I’m very new to power meter based training. Like 2-3 weeks and 8-10 rides. Never really done intervals on the bike before. So my question is when you guys or gals set out to do say a 10 minute interval in power zone 4 how hard is it to stay in that zone? For me it seems like the higher the zone the harder it is to stay in that zone. When I check the average afterwards it’s always in the correct zone so the majority of the times spent is within the correct zone.
And I should mention I’m a very small male rider that weights 115. So my FTP power isn’t that of a big guy so my zone windows are also smaller.
for example try to hold your 5 min wattage for 6 mins… the first moin or two will be fine… then it’ll become harder… min 4 is going to be pretty dire minuite 5 you going to be giving everything… minute 6 is not going to happen, well not yet anyway…
Yes. I have a stages and when I watch the display real time and 3sec avg its hard to keep it steady within 20 watts or so. The road conditions, meeting cars, cars passing from behind affect the number way more than I would have expected. And the slightest change in pedal stroke also. I think part of it is me watching it so much cause it’s new. So when I see it drop a little I tend to over shoot to get back. But I’m getting better. Defiantly a fun tool.
Easiest way is to do a true FTP test and then try riding at power zones based on that.
Using Trainerroad makes this mindlessly simple if you can swing it. Anything threshold or above range feels pretty hard. Not crushingly hard, but hard enough that you typically would gladly stop the moment someone offered you the chance, but not so hard that you feel like you’ll die in the next few minutes.
I’m very new to power meter based training. Like 2-3 weeks and 8-10 rides. Never really done intervals on the bike before. So my question is when you guys or gals set out to do say a 10 minute interval in power zone 4 how hard is it to stay in that zone? For me it seems like the higher the zone the harder it is to stay in that zone. When I check the average afterwards it’s always in the correct zone so the majority of the times spent is within the correct zone.
And I should mention I’m a very small male rider that weights 115. So my FTP power isn’t that of a big guy so my zone windows are also smaller.
Thanks
For me, ten minutes in Zone 4 is a very hard effort. I can always pull it off, and I typically do it 2 or occasionally 3 times in a hard workout, but there is an internal dialogue going on along the long lines of “I can’t hold this, I just can’t”. “Hang in there, you’re almost to the five minute mark”. “This is insane, I hate this”, etc., etc.
As another posted alluded to, I think it is critical do these efforts on the trainer. Too dangerous for me to bury my head at near max effort with all the cars and dogs out there on the roads. There is surely no place within 40 miles of my house where I might expect to be able to ride hard for 10 minutes on good road surfaces and see very little traffic. It can happen, yes, but it’s not something I can count on. Much safer to do these type efforts indoors, and since you can go full gas or whatever without interruption, you’ll see improvement more quickly.
Since Coggan’s P Level 4 corresponds to FTP (91-105% roughly), and FTP could be set based on power you could “routinely” (i.e. not necessarily being fresh) hold in a 2x20min interval session (unlimited rest), I’m wondering if they changed the definition of what this power Level is (so many things seem to have changed whilst I was away). Arrrggg…
Anyway, I’ve developed the bad habit of setting my people’s FTP somewhere in between what they actually tested in a full hour interval, and what the other methods of estimating it yield, IOW it is certainly underset compared to what many people generally do. Set this way though, most serious time trialists (triathletes or cyclists) in my bunch can book the first 20min of the above session without suffering, the first 10min being feeling relatively easy… call it fresh and fruity. They also routinely ride for 60min at 90% of that (which is still L4, but more on the sweet spot side), with 90min being achievable when fresh enough, or really motivated, for most, bests among the bunch being able to routinely go out for 90min at 90% FTP. Again I could be wrong though, power “zones” as you now seem to call levels may have changed.
If the first 5min of an L4 segment brings you close to out of breath, then that feels more like an L5 bout, i.e. one that gets you closer if not spot on max o2 consumption.
If you’re relatively new to the sport, better have your FTP slightly underestimated instead of the opposite. This way it would likely go up faster.
You’re idea of the zones is correct. Anyone who struggles to hit 10 min at z4 is using a different set of zones, is way too tired for L4 training, or has overestimated FTP.
It’s not so much maintaing that level as it is watching the power numbers and keeping them steady in the zone if that makes sense. But I am getting a little smother.
2x20’ with unlimited rest equals FTP? since when? Coggan will say ride for an hour and get your FTP. Allen will say 5’ all out, 10’ off, 20’ all out and take a percentage of that. Friel is what 30’ all out for FTP? Others say 2x20’ with 2’ rest and take the NP of the whole 42’. So I’ve heard lots of ways to set FTP but never intervals with unlimited rest. Your percentages are roughly correct.
I can imagine that it would be difficult to hold a consistent number in L4 while in traffic or out on the road (in my area at least). Even indoors, depending on the equipment, it is hard enough. Until I recently starting using erg mode with the Kickr and TrainerRoad combination I was doing my L4 and higher intensities on eMotion rollers and really struggled to hold it on target. For indoor training on either the eMotion rollers or a fluid KK trainer I had to target 100% FTP for 10 minute intervals in order for it to actually average out to low L4. The variability during that 10 minutes ranged from L5 down to low L4. So even the indoor equipment can sometimes make it difficult to hold in near a certain target. IMO - even with the variability it still beats sitting on the couch by a long shot.
…by the way as a one time skeptic to getting a subscription to TrainerRoad I must say I absolutely love this combination between the Kickr / TR. I was wrong to be a skeptic and now I can see why a lot of people give it good remarks.
Determining power zones is a function of power output - time - maximum HR during field test. One may be discounting their true zone power if its based on perceived effort.