Howdy folks,

Well it’s Tuesday, and you know what that means, right?

Nope!

As I wrote a few days back, you’re going to see some different stuff up here this season. I’m going to throw some of the workouts I’ve been prescribing to my (directly) coached athletes the past couple/few years up here.

Just ’cause.

Can’t do the same damn thing year after year, eh?

So, today?

VOMax intervals.

Be forewarned, these bastards ain’t easy.

For some folks, this will be a welcome change from the Classic 2×20 workout. Shorter/harder chunks makes for a variability that just works better for certain people. Others? Not so much.

You’ll probably figure out which camp you’re in pretty quickly. Regardless of where you wind up on that dividing line, keep at it. These things work.

Note that I’m using FTP as a basis for output level here. Frankly, this isn’t a workout that’s easy to do without some kind of power meter on your bike, and even with that, you’re probably best off doing this on a trainer. Or at least on a completely vacant road where you aren’t going to jam your face through the tailgate of a truck because you’re looking down the whole time you’re cranking out the watts…

Don’t have a power meter?
You can still give this a shot, but it’ll be guesswork at best. Drill it, then chill it. Repeat. You’ll see what I mean…

VOmax(pain) 12/50

  1. Warm up

    Warm Up: 20 min @ 40 % of FTP
    throw a couple of efforts at or > ftp in during warm up to make sure you’re ready

  2. Repeat 12 times

    1. Hard

      Work: 50 sec @ 110 % of FTP

    2. Easy

      Recovery: 10 sec @ 75 % of FTP

  3. Recovery

    Recovery: 15 min @ 40 % of FTP

  4. Repeat 12 times

    1. Hard

      Work: 50 sec @ 110 % of FTP

    2. Easy

      Recovery: 10 sec @ 75 % of FTP

  5. Recovery

    Recovery: 15 min @ 40 % of FTP

  6. Repeat 12 times

    1. Hard

      Work: 50 sec @ 110 % of FTP

    2. Easy

      Recovery: 10 sec @ 75 % of FTP

  7. Cool Down

    Cool Down: 10 min @ 40 % of FTP

Ouch.

Enjoy!

M