Yes. Most of my training is oriented to VO2max improvement and sustainment, along with lactate threshold and lactate tolerance (whose training strategies are similar). My endurance training is done partly as a byproduct of this, along with general physical activity (non training-specific exercise). I wear a strap HR monitor and collect ride telemetry as a way of comparing HR vs speed vs load vs temperature.
Something I probably should look at but not yet, I had one lobe of a lung removed a week ago. Cycling will be my rehabilitation exercise and was what got me fit ready for surgery. Remaining lungs are going to need to take up the slack! Think I should check with doctors first! These sort of videos have helped me so much in my journey to fittness through cycling keep them comming and thanks Manon/GCN.
I'm with you Jon, I had a resection 4/5 this year. I was cycling fit going into it. Was off the bike 5 weeks and started back with 5 min sessions on the trainer. That became 10 miles on pan flat canal trail. I'm getting closer to my oG condition after 8 weeks. Make sure you Dr confirms you're fully healed , and keep a keen eye on the HR which I've noted goes up as you lung volume goes down. My Dr. said 6 mos id be back to the fitness I had walking in .( I'm going to challenge him) All the best.
@@kendobson4336 Thanks for that, most encouraging. Did my first low effort turbo session yesterday for 45minutes felt comfortable I'll try again today. Not going to push it, just keep the legs moving. can't get anywhere from home without hills so a bit restricted for going out on the road. Should be checking in with Dr. next week I hope. My Dr. says I should hardly notice when I'm fully recovered.
This is much what I did on the indoor trainer ten years ago after a cardiac bypass and subsequent pulmonary embolism (at age 70) to get ready for outdoor riding when winter eased up. Looking to do something similar after a slow season last year and months without riding due to other pressing priorities. My Garmin watch says my VO2 max is terrible for my age, and I want to enjoy riding throughout my 80s.
Wherever you end up, color me impressed! I hope to be riding well into my 80’s as well but I was thinking about rolling a cruiser around the neighborhood, you’re out here mapping your training program. Cheers to that!
walking up mountains increased mine, as well as cycling up steep climbs, but more so the hard walking up a gradient, it's going to be different for people
Intervals are fine, but there are several other ways that works. Chris Horner didnt do intervals, and he won Vuelta Espana. I think that if you are going for a ride, you might have two, three or four hills that gets your heart pumping at 90-95 % of its limit, or maybe you gets overtaken by a strong guy, takes his wheel and goes hard. What I say is that enough hard intervals may come naturally when you have fun riding your bike. When I went to work a couple days ago I had two efforts above five minutes at 90-97% heartrate. I was at threshold or above for 18 minutes. It was a 46 minute ride.
I think, for a lot of people it is harder to overcome the stress they feel when they exercise at their max capacity. In simple terms: High HR + Intense Breathing -> Feels bad -> Don't do I overcame it through lots of training and suffering, but without guidance. Have you done a video on how to ease people into accepting that state? If not, please do one.
Mix in a few Tabata intervals. Everything else will seem pleasant 😂 I'm not really joking. In lifting you learn if you want to squat 225 easily, you need to hit 315 for at least a couple reps.
@@PavelSavyhin Strava's power estimation seems alright. Zwift ones though.. even tho I had a trainer in their list my 20min power went from 310W to 265W lool (no worries i knew 310W seemed way off so that didn't really bothered me)
I try to make games out of it: shifting up when i think i am going to need to down shift during a climb, sprinting between street signs, catching up to a biker (to find out they are on a E bike), not goving up any speed on a roll of a hill...more playful/fun you can make it the more work you will do. Remember whenever you can, ride more. Know your/you're love
But the question here. Does it really help? Asking, because I use the same approach mostly for fun and secondly to compare my best efforts at places that I ride regularly.
