Whats the point of interval training if youre not accurately tracking your progress? I see so many of you claiming to be using interval training to improve your cycling performance, but when I ask how youre actually measuring your progress, I get a bunch of vague answers about feeling stronger or being able to ride longer. Thats not tracking progress, thats just riding your bike.
If youre going to claim that interval training is the key to improving your performance, then you need to be able to quantify your progress. What metrics are you using to track your improvement? Are you using power meters, heart rate monitors, or just winging it and hoping for the best? And if you are using these metrics, how are you actually using them to adjust your training and measure your progress?
It seems to me that most of you are just doing intervals because youve been told its what youre supposed to do, without actually understanding what youre trying to accomplish or how to measure your success. I mean, whats the point of doing 10x800m at threshold if youre not actually tracking your threshold power and seeing if its improving?
And dont even get me started on the whole perceived exertion thing. If youre relying on how hard you feel like youre working to gauge your progress, then youre not actually tracking anything. Perception is subjective and can vary greatly from one day to another, so how can you possibly use it as a reliable metric?
So, I want to know: what are you actually using to track your progress and measure your improvement when it comes to interval training? Are you using data, or are you just making it up as you go along?