Pushed for time?

Anonymous

At the moment I am struggling to even do a half-hour's ride so I thought I'd give Tabata Protocol a go. I'm going to be doing this over the next few weeks and it is supposed to really improve your VO2 max.

Basically, quick warm up of 3 mins, then as many intervals as you can manage of 20s on 10s off absolutely balls out nailing it, 2 minute warm down. Today I managed 4 before my RPM in the same gear went below 100 so stopped it there...

I'll do this three times a week.

There's loads of gubbins on the net about it, we'll see if they work!

I'll measure it using power at FTP which is currently a shameful 240 and peak 1 minute power which is an even more shameful 402...

Lets see how I do!

deal

good luck will be following this thread with interest!

ps. forgot to thankyou for answering my pm about the Saris Bones bike rack, went ahead and bought it, great bit of kit! cheers.

sub55

it might improve your lactate threshold ,but it wont help your vo2 max.

nmcgann

It will be interesting to see the effects of these very intense/maximal efforts as the sole training session. I always thought of them as the icing on the cake to eke out the last tiny fraction of performance when already very fit.

Neil

Anonymous

sub55 wrote:

it might improve your lactate threshold ,but it wont help your vo2 max.

The studies suggest otherwise and that VO2max is exactly what they target. I'll post my numbers each week, see what we find. There will be other riding involved but it will all be steady bimbling, no specific tempo intervals etc. And not much of it.

All intensity will come from the Tabatas.

freehub

I might give this a go tomorrow, if it can improve lactate threshold that's what I want, and I reckon I can go to the max nailing it for 20seconds. Got me all excited now

Anonymous

freehub wrote:

I might give this a go tomorrow, if it can improve lactate threshold that's what I want, and I reckon I can go to the max nailing it for 20seconds. Got me all excited now

Remember - all it is is a warm up for 3 minutes then no more than 4 minutes of sheer hell, then a 2-3 minute cool down on a turbo trainer. Not a 114 mile jaunt.

It is strongly suggested that you do not do these on the road.

a_n_t

and be sure to tell us your average speed for the duration.

freehub

Why is it no good to do it on the roads? Round where I live there is loads of quiet back roads and B roads. I have no turbo and can in no way afford one for the distant future. 10mins ride 3 times a week that actually would promote an improvement in fitness and speed is something I'd like to do on those lazy days.

Anonymous

A link to some info...

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Go-for-Broke-with-Tabata-Intervals.htm

http://www.experiencelifemag.com/issues/march-2008/fit-body/the-tabata-tune-up.html

http://mattfitzgerald.org/blog/?p=50

Anonymous

freehub wrote:

Why is it no good to do it on the roads? Round where I live there is loads of quiet back roads and B roads. I have no turbo and can in no way afford one for the distant future. 10mins ride 3 times a week that actually would promote an improvement in fitness and speed is something I'd like to do on those lazy days.

Because you will be borderline passing out / throwing up.

But hey! When was the last time you followed advice?

freehub

:roll:

I follow plenty of advice.

Anonymous

Anyhoo, I'll post the power figures from the session when I get home (I'm working till 7am) and I'll do the same each time...

hopper1

I decided to have a go at these, earlier in the year, when my free time was tight... I thought that a longer sprint maybe more beneficial to me, so opted for 45 secs, as opposed to your 10/20 secs...
Almost f**kin' killed me!!!! :shock: I was truely bolloxed!
I never went back to it, I chose different interval sessions...

Now, I'm going to look out for your figures and hopefully, I'll start again myself soon, but would like a PowerTap before starting it all again.

freehub, listen to the advice, these intervals will leave you in an unsafe condition on the road!!!

Paul

freehub

I was listning to advice just NapD had to start being clever. I posted before he posted.

Bhima

This is supposed to be incredible for fat loss apparently.

mask of sanity

Bhima wrote:

This is supposed to be incredible for fat loss apparently.

You sure about that? I was under the impression that respiration with fat as the substrate requires lots of oxygen, therefore limiting it's use to aerobic. I doubt this kind of training will come under aerobic respiration.

Although I could be completely wrong!

jibberjim

NapoleonD wrote:

It is strongly suggested that you do not do these on the road.