@@PavelSavyhin well I am 50, and been living off a bicycle for 2,831 days now. More days than not I feel good. I am not stretching as often as I should. However the volume of work on the bike, amount of leg muscles, all still going up. Ride more & have fun with it. Know your/you're love
I can't stand it when a cyclist catches up to me and slows down or drafts off me. It makes my ride less enjoyable. I wouldn't encourage this. A couple of weeks ago a guy with a large backpack was out training with his partner and he caught me just at his turn off up a long hill, leaving his partner way behind, and then he completely slowed down. Then a minute later I passed a cyclist and she said "show off" and I said that's what I wanted to say to the guy that just passed me; she laughed. But that is the only time I got some enjoyment out of such a situation.
Clear and helpful video. One other way to improve your VO2 max calculation is to lose weight, as it is part of the calculation. As you get old like me, your maximum possible VO2 max diminishes, so laying off the cakes helps as well.
Vo2 drops because you don't use your body. I'm 52 years old and still at 70. I ride most days for up to 2 hours. I don't do long days as it breaks you down more and recovery takes longer when you get old. 80% zone 2 and the rest ftp and above.
Laying off cakes! Are you mad? I only ride bikes because I really really like cakes. Aged 59 at 61.5kg with a Garmin estimated VO2Max of 56 - I guess that I just need to ride more to maintain my cake habit.
@douglasbooth6836 I said your VO2 max calculation is affected by your weight, which it is. I agree that the amount of oxygen you can process isn’t affected by your weight.
@@mariovr8416Good for you, I’m 60 and my aim is to just keep riding until I can’t stay upright on my bike anymore. PS VO2 Max drops with age however fit you are, about 5% to 10% per decade, especially once you get properly old.
Peter Attia suggests that 4x4x4 is one of the best ways to improve it. 4 minutes high intesity followed by 4 minutes of low intensity (rest) for 4 times. How high should your high intesity be? It should be your 5k race pace. I typically try to get my heart rate around 175 bpm while running.
For a cyclist, I think it is better described as the maximum pace you can hold for 4 minutes, to the point that you may sometimes fail. I am doing this once per week on the trainer and it's brutal, the 4th rep requires a lot of mental strength.
Yes I believe you are right in the way to increase. I look at all the numbers and feel good about the progress but one should never forget the joys of just going out for a bike ride and enjoy the country side. Something I am at fault with. Cheers
As you are growing up through primary school, if you were an active child, you will have developed a lot of alveoli in your lungs. Final number is established during primary school age 7 - 10. As an adult, the number of alveoli utilised depends on intensity of repeated exercise. Those not required go to sleep and are not used. A couch potato who decides to buy a race bike will find it exhausting, because not many of their alveoli are used. After another demanding session, the brain tells some sleeping alveoli to wake up and start working. Demanding sessions are repeated until a large proportion of the alveoli are being employed during hard exercise. At the same time, muscle fibre thickness is taking place and capillarisation of the blood stream is happening to transport oxygen and glycogen to the enlarged and stronger muscle fibres. "When your coach tells you to 'Warm up", what they mean is to slowly build intensity to dilate the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems in anticipation for some hard work. The last bit of 'Warm up' is harder than the forthcoming session. i.e. Do a sprint lastly in warm up for a time trial.
I sprint down every hill because it’s fun. Surely that is working to improve VO2 max. Vid did mention sprint intervals. There’s a lot of hills around here.
I can’t feel sufficient intensity when pedalling downhill no matter how fast I go. I can only reach higher rpe like 8-10/10 on uphills. Ps. I’m not using a power meter
It will definitely become easier to test vo2 max. I've started using a device for myself and clients that tests it at rest using seismocardiography. Could be a game changer.
I've always been a fan of hill repeats - either doing more reps at lower intensity or fewer at higher intensity - either way its a defined effort up, then a rest on the way down. adjusting intensity to the (relatively short 1-4min climbs) hill you're using. Having a local set of hills with different characteristics means you avoid your body getting used to one type of effort.
Brilliant vid. More on this please! Like a lot of people I want to move just beyond the Sunday Morning Weekend Warrior and get a wee bit more serious on some Sportives - this vid is great.
