Noob Interval Question

Wormishere1

Hi,

I was hoping to start adding some interval sessions during the week; the key area I want to improve is my hill climbing - both short and steep and long and prolonged.

However, after looking at too many websites I am utterly lost and do not know what the most beneficial intervals would be. I have a Garmin 800 with a HR and Cadence sensor, and have lots of hill around of varying magnitude to assist me.

Can anyone recommend (in simple terms) any forms of intervals that would be ideal for me. Any help would be much appreciated!

BenderRodriguez

Don't over-think things. If it feels hard, it will be doing you good! Three ideas.

1) Just ride up a variety of hills at the sort of pace that will enable you to get to the top just as you are about to blow a gasket! Recover and repeat on the next one!

2) If you feel that what you lack is short-term, explosive power, and so need to develop you anaerobic capacity, keep a little in hand and the give it full gas for no more than a minute or two, then recover and repeat.

3) If you feel you need to raise your aerobic capacity so you can sustain a higher pace on longer climbs, look to maintain high but just sustainable efforts that last for at least 5 (and ideally 8 minutes or more) each.

Whatever you do, once you can't raise a convincing effort, take a steady ride home. This might happen after just a handful of efforts!

dzp1

Start easy (shorter hills, easy pace). And gradually make the session harder and harder. And I would only do that session twice a week, normal riding the rest of the time.

If you get home on the first day and you're not tired. Fine. Bigger hill the next time.

Every time you do a session which is too hard, you compromise the next session.

Others may disagree! (this is the internet and I'm just as entitled to post rubbish as anyone else) If you're younger or fitter you could probably absorb more. Most of us oldies have to go easy and build into it.

But I think if you use your common sense and "dose" the amount of work your doing - that is - the amount of stress you're causing to your body - then I think you'll go ok

I'm not sure about Trev's advice. But training that works is training thats incremental and progressive. no big shocks to the system, bring it in slowly.

BenderRodriguez

dzp1 wrote:

I'm not sure about Trev's advice.

This is getting rather tiresome, but I assume this refers to me?

I am not, nor ever have been 'Trev', and nor would I waste time conducting an 'argument' with myself, as on the current FTP thread... :roll:

By the way, I agree about the importance of making training progressive, which is why I mentioned that it is probably best to end the hard stuff as soon as one can't hold the pace, which to begin with might be sooner rather than later!