40 min interval v. 2x20 minute

FWIW I do 75 minutes at an average pace of 91% FTP at least twice a week right now. Why stop if you don't have to?

BTW I use alot of raw honey in my water bottle when I skip the breaks.

wiredued said:

FWIW I do 75 minutes at an average pace of 91% FTP at least twice a week right now. Why stop if you don't have to?

since the rest for the 2x20's is only supposed to be a couple of minutes at most (mental and drink break) just plow on through for the whole 40. That's what I do...

Based on what little I understand of this interval training technique, riding 20x2 vs 40x1 leads to different results. When you do a 20, you are supposed to be totally stuffed by the end of 20 and not able to continue for another minute until you've had an easy spin. This would match a certain training level (L4) in the overall scheme. By doing a 40, you have to work at a power level that is lower than the above so as to be able to sustain it for the longer duration. So no, it's not the same.

sogood said:

Based on what little I understand of this interval training technique, riding 20x2 vs 40x1 leads to different results. When you do a 20, you are supposed to be totally stuffed by the end of 20 and not able to continue for another minute until you've had an easy spin. This would match a certain training level (L4) in the overall scheme. By doing a 40, you have to work at a power level that is lower than the above so as to be able to sustain it for the longer duration. So no, it's not the same.

Actually, if you're spent at the end of 20 min you're riding way over your FTP. If you're at your FTP you should feel spent only after about 1 hr. IOW, CP20 does not equal FTP. Functional Threshold Power can be defined as power you can hold for 1 hr. That's why the best way to test it is to ride a 1hr TT.

I usually do 3x20 min at FTP (or slightly below). That's about 13 watts less than my best 20 min effort. Riding at that level for 1 hr or even 40 min would be mentally too taxing for me, but with breaks I still put in 1 hr of FTP effort.

Piotr said:

Actually, if you're spent at the end of 20 min you're riding way over your FTP. If you're at your FTP you should feel spent only after about 1 hr. IOW, CP20 does not equal FTP. Functional Threshold Power can be defined as power you can hold for 1 hr. That's why the best way to test it is to ride a 1hr TT.

I usually do 3x20 min at FTP (or slightly below). That's about 13 watts less than my best 20 min effort. Riding at that level for 1 hr or even 40 min would be mentally too taxing for me, but with breaks I still put in 1 hr of FTP effort.

I pretty much concur with the above, but what type of interval is better when training for an endurance event of 9hrs in length?

Piotr said:

Actually, if you're spent at the end of 20 min you're riding way over your FTP. If you're at your FTP you should feel spent only after about 1 hr. IOW, CP20 does not equal FTP. Functional Threshold Power can be defined as power you can hold for 1 hr. That's why the best way to test it is to ride a 1hr TT.

I usually do 3x20 min at FTP (or slightly below). That's about 13 watts less than my best 20 min effort. Riding at that level for 1 hr or even 40 min would be mentally too taxing for me, but with breaks I still put in 1 hr of FTP effort.

Ummm... I think I'll need to go back and read again. I must have got 3-8mins L5 training method mixed up with sweat spot training of 2x20. Thanks for pointing it out.

LyncStar said:

I pretty much concur with the above, but what type of interval is better when training for an endurance event of 9hrs in length?

I never had the need to train for that type of an event, or even the ambition to ride for more than 5 hrs. I can only assume that you'd want to learn to spend that kind of time in the saddle by actually doing it. I would probably also do some rides of 3-4 hrs at Level 3 intensity to teach your body to burn and store fuel more efficiently. I hope someone else can give you more insight. :o

LyncStar said:

...but what type of interval is better when training for an endurance event of 9hrs in length?

http://www.ultracycling.com/training/endurance_training.html