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Statements in triathlon book
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lassekk
Apr 25, 18 3:21
Post #1 of 8 (1373 views)
I have read quite a few different books covering the topic of triathlon, the newest one being "the triathlon training book" by James Beckinsale.

But some of the statements in the book are simply so far off my general understanding of triathlon that i just had to get some clarity. Am i lacking knowledge or is the book misguiding? Searching the author on the internet he seems like a very high profile tri coach, which would make one believe the most basic things are correct.

1) "Vo2max bike session: Target FTP 100-103 % of FTP."
I cant get my head around this, searching the web i see higher values and e.g. TrainerRoad i believe have them in the range of 110-130% of FTP.

2) "Aerodynamics only come into play at speeds of more than 40km/h (25miles/h).
This one seems even more far reached, it's not put into the context of "untill you master all diciplines there is no reason to min-max and get e.g. ceramic bearings/pedal weight/which aerohelmet is best for your position". But more like a universal truth.
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Re: Statements in triathlon book [lassekk] [ In reply to ]
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Ai_1
Apr 25, 18 4:21
Post #2 of 8 (1309 views)
Statement 1 is not what's generally considered optimum. Most VO2max sessions I've seen prescribed by individual coaches, Zwift, British Cycling, and other STers, are built around efforts in the 105-130%FTP range. I typically use 112-125%. I'm not an expert on this but his statement doesn't match what I've seen from those I think are.

Statement 2 is just plain wrong. And I consider myself expert enough in that area to state that emphatically.
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Re: Statements in triathlon book [lassekk] [ In reply to ]
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tuckandgo
Apr 25, 18 4:28
Post #3 of 8 (1291 views)
lassekk wrote:
I have read quite a few different books covering the topic of triathlon, the newest one being "the triathlon training book" by James Beckinsale.

But some of the statements in the book are simply so far off my general understanding of triathlon that i just had to get some clarity. Am i lacking knowledge or is the book misguiding? Searching the author on the internet he seems like a very high profile tri coach, which would make one believe the most basic things are correct.

1) "Vo2max bike session: Target FTP 100-103 % of FTP."
I cant get my head around this, searching the web i see higher values and e.g. TrainerRoad i believe have them in the range of 110-130% of FTP.

2) "Aerodynamics only come into play at speeds of more than 40km/h (25miles/h).
This one seems even more far reached, it's not put into the context of "untill you master all diciplines there is no reason to min-max and get e.g. ceramic bearings/pedal weight/which aerohelmet is best for your position". But more like a universal truth.

To give the benefit of the doubt/play devils advocate.

- As part of a volume heavy IM programme you might keep 'VO2Max' intervals at 103% of FTP in order to allow recovery - if you did them at 120% of FTP if might lead to overtraining.

- aerodynamics come into play much earlier than that (laws of physics!) but it may mean that it's not worth concentrating on. Although he may have changed his tune Brett Sutton (famously) said that women shouldn't use disc wheels as they don't go fast enough - given their poor bike handling, and that aero helmets shouldn't be used as over heating outweighs any aero benefits at triathlon speeds.
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Re: Statements in triathlon book [lassekk] [ In reply to ]
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iamuwere
Apr 25, 18 5:13
Post #4 of 8 (1228 views)
https://goo.gl/images/EsyCj3
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Re: Statements in triathlon book [tuckandgo] [ In reply to ]
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lassekk
Apr 25, 18 5:17
Post #5 of 8 (1211 views)
tuckandgo wrote:
lassekk wrote:
I have read quite a few different books covering the topic of triathlon, the newest one being "the triathlon training book" by James Beckinsale.

But some of the statements in the book are simply so far off my general understanding of triathlon that i just had to get some clarity. Am i lacking knowledge or is the book misguiding? Searching the author on the internet he seems like a very high profile tri coach, which would make one believe the most basic things are correct.

1) "Vo2max bike session: Target FTP 100-103 % of FTP."
I cant get my head around this, searching the web i see higher values and e.g. TrainerRoad i believe have them in the range of 110-130% of FTP.

2) "Aerodynamics only come into play at speeds of more than 40km/h (25miles/h).
This one seems even more far reached, it's not put into the context of "untill you master all diciplines there is no reason to min-max and get e.g. ceramic bearings/pedal weight/which aerohelmet is best for your position". But more like a universal truth.


To give the benefit of the doubt/play devils advocate.

- As part of a volume heavy IM programme you might keep 'VO2Max' intervals at 103% of FTP in order to allow recovery - if you did them at 120% of FTP if might lead to overtraining.

- aerodynamics come into play much earlier than that (laws of physics!) but it may mean that it's not worth concentrating on. Although he may have changed his tune Brett Sutton (famously) said that women shouldn't use disc wheels as they don't go fast enough - given their poor bike handling, and that aero helmets shouldn't be used as over heating outweighs any aero benefits at triathlon speeds.

I believe the book is for triathlon of all distances, and if he meant 100-103% in season and higher off season i would expect him to write it/widen the interval.
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Re: Statements in triathlon book [iamuwere] [ In reply to ]
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Ai_1
Apr 25, 18 5:44
Post #6 of 8 (1153 views)
iamuwere wrote:
https://goo.gl/images/EsyCj3
Well said
Quote Reply
Re: Statements in triathlon book [lassekk] [ In reply to ]
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tuckandgo
Apr 25, 18 6:00
Post #7 of 8 (1117 views)
lassekk wrote:
tuckandgo wrote:
lassekk wrote:
I have read quite a few different books covering the topic of triathlon, the newest one being "the triathlon training book" by James Beckinsale.

But some of the statements in the book are simply so far off my general understanding of triathlon that i just had to get some clarity. Am i lacking knowledge or is the book misguiding? Searching the author on the internet he seems like a very high profile tri coach, which would make one believe the most basic things are correct.

1) "Vo2max bike session: Target FTP 100-103 % of FTP."
I cant get my head around this, searching the web i see higher values and e.g. TrainerRoad i believe have them in the range of 110-130% of FTP.

2) "Aerodynamics only come into play at speeds of more than 40km/h (25miles/h).
This one seems even more far reached, it's not put into the context of "untill you master all diciplines there is no reason to min-max and get e.g. ceramic bearings/pedal weight/which aerohelmet is best for your position". But more like a universal truth.


To give the benefit of the doubt/play devils advocate.

- As part of a volume heavy IM programme you might keep 'VO2Max' intervals at 103% of FTP in order to allow recovery - if you did them at 120% of FTP if might lead to overtraining.

- aerodynamics come into play much earlier than that (laws of physics!) but it may mean that it's not worth concentrating on. Although he may have changed his tune Brett Sutton (famously) said that women shouldn't use disc wheels as they don't go fast enough - given their poor bike handling, and that aero helmets shouldn't be used as over heating outweighs any aero benefits at triathlon speeds.


I believe the book is for triathlon of all distances, and if he meant 100-103% in season and higher off season i would expect him to write it/widen the interval.

So what you really want is for us to agree with you that the author is wrong. Pffffffff
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Re: Statements in triathlon book [lassekk] [ In reply to ]
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DJFaithful
Apr 25, 18 14:22
Post #8 of 8 (943 views)
lassekk wrote:
I have read quite a few different books covering the topic of triathlon, the newest one being "the triathlon training book" by James Beckinsale.



1) "Vo2max bike session: Target FTP 100-103 % of FTP."
I cant get my head around this, searching the web i see higher values and e.g. TrainerRoad i believe have them in the range of 110-130% of FTP.

Assuming the author's point is to actually improve VO2max with his VO2max sessions, I'd love to see any research study that has shown significant VO2max gains by cycling at FTP.
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