Best interval session for 1min power?

neeb

I think my one minute (and shorter duration) maximum power output is a weakness and would like to work on it once or twice a week on the tacx trainer.

Obviously doing repeat 1min sessions at maximum sustainable wattage would be good, but how much should I rest between them? If the rest is shorter (e.g. 30s), then I either have to aim for a lower power or the power goes down each session, if the rest is longer (e.g. 90s) then the power is more sustainable in the repeat sessions.

I've noticed when trying to sustain high power over short durations that 30s is a lot harder than 20s, if that has any relevance.

I'd rather not have anything so complicated that I have to write it down and stick to the stem..

Alex_Simmons/RST

The answer can be quite complex, or simple.

1-minute power is, physiologically, quite a complex beast.

A lot depends on:
- under what context you need to use your maximal 1-min power
- your physiological / power profile

Simple answer:

1. improve general aerobic condition

2. do efforts that focus on the other energy systems in play for 1-min power, which will be everything from short sprints and starts, through to full on 1-min efforts with masses of recovery time in between. And a whole bunch of options in between these.

neeb

- your physiological / power profile

I'm light (5' 9", 63kg). My FT and 5 min power to weight values are pretty good, but my 1min and 5sec values are poor, and because I'm light, my absolute power is not high even over longer periods.

- under what context you need to use your maximal 1-min power

I did some racing for the first time last year and it was pretty clear that to do better I need to improve my ability to react to sudden accelerations, bridge gaps etc (either that or enter hillier races, but there aren't many of these...)

P_Tucker

Further to what Alex has said, I'd say that 1 min intervals with short recoveries won't be much use for your particular issue. When I try to increase my 1 min max power, I take about 5-7 minutes between intervals to ensure high quality efforts.

Alex_Simmons/RST

neeb wrote:

I did some racing for the first time last year and it was pretty clear that to do better I need to improve my ability to react to sudden accelerations, bridge gaps etc (either that or enter hillier races, but there aren't many of these...)

While your issue maybe a physiological one, don't discount it being a tactical/skill one as well.

At same time, while you can definitely improve one element of your power profile, how much depnds on lots of things. If there's not a lot of return for a lot of work (and potentially reducing other elements of fitness in the process but you won't now until you try) then you'll need to work out tactically and strategically how to race with what's in your quiver.

Sometimes I race better on lower fitness. Forces you to be much smarter.

Having said that, the fitter you are, the more choices you have when racing.

neeb

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I'm sure I need to work on tactics/skill as well - I only started racing towards the end of last season and because the events aren't categorized here I was mixing it with mostly very experienced riders. I learned a lot about tactics just in the first 2 races...

I'll have a go at 1minute efforts with plenty of recovery and see if my times get better, but I won't do it to the detriment of my FT training. Most of the stuff I am doing at the moment is not too dissimilar to 2x20mins, e.g. 40-60min simulated RLV climbs on the fortius with flatter bits in the middle for recovery.