I'm planning to try my first time trial in approximately 7 weeks. The course is 10 miles and flat. I would like to raise my 30 minute TT power as much as possible by then (240W now, measured by Computrainer). I'm confused about the length of the intervals I should be doing. Most of what I have read seems to suggest either 4-5 min intervals@ >100% of TT power, or 15-30 minutes @ TT power. It seems the 5 minute, higher power interval would cause greater adaptation, but will this adaptation be useful in a 30 min effort? From which of these can I expect more gains(I feel I'll need all I can get to be competitive) Any suggestions on duration, % power, and frequency would be greatly appreciated. Also, do clip on aerobars offer a significant advantage over riding in the drops for a short TT such as this one?
I'm planning to try my first time trial in approximately 7 weeks. The course is 10 miles and flat. I would like to raise my 30 minute TT power as much as possible by then (240W now, measured by Computrainer). I'm confused about the length of the intervals I should be doing. Most of what I have read seems to suggest either 4-5 min intervals@ >100% of TT power, or 15-30 minutes @ TT power. It seems the 5 minute, higher power interval would cause greater adaptation, but will this adaptation be useful in a 30 min effort? From which of these can I expect more gains(I feel I'll need all I can get to be competitive) Any suggestions on duration, % power, and frequency would be greatly appreciated. Also, do clip on aerobars offer a significant advantage over riding in the drops for a short TT such as this one?
OK I am not as technical as many guys here, but I tend to think of it in very simple terms. The VO2max intervals will give you the quickest improvement. But there is a plateau for high intensity work that comes real quick. And if you have already hit that plateau you will get very small benefits. The slightly lower intensity workouts near FT like 2x20s have a plateau that comes much later but they provide much better improvements and they take longer time for improvement. So, if I had 7 weeks I would spend more time doing 5mins with some 2x20s and try not to get burned or overworked.
I'm planning to try my first time trial in approximately 7 weeks. The course is 10 miles and flat. I would like to raise my 30 minute TT power as much as possible by then (240W now, measured by Computrainer). I'm confused about the length of the intervals I should be doing. Most of what I have read seems to suggest either 4-5 min intervals@ >100% of TT power, or 15-30 minutes @ TT power. It seems the 5 minute, higher power interval would cause greater adaptation, but will this adaptation be useful in a 30 min effort? From which of these can I expect more gains(I feel I'll need all I can get to be competitive) Any suggestions on duration, % power, and frequency would be greatly appreciated. Also, do clip on aerobars offer a significant advantage over riding in the drops for a short TT such as this one?
Tim
When I put clip on bars for a short event like this and do not make any other changes to the bike and do not practice with the bars etc - I routinely put out ~20w less than when in the drops..but complete the distance in about the same time (more aero but less power)
