how does L5-7 work 'harm' L2-4 work?

Team Banana Spokesman

this is what was told to me by a triathlete at the l.b.s.

l.b.s. doesnt stand for 'loada b.s.' but I think it does in this case

if i do a 3 hour ride of L4 and then give it everything in the last 10km with sprints (which is a normal way to end a ride for me) how will the L4 work be affected?

cant really understand this. :?

Team Banana Spokesman

sorry if this is vague btw.

he told me its best to leave L5-7 stuff when you want to build up to a peak.

why?

if it 'harms' my fitness, how will it give me a peak? totally the opposite... :?

Splottboy

Think what he's trying to say is: Doing the really hard stuff, before you are ready, will harm you. So, he's trying to say its STRAINING not Training etc.

I did read something recently that said there was some research that Hard training and Easier training DO mix, so there will benefits to both types of fitness.

But, if you're a fit dude, and have done the basics plus some harder intervals/sprints and recover well, I can't see what "harm" you might be doing.

So, why not ask for his reasons for saying this, you might get some real info?

Alex_Simmons/RST

It won't harm you (normal caveats apply of course - for the ill, recently ill, older riders, those with cardiac vascular issues, smokers etc etc).

But not much point doing lots of hard stuff if you have no basic condition to start with.

It's about the relative proportion of such efforts in the training mix.

If you do a focused block of such work, then it can be quite fatiguing, meaning training loads may need to be eased back somewhat. So one has to balance the short term gains against the longer term impact to fitness.

Secondly, the time course for adaptations that occur from high intensity training is relatively short and a plateau occurs after a shorter period as well (relative to lactate threshold /threshold power adaptations which can continue for many months on end).

As for when to do such efforts, well that very much depends on the individual circumstances. There are some athletes for whom such work earlier in the training cycle makes sense rather than closer to competition - it very much depends on the individual and the specific nature of the goal events.

Bronzie

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

There are some athletes for whom such work earlier in the training cycle makes sense rather than closer to competition - it very much depends on the individual and the specific nature of the goal events.

Just curious. Can you give an example of what sort of rider this would apply to?

Alex_Simmons/RST

Bronzie wrote:

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

There are some athletes for whom such work earlier in the training cycle makes sense rather than closer to competition - it very much depends on the individual and the specific nature of the goal events.

Just curious. Can you give an example of what sort of rider this would apply to?

Those for whom max aerobic power needs development as a priority for further overall progression and/or those for whom such a focus is not specific to their target events but might be useful as part of their general preparation. e.g. in some instances this approach might be better for an ultra endurance athlete.

Splottboy

Alex...thanks a lot Boyo.

Older riders eh?

53 in afew weeks time.
Just did 10 min warm up, 4 x hill climbs, ( 3 mins climb, then 4 mins climb.) 5 min recoveries, 20 min cool down. Hit max HR the top of each climb.

Was feeling quite perky 'til I read your post, LOL!

Excuse me while I crawl into a nursing home...and slowly...d--e-c-a-y....

Alex_Simmons/RST

Splottboy wrote:

Alex...thanks a lot Boyo.

Older riders eh?

53 in afew weeks time.
Just did 10 min warm up, 4 x hill climbs, ( 3 mins climb, then 4 mins climb.) 5 min recoveries, 20 min cool down. Hit max HR the top of each climb.

Was feeling quite perky 'til I read your post, LOL!

Excuse me while I crawl into a nursing home...and slowly...d--e-c-a-y....

when posting general comments/advice, then general caveats apply.

I have coached riders well into their late 60s quite capable of these hard efforts.

There are others in their 20s I would suggest never doing it until they got some basic aerobic condition.