If I try to nail 20second power on the turbo it jumps around the room. How do you stop that?

Anonymous

jibberjim wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

It is strongly suggested that you do not do these on the road.

If I try to nail 20second power on the turbo it jumps around the room. How do you stop that?

A good turbo!

I remained seated too, max power was lower than max I can get stood up (about 55-50% of what I was getting pre-break stood up when legs worked) but it was still max effort, if you get what I mean.

Anonymous

mask of sanity wrote:

Bhima wrote:

This is supposed to be incredible for fat loss apparently.

You sure about that? I was under the impression that respiration with fat as the substrate requires lots of oxygen, therefore limiting it's use to aerobic. I doubt this kind of training will come under aerobic respiration.

Although I could be completely wrong!

The studies suggest it is good for fat loss due to the boost they give to the metabolism.

I'm around 13kg heavier than I was when I broke my leg so we'll see what happens here too...

Bhima

mask of sanity wrote:

Bhima wrote:

This is supposed to be incredible for fat loss apparently.

You sure about that? I was under the impression that respiration with fat as the substrate requires lots of oxygen, therefore limiting it's use to aerobic. I doubt this kind of training will come under aerobic respiration.

Although I could be completely wrong!

Well, there's a guy at my gym who does a lot of swimming and he told me it's good for losing fat because your body continues to burn fat after it throughout the day, and the intense nature of the workout increases the ammount that you continue to burn. (or something like that, anyway)

Not sure if this is true or not, i've always done the easier "Calories in < Calories out" method to lose fat.

Either way, I wouldn't do these on the road. I did try it on a hill once but had to stop. You'd probably be alright if you increased the recovery time, but that kinda defeats the point of it.

Anonymous

Yesterday's first go, rather than carry on and do more, lower quality, intervals I stopped at the end of the 4th due to power fall off. I remained seated hence the low output. I will try stood up if my leg can take it next time...




Current FTP - 240watts.
Current 1 min best - 402watts (Pre break was 670) This should increase a fair bit as I regain the ability to stand on the pedals properly.
Current 5 sec best - (restricted due to inability to put full power stood up) 944watts. Pre Break was 1308.

I'll weigh myself later and post that too...

MAXTHEDOG

Bhima,

Its known as 'EPOC' Excess post exercise oxygen consumption'.If you google it you'll find loads about it.BTW,the Tabata thrusters work incredibly well as does the whole Tabate thingy.

Regards,

popette

NapoleonD wrote:

I'll measure it using power at FTP which is currently a shameful 240 and peak 1 minute power which is an even more shameful 402...

Lets see how I do!

Hi Alex, I've been reading about your progress since the crash with AWE! Sorry I never managed to make it over for a ride after the leg break - I was either looking after kids or ridiculously focused on L'Etape. I think if we went out for a ride now you'd be waiting for me on the hills again. I should try to organise another social ride in the peaks in the Autumn - the last one was a really enjoyable day out.

Anyway - your peak 1 minute power - is that the avg power you can sustain for 1 min? I did a ramp test, increasing power by 20W every minute and the max I could get to was 300W so your 402 seems amazing from my low level. Ian Cardy - another member of Team C+ and amazing athlete - was around 400W IIRC. Since becoming involved in Team C+ he's gone on to represent GB in Duathlon and is aiming for the Worlds (although this hasn't been mentioned in C+).

I'm thinking of getting my own power meter a bit later on in the year when I return to work and have a bit more cash. Just want to get FASTER!

Good luck with the vomiting

Anonymous

popette wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

I'll measure it using power at FTP which is currently a shameful 240 and peak 1 minute power which is an even more shameful 402...

Lets see how I do!

Hi Alex, I've been reading about your progress since the crash with AWE! Sorry I never managed to make it over for a ride after the leg break - I was either looking after kids or ridiculously focused on L'Etape. I think if we went out for a ride now you'd be waiting for me on the hills again. I should try to organise another social ride in the peaks in the Autumn - the last one was a really enjoyable day out.

