Interval training. Tell me the basics.

iv always thought about how to train and having a misses and 2yo you just cant plan as much as you would like so iv found a commute route that is 70% uphill there and home 15miles each way i just figure the more i do it the quicker and easyer it will get

also i do have trouble geting a good filling of my lungs after a steep climb but that may well be due to my very poor diet which i no i need to sort out to be a better rider.

Only a complete and utter fool with a weak personality would be swayed by a majority opinion.

Yet you’re totally buying into the mainstream majority held positions on training and nutrition. Nothing you say is either innovative or counter intuitive… same old bollox from some old articles you read once…

Why would I want to deviate from tried and tested old school training though? It works and has been proven to work. Why reinvent the wheel?

And surely new school training methods and diets are in the majority now are they not?

Or are you pushing methods that the minority believe in?

I think you’re confused.

Why would I want to deviate from tried and tested old school training though?

Because some alternatives are more effective maybe? Because our understanding of the subject increases? Just a guess.

I use old school, new school, a mixture – whatever my knowledge and experience suggests is most effective in a given situation. Some methods I would have used 10 years ago ‘worked’ but I would use more effective methods now.

I dont know if you’ve noticed, but with the increasing use of high intensity interval training and decrease in base work that people are doing there is an increase in time spent out injured. Tells me that people are missing out the most important part of their training and stressing their tissues beyond braking point. As I have said before there are no shortcuts to fitness – that will never change.

*thinks apologies to OP and everyone else for dreary and futile duel with SbZ*

I’ve pulled up a chair now…………….

If you’d just got out and ridden your bike,you’d have pulled it up much quicker lucien.

Ok a comment to Graham

my knowledge of training is entirely based on reading a book called “training lactate pulse” it may now be very out of date. I have never been truelly fit in the forum sense of the word. But here is what I learnt from the book

To do a long event fast what you are mainly trying to achieve is a large anarobic threshold. This is defined as in many ways including the pace you can just endure for 1 hour. The aim is to get this threshold as high as possible because your pace for 3 hours or 24 hours is roughly a fixed % of this pace.

You develop your threshold through lots of training just below this pace (probably event pace for you). But once a week you need to train beyond tyhis threshold. This could be intervals or it could say a 10 mile time trial with a local road club

the other need is for sessions over 90 minutes to train your body to metabolise fat

If this wrong or out of date will some one please tell me, but calmly

yeah the book was out of date when it was published

it’s just mostly old and bad science

doesn’t mean you won’t improve if you follow what it says though

Amidst all the debate one major aspect of doing a 24h race seems to have been missed – the bit between the ears! Gotta be strong mentally to ride a bike for that long. I’m not speaking from experience either – done a few 10’s and they were hard enough 😀

idave

has the concept of aerobic threshold gone, or just how to improove it?

both

If you don’t mind SBZ I’ll continue to take advice from a recent British Cycling Team coach rather than yourself. Or maybe you could teach British Cycling a thing or two.

A recent British Cycling Team coach indeed. You sure that statement is entirely accurate?

Not read any of this thread but I picked up a road cycling mag the other day and read that intervals do help your endurance alot more than they thought it did.

You sure that statement is entirely accurate?

Yup.

All Graham needs to do is do the intervals and see if it helps 🙂

This is great.

Molgrips, I’ve already decided I’m going to do intervals.
As so often happens, it’s not until I get a few answers that I realise I wasn’t really asking the right questions.
I think what I wanted to know was whether I could incorporate intervals in to my commute.
I can do 5 minutes of hard climbing, but what if the hill then goes on for another 3 minutes ? Do I turn it in to an 8 minute interval, do I slow right down to rest pace while still climbing, or do I turn round and coast half way back down ?
What if the hill is followed by 20 minutes of downhill with gate climbs ? How do I incorporate 5 minutes of maximum effort in to that ?
I think the answer is that I can include the odd high intensity interval in to my commute, but it will not be anything like proper HIIT. I will need to go out on specific training rides to do that.

To reply to a couple of other points and ignore SBZ…

Doing well in your chosen event is a serious proposition. You have to ask yourself how serious you are about preparation for it. From your posts above I’d suggest not very. I think you have to give higher priority to your training or you’re just preparing to fail

Depends what you mean by doing well and serious.
If I was young and in with a realistic chance of a sponsorship deal or a podium place, then I would give a much higher priority to my training.
I’m not though, I’m a 48 year old who generally finishes in the top third, or top quarter on a good day. Up until now, I’ve given a very low priority to training, yet I don’t see myself as failing.

Amidst all the debate one major aspect of doing a 24h race seems to have been missed – the bit between the ears! Gotta be strong mentally to ride a bike for that long.

This is the other bit I’m working on.
According to my GPS, I spent at least 6 hours stationary at Sleepless in the Saddle.
I spent 45 minutes stationary at the Hit the North 8 hour race, er, I mean event. 😉
I spent less than 6 minutes stationary at Wiggle Enduro 6.
It’s the combination of physical and mental challenge that I like about endurance racing. One’s no good without the other.

MTG.

It is difficult to give advice on how to work intervals into your commute other than follow the logic of fast, slow, fast slow.

I did when I was commuting a few years ago. A few hills where I gave it laldy, 1 longer hill where I went hard for 1st third, slow for mid third and hard at the top plus a few sprints out of junctions. Just mix it up. Made a big difference to pace AND endurance and I was pretty fit at the time. It also made the commute a lot more fun. More Headroom is good phrase for what I got.

I struggle with ‘traditiopnal’ intervals like ride the same hill ten times. Just bores me and I do not put in the right effort

You need to work hard to get the real benefits. First few times I puked or dry wretched (lovely!). You will notice a difference quickly if you do put the effort in.

Good luck

MTG – having a hilly commute is indeed a pain. You could just use your brakes to iron them out. I’ve done it before a lot but not so much for intervals, and I did it tonight to time my intervals with junctions. Surprising how little brake you need to slow you right down on the flat.

I didn’t actually puke tonight but I came fairly close on my last one 🙂