Not in a strict sense. There's a road with some rollers in succession that I ride often. I sprint to the tops and recover in between. I can tell by my breathing I'm improving somewhat. I've gone from gasping to huffing and puffing.
Thanks for sharing this information about V02 Max. I really learned a lot. I’m looking for a good video from GCN in Zone 2 training. I found a 90 minutes Z2 video from another team, it’s a good one but it’s not from GCN. You guys are my favorite. Let me know if you have any new zone 2 training videos. One love and positive vibes!
Im just about to start incorporating into my training to try and get fitter. Being 55 I'll only do one or at most two of these type sessions a week. Thanks for the two sessions, they are going to really hurt!!!
I'll be working some intervals in soon, in preparation for cyclocross season in the Northeast US. I'll have a big base ride next week, which is a 2 day 150 mile ride (MS Ride). That will bump my fitness bigtime and set tge tobe for the rest of the summer.
If anyone is interested: O2-uptake under general anesthesia is around 2.5 to 4ml/kg/min. So this is the absolute possible minimun of oxygen consumption.
Been doing a lot of zone 2 and a little hiit training and doing a 85 km ride with lots of climbing (xco event) felt great, but I wasn't really fast. Guess it's time to improve my vo2 max!
As someone who is trying to improve VO2 MAX, all I heard here is that I have permission to buy those Assioma Pro MX-2 pedals so I can properly measure intervals on my outdoor gravel rides this summer. Bye bye 'til winter, turbo! 🤣
Super helpful video Manon! I really appreciate these scientific training videos! I'm going to try and see if I can get some testing in Hamilton (Ontario). Please keep this clear excellent content coming!
Fun fact: Manon significantly increased her VO2 Max, and most importantly, her WATTs at VO2 Max, by only training in Zone 2. See her second video where she spends a couple months doing Zone 2 only, and see the lab results at the end. So don’t let anyone tell you that you must do very high intensity work to increase VO2 Max. It helps for some people, but for many who simply cannot do that type of intensity, just doing consistent, periodized, increasing Z2 will do the trick. And it just so happens that one of the very strongest correlations to lifespan and healthspan increases (longevity) is…VO2 Max.
Often overlooked that VO2max efforts are still aerobic, so sprints do very little in this regard: specific training starts by the end of the sprint and ends as heart rate plateues out. Also that is why in VO2max intervals efforts are longer than rest unlike typical strength training.
Yep in sprints I could care less what my HR is, I'm responding more to how the muscle feels to gauge my effort. In VO2 intervals if my HR is steady at 80% of max, I'd think Im not going hard enough.
Have a look at the studies, they have done sprint interval sessions and found differently to what you post here. eg: DOI 10.3389/fphys.2018.00392 Sprint interval training improved VO2max.
@@aarondcmedia9585 yet not as much as dedicated training. Because they still require maximum cardiac output although not in optimal amount. And that is why I say little and not none. Also study mentioned focuses not on the effort itself but the recovery phase. The main takeaway from it must be not about how to train for VO2max, but rather if you train for VO2max with sprints, not much of rest is required and you can proceed with multiple efforts. That very much aligns with what I said previously. But it is always nice to have extra context, thank you for sharing!
May 30th and Manon is wearing long sleeves... British weather, I presume? ;D In south Poland today I spent entire day seeking for shade while my daughter played on big playground. We went by pushbike, of course ;)
Or you could just ride normally in hilly terrain - every big hill will be high intensity unless you crawl up it. On every ride I aim to hit close to max heart rate at least half a dozen times for at least a few minutes each time. Garmin estimated VO2 is currently 59, and I'm 58 year old, so it seems to work for me ;-)
Thought the same. 90% of my rides are in the local hills, with mix of rolling sections and 15-20% gradient bits so a very mixed bag of efforts either way!
