BILLYHOLMES]

[SIZE= 10pt][COLOR= black]What are the thoughts here, they talk about and interval of 30secs instead of 5mins... I would be interested in opinions – the effort obviously is more intense than 5 x 5mins in the shot term however,(allegedly) it may give more bang for your buck and it his seems easier time wise......?? Incidentally, I can’t seem to do more than 2 x 5min intervals because I find that I’m settling into my usual 2 x 20min pace so I get despondent and revert to those intervals…. Omg I hate/love this sport!![/COLOR][/SIZE]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYLwdT1UuaI

 

[tomw1974]

Great workout, different energy system. The classic 30-second on/off interval trains anaerobic capacity.