Anyway - your peak 1 minute power - is that the avg power you can sustain for 1 min? I did a ramp test, increasing power by 20W every minute and the max I could get to was 300W so your 402 seems amazing from my low level. Ian Cardy - another member of Team C+ and amazing athlete - was around 400W IIRC. Since becoming involved in Team C+ he's gone on to represent GB in Duathlon and is aiming for the Worlds (although this hasn't been mentioned in C+).

I'm thinking of getting my own power meter a bit later on in the year when I return to work and have a bit more cash. Just want to get FASTER!

Good luck with the vomiting

Heh heh, yes, 1 min power is what I can do for 1 minute but I haven't specifically tested it since the break, the 402 is from a normal ride. I should hopefuly get up to 600ish soon. Funnily enough I read your etape blog with awe! Good effort Karen, seriously impressed.

Definitely definitely sort out a ride, I had promised to sort a NapoleonD recovery ride where we rode the route upon which I crashed (pretty similar to the cheshire cat but shorter...)

mask of sanity

Oh yeah, sorry, forgot about fat burning after exercise. Does that mean that for good fat burning you should do either high or low intensity exercise?

nmcgann

popette wrote:

......
Anyway - your peak 1 minute power - is that the avg power you can sustain for 1 min? I did a ramp test, increasing power by 20W every minute and the max I could get to was 300W so your 402 seems amazing from my low level. .....

It's not the same as a ramp to exhaustion though - the cumulative effect of the ramp is massive.

It's much easier to generate high powers going from a rest state, although it does get considerably harder as the session goes on as the recoveries between intervals are relatively short.

I don't do this kind of interval session, but I do a 12x1min session with 1 min recoveries and that requires good control of pacing to avoid doing the first few too hard and then exploding toward the end.

Neil

MAXTHEDOG

Mark of Sanity:

Actually I understand it (EPOC) to be high intensity intervals followed by the same length of time doing 'easy'. My PT has given me 1 min high, 1 min easy,45 sec high, 45 sec easy,decreasing by 15 secs until 5 mins are up, then off to the next gym cardio machine.As NapoleonD has said doing these high intensity intervals out on the road is too dangerous.

Regards,

jibberjim

NapoleonD wrote:

I remained seated too, max power was lower than max I can get stood up (about 55-50% of what I was getting pre-break stood up when legs worked) but it was still max effort, if you get what I mean.

I remain seated too, and my trainer isn't rubbish, but from your later numbers my seated 1minute is quite a bit higher than yours. I'm presumably considerably less smooth but in general whenever I put out over 600watts the trainer moves. I don't see how I can do all out efforts in this situation. Which is a shame, as I'd like to try tabata...

Anonymous

nmcgann wrote:

popette wrote:

......
Anyway - your peak 1 minute power - is that the avg power you can sustain for 1 min? I did a ramp test, increasing power by 20W every minute and the max I could get to was 300W so your 402 seems amazing from my low level. .....

It's not the same as a ramp to exhaustion though - the cumulative effect of the ramp is massive.

It's much easier to generate high powers going from a rest state, although it does get considerably harder as the session goes on as the recoveries between intervals are relatively short.

I don't do this kind of interval session, but I do a 12x1min session with 1 min recoveries and that requires good control of pacing to avoid doing the first few too hard and then exploding toward the end.

Neil

Indeed, I've not done a ramp test yet. I may do one now at the start of my tabatas and in a months time.
That peak 1 minute of mine is actually from a club chain gang near the end so this wasn't rested either but it's a different kettle of fish to a ramp test.

Anonymous

jibberjim wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

I remained seated too, max power was lower than max I can get stood up (about 55-50% of what I was getting pre-break stood up when legs worked) but it was still max effort, if you get what I mean.

I remain seated too, and my trainer isn't rubbish, but from your later numbers my seated 1minute is quite a bit higher than yours. I'm presumably considerably less smooth but in general whenever I put out over 600watts the trainer moves. I don't see how I can do all out efforts in this situation. Which is a shame, as I'd like to try tabata...

Hmmm, I can (could) do 1200watt+ standing sprints on mine and it isn't too bad (it's a Tacx Satori). Frustrating
Have you tried putting a rubber mat or something underneath it?