Ride long distances at endurance pace 3-5 days a week. One day of HiiT. Rest the other days. The HiiT day is not as important as the long days. Time on the bike rules.
Garmin VO2 max can be games. If I warm up for 10 minutes, turn on my Garmin, ride at 120% of my FTP for 10 minutes four times a week for two weeks my VO2 goes from 58-60 to 65-68. This doesn’t work if you do it as part of a long ride whether it’s at the beginning, at the end, or both.
I do the sessions built into my Wahoo Roam head unit - 5x5 and 3 x 40/20s at my local Crit track - it’s 10 minutes ride to get there so I’m kind of warmed up by the time I get there. But I have to say it’s a bit tedious compared to other rides. Going around and round a track doing intervals is effective but boring 😔
Question I always have. If you’re doing a, say, 8 min interval, but you don’t have an 8 min climb or flat section and you’re having to adjust when you go slightly downhill- is it better to AVERAGE your target over the 8 min? Or Try to maintain as close to it as possible? In other words if FTP is 300, should you be pushing 375 everywhere you can to keep the average up bc you are gonna have trouble staying at 200 on the downhill parts. 0r just ignore that and stay at 310 as much as possible and don’t worry about what it averages out to?
Incredible & Thanks :) Hi GCN, Is there a app for HIIT training to say us that after 30 secs of Intensity workout do 15 secs of recovery & repeat that for 9 minutes straight...like you feed duration as 9 minutes , Intensity workout timing as 30 secs, Recovery as 15 secs...& tell us that on bicycle computer screen or on mobile phone or via BT headphones. Like a cameras Intervelometer :) . Thanks :)
I would like to comment on something apart from the content. Some clips in the video are very blurry for some reason, regardless of the picked resolution. To an extent where you can't even really tell the difference between 360p and 1080p premium in some of them. Especially when watching on a large TV. I noticed this a few videos ago and I wonder why no one has mentioned it yet. Example clips: 1:45, 2:44, 3:14
Not for me. Could be an unstable connection on your end or you were very early in watching. Sometime just uploaded videos will show in a lower quality like that until finished processing.
I'm sorry but no. I think I made it clear that some clips used were definitely rendered in lower resolution or possibly downloaded again from somewhere already compressed. The timestamps I listed are each for the full clip, not a single frame. Not sure what device you are watching the video on, but you could compare 2 of the clips which were reused from a few videos ago and clearly notice that there is something off. Or watch it on a bigger screen or zoom in on the phone to 4x and compare the transition in the video from normal sharp clips to those I listed (especially the second one). Btw. the is an option called "Stats for nerds" which let's you see the exact bitrate, buffer health, frame drops, actual current resolution etc. while watching a video. Also I watched it on my TV first and rewatched it on my PC to pick out the timestamps...
While cycling, my legs hurt but I don't run out of breath. I can walk very fast while humming a tune. I wonder if this indicates my muscles need more blood supply or to build more tolerance to exercise stress/lactate.
Proper 110% of FTP for 5 times at first is a tasking effort. When I get out of my lair to start training I start with 4x4m -> 4x6m - 5x6m etc. You need to hit Z4 so it is not just aove FTP, and body must be able to adapt. I also became religious about the starting protocol (20+ m in Z2 -> 4-6x30s in Z5 + 30s Z1+ 5m of Z2 before starting the main part) as well as cooldown (high cadence Z2 at least 20m). Helps me as I am already 54, but maybe for younger chaps not a must.
I have 5 Saturdays to get ready for a 100 mile ride. I can commit to 2 rides per week. Longer at the weekend and one mid week session. Would HIIT be my best option through the week?
If a century is a big milestone I wouldn’t sweat the fine details. Making your shorter mid-week ride punchier with some good efforts makes sense at any level. I would concentrate more on your endurance strategies. Not just mileage but also bike fit, (especially saddle choice and placement), attire (especially chamois), nutrition and hydration. Gotta get those dialed in. I can eat anything and still ride although I have my standard preferred fare. But for some folks venturing into the unknown can be disastrous. Sometimes it is less about the miles and more about the hours. A long day on the bike is a long day on the bike. I just love a long ride. Enjoy!
This video was interesting, but confusing… it sounds like overall an interval session like that would average out to a zone 4 session, especially if you can’t recover within the low intensity interval. I thought it was not good to always be doing tempo sessions?
I've heard that while 'yoga breathing' as you top out filling your lungs, taking an last gulp of air forcing a bit more into your lungs can improve VO2max. does anyone know it this it ligit? Whatever, It doesn't seem like it has a downside.
Not legit. VO2max requires a lot more than lung capacity. Heart volume, ejection fraction, heart rate, haemoglobin and red blood cell density, muscular efficiency, even body weight. The truth is that everything that seems “easy” is either BS or of marginal effectiveness. Getting fit, staying fit requires real work. Youth helps too, but only insofar as genetics and individual responses to exercise.
@@sevenrats Tell me where to send it. I can send you the garmin screenshot, actually a couple from different rides.. Im 61 max heart rate should be 160. Last saturday did a ride, 1:48 total, 1:24 moving. avg hr 146 max 170 Garmin says 1:18 hr over 143 and 19:49 over 128-143
The problem/confusion is because some like Garmin use the Word “Vo2 max”, which is in fact fitness level (which is Vo2 max/weight). Vo2max is numbers like 4000, and fitness level is like 60.
It gets tricky. There is a lag between short, intense bursts of activity and heart rate. At the other end of the spectrum, long expenditures of energy can contribute to cardiac drift. This is where pulse increases in response to body heat. Another complication is energy source. Short, intense bursts of movement relies on glycogen stores in the muscles themselves. This does not require oxygen to occur. Conversely, long low intensity movement relies on fat burn. This requires oxygen but slows when you exceed Zone 2. Zone 2 is nowhere near your aerobic limit. Next, we have form. Good physical form while running, cycling, rowing is a major factor in long duration athletic energy requirements and, with it, oxygen requirements. We’ve all seen runners who appear to move without effort. We’ve also seen rather spastic runners whose movements even make spectators tire. Form is easy to control for short periods. Holding good form over long periods of time is much more difficult… it’s more an issue of practice than aerobic fitness. But its impact on energy expenditure (and by extension, O2 needs) is considerable. These quirks of human physiology are why accepted systems such as the Ramp Test and Coopers Test are of a certain duration. Time is required for the body to warm up and respond to exercise. Too much time gives rise to other factors, such as core temperature and movement economy, that skew the results. Long answer, short… 1 min power is unlikely to be a good (i.e. accurate and reliable) sign of V02max.
Isn’t the relation the other way around? Zone 2 increases the size of your engine (i.e. number of mitochondria) and VO2max increases the efficiency? 🤔 I personally tend to nearly only do VO2max with little time at hand. That way I am nearly as good as my cycling buddies riding double the distance per year. But I suck at longer rides, though 😂
Have you focused on V02 training? 👀
Yes. Most of my training is oriented to VO2max improvement and sustainment, along with lactate threshold and lactate tolerance (whose training strategies are similar). My endurance training is done partly as a byproduct of this, along with general physical activity (non training-specific exercise).
I wear a strap HR monitor and collect ride telemetry as a way of comparing HR vs speed vs load vs temperature.
I focus on avoiding it. Ouch!
Yes, including non-cycling ways as crosstraining with "focus on VO2" in mind.
I am cycling cause it is fun. Love your vids
At least once a week last 7 yrars
"what to ride harder and longer? Ride Lots"
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
-Eddy
No replacement for just riding 🙌
You have to pad it out a bit! A little personal history, a funny anecdote, some redemption arc, blablabla...
Awesome content. Straight into the topic. No roundabouts, no more background information. +10/10😂
@@KitagumaIgen no... that's essentially Eddy.
Ride on Fausto Coppi !
Something I probably should look at but not yet, I had one lobe of a lung removed a week ago. Cycling will be my rehabilitation exercise and was what got me fit ready for surgery. Remaining lungs are going to need to take up the slack! Think I should check with doctors first! These sort of videos have helped me so much in my journey to fittness through cycling keep them comming and thanks Manon/GCN.
please check first with the doctors mate! ✌️
I'm with you Jon, I had a resection 4/5 this year. I was cycling fit going into it. Was off the bike 5 weeks and started back with 5 min sessions on the trainer. That became 10 miles on pan flat canal trail. I'm getting closer to my oG condition after 8 weeks. Make sure you Dr confirms you're fully healed , and keep a keen eye on the HR which I've noted goes up as you lung volume goes down. My Dr. said 6 mos id be back to the fitness I had walking in .( I'm going to challenge him)
All the best.
@@kendobson4336 Thanks for that, most encouraging. Did my first low effort turbo session yesterday for 45minutes felt comfortable I'll try again today. Not going to push it, just keep the legs moving. can't get anywhere from home without hills so a bit restricted for going out on the road. Should be checking in with Dr. next week I hope. My Dr. says I should hardly notice when I'm fully recovered.
The video was useful and I do want to work on my VO2 Max. More because I want my older years to be better.
This is much what I did on the indoor trainer ten years ago after a cardiac bypass and subsequent pulmonary embolism (at age 70) to get ready for outdoor riding when winter eased up. Looking to do something similar after a slow season last year and months without riding due to other pressing priorities. My Garmin watch says my VO2 max is terrible for my age, and I want to enjoy riding throughout my 80s.
Wherever you end up, color me impressed! I hope to be riding well into my 80’s as well but I was thinking about rolling a cruiser around the neighborhood, you’re out here mapping your training program. Cheers to that!
I have a hard time believing your Garmin - your VO2 surely isn't that terrible for your age if you're still getting out on the bike!
walking up mountains increased mine, as well as cycling up steep climbs, but more so the hard walking up a gradient, it's going to be different for people
Intervals are fine, but there are several other ways that works. Chris Horner didnt do intervals, and he won Vuelta Espana. I think that if you are going for a ride, you might have two, three or four hills that gets your heart pumping at 90-95 % of its limit, or maybe you gets overtaken by a strong guy, takes his wheel and goes hard. What I say is that enough hard intervals may come naturally when you have fun riding your bike. When I went to work a couple days ago I had two efforts above five minutes at 90-97% heartrate. I was at threshold or above for 18 minutes. It was a 46 minute ride.
I think, for a lot of people it is harder to overcome the stress they feel when they exercise at their max capacity.
In simple terms:
High HR + Intense Breathing -> Feels bad -> Don't do
I overcame it through lots of training and suffering, but without guidance.
Have you done a video on how to ease people into accepting that state? If not, please do one.
Mix in a few Tabata intervals. Everything else will seem pleasant 😂
I'm not really joking. In lifting you learn if you want to squat 225 easily, you need to hit 315 for at least a couple reps.
I recently had my VO2 max measured, and it turns out that my Garmin's estimates for both cycling and running were completely accurate.
What Garmin do you use
@@deDANIEL11609 forerunner 935 with HRM pro plus
I had no chance to check VO2max, but recently checked Strava estimations of power and it seems to be close to real values.
@@PavelSavyhin Strava's power estimation seems alright. Zwift ones though.. even tho I had a trainer in their list my 20min power went from 310W to 265W lool (no worries i knew 310W seemed way off so that didn't really bothered me)
I had VO2 checked up in sport lab and it was waaaay lower than in Garmin Fenix. You want to know for real, go to sport lab
I try to make games out of it: shifting up when i think i am going to need to down shift during a climb, sprinting between street signs, catching up to a biker (to find out they are on a E bike), not goving up any speed on a roll of a hill...more playful/fun you can make it the more work you will do. Remember whenever you can, ride more. Know your/you're love
But the question here. Does it really help? Asking, because I use the same approach mostly for fun and secondly to compare my best efforts at places that I ride regularly.
Check out 'fartlek' training, it's what you describe and it has a lot of use in many endurance disciplines!
@@PavelSavyhin well I am 50, and been living off a bicycle for 2,831 days now. More days than not I feel good. I am not stretching as often as I should. However the volume of work on the bike, amount of leg muscles, all still going up. Ride more & have fun with it. Know your/you're love
I can't stand it when a cyclist catches up to me and slows down or drafts off me. It makes my ride less enjoyable. I wouldn't encourage this. A couple of weeks ago a guy with a large backpack was out training with his partner and he caught me just at his turn off up a long hill, leaving his partner way behind, and then he completely slowed down. Then a minute later I passed a cyclist and she said "show off" and I said that's what I wanted to say to the guy that just passed me; she laughed. But that is the only time I got some enjoyment out of such a situation.
Clear and helpful video. One other way to improve your VO2 max calculation is to lose weight, as it is part of the calculation. As you get old like me, your maximum possible VO2 max diminishes, so laying off the cakes helps as well.
Vo2 drops because you don't use your body. I'm 52 years old and still at 70. I ride most days for up to 2 hours. I don't do long days as it breaks you down more and recovery takes longer when you get old. 80% zone 2 and the rest ftp and above.
Laying off cakes! Are you mad? I only ride bikes because I really really like cakes. Aged 59 at 61.5kg with a Garmin estimated VO2Max of 56 - I guess that I just need to ride more to maintain my cake habit.
Your vo2 doesn’t get better by losing weight.
@douglasbooth6836 I said your VO2 max calculation is affected by your weight, which it is. I agree that the amount of oxygen you can process isn’t affected by your weight.
@@mariovr8416Good for you, I’m 60 and my aim is to just keep riding until I can’t stay upright on my bike anymore.
PS VO2 Max drops with age however fit you are, about 5% to 10% per decade, especially once you get properly old.
Peter Attia suggests that 4x4x4 is one of the best ways to improve it. 4 minutes high intesity followed by 4 minutes of low intensity (rest) for 4 times. How high should your high intesity be? It should be your 5k race pace. I typically try to get my heart rate around 175 bpm while running.
For a cyclist, I think it is better described as the maximum pace you can hold for 4 minutes, to the point that you may sometimes fail. I am doing this once per week on the trainer and it's brutal, the 4th rep requires a lot of mental strength.
@@Stefano-cz6bobut are you seeing improvement since adding the training? I’m adding interval training this weekend.
Super timely video - Was just talking about making strides on my VO2 max, and the only answer is work harder!
Yes I believe you are right in the way to increase. I look at all the numbers and feel good about the progress but one should never forget the joys of just going out for a bike ride and enjoy the country side. Something I am at fault with. Cheers
As you are growing up through primary school, if you were an active child, you will have developed a lot of alveoli in your lungs. Final number is established during primary school age 7 - 10.
As an adult, the number of alveoli utilised depends on intensity of repeated exercise. Those not required go to sleep and are not used.
A couch potato who decides to buy a race bike will find it exhausting, because not many of their alveoli are used. After another demanding session, the brain tells some sleeping alveoli to wake up and start working.
Demanding sessions are repeated until a large proportion of the alveoli are being employed during hard exercise. At the same time, muscle fibre thickness is taking place and capillarisation of the blood stream is happening to transport oxygen and glycogen to the enlarged and stronger muscle fibres.
"When your coach tells you to 'Warm up", what they mean is to slowly build intensity to dilate the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems in anticipation for some hard work. The last bit of 'Warm up' is harder than the forthcoming session. i.e. Do a sprint lastly in warm up for a time trial.
I sprint down every hill because it’s fun. Surely that is working to improve VO2 max. Vid did mention sprint intervals. There’s a lot of hills around here.
I can’t feel sufficient intensity when pedalling downhill no matter how fast I go. I can only reach higher rpe like 8-10/10 on uphills.
Ps. I’m not using a power meter
yes I want to increase my V02 max so I'll be working on this all month of June.
It will definitely become easier to test vo2 max. I've started using a device for myself and clients that tests it at rest using seismocardiography. Could be a game changer.
I've always been a fan of hill repeats - either doing more reps at lower intensity or fewer at higher intensity - either way its a defined effort up, then a rest on the way down. adjusting intensity to the (relatively short 1-4min climbs) hill you're using. Having a local set of hills with different characteristics means you avoid your body getting used to one type of effort.
This is exactly the video I wanted, one of my main goals is to be able to go fast with little efforts.
It sounds like interval training in a spin class will be helpful
Brilliant vid. More on this please! Like a lot of people I want to move just beyond the Sunday Morning Weekend Warrior and get a wee bit more serious on some Sportives - this vid is great.
Not in a strict sense. There's a road with some rollers in succession that I ride often. I sprint to the tops and recover in between. I can tell by my breathing I'm improving somewhat. I've gone from gasping to huffing and puffing.
that's interval training
Thanks for sharing this information about V02 Max. I really learned a lot. I’m looking for a good video from GCN in Zone 2 training. I found a 90 minutes Z2 video from another team, it’s a good one but it’s not from GCN. You guys are my favorite. Let me know if you have any new zone 2 training videos. One love and positive vibes!
Im just about to start incorporating into my training to try and get fitter. Being 55 I'll only do one or at most two of these type sessions a week.
Thanks for the two sessions, they are going to really hurt!!!
That pinarello is a work of art! Love it
I'll be working some intervals in soon, in preparation for cyclocross season in the Northeast US.
I'll have a big base ride next week, which is a 2 day 150 mile ride (MS Ride). That will bump my fitness bigtime and set tge tobe for the rest of the summer.
If anyone is interested: O2-uptake under general anesthesia is around 2.5 to 4ml/kg/min. So this is the absolute possible minimun of oxygen consumption.
Been doing a lot of zone 2 and a little hiit training and doing a 85 km ride with lots of climbing (xco event) felt great, but I wasn't really fast. Guess it's time to improve my vo2 max!
Manon ❤
As someone who is trying to improve VO2 MAX, all I heard here is that I have permission to buy those Assioma Pro MX-2 pedals so I can properly measure intervals on my outdoor gravel rides this summer. Bye bye 'til winter, turbo! 🤣
For those with a power meter, it wouldn't hurt to have specific ranges. In two minutes you could shotgun through 80pc of possible training sessions
High VO2 max = long healthy life. Yes, please tell us more about how to improve it.
Super helpful video Manon! I really appreciate these scientific training videos! I'm going to try and see if I can get some testing in Hamilton (Ontario). Please keep this clear excellent content coming!
Fun fact: Manon significantly increased her VO2 Max, and most importantly, her WATTs at VO2 Max, by only training in Zone 2. See her second video where she spends a couple months doing Zone 2 only, and see the lab results at the end. So don’t let anyone tell you that you must do very high intensity work to increase VO2 Max. It helps for some people, but for many who simply cannot do that type of intensity, just doing consistent, periodized, increasing Z2 will do the trick. And it just so happens that one of the very strongest correlations to lifespan and healthspan increases (longevity) is…VO2 Max.
@0:50. Did she say “millimeters of oxygen”? I am 99.99% sure that is what she said
Often overlooked that VO2max efforts are still aerobic, so sprints do very little in this regard: specific training starts by the end of the sprint and ends as heart rate plateues out. Also that is why in VO2max intervals efforts are longer than rest unlike typical strength training.
Yep in sprints I could care less what my HR is, I'm responding more to how the muscle feels to gauge my effort. In VO2 intervals if my HR is steady at 80% of max, I'd think Im not going hard enough.
Have a look at the studies, they have done sprint interval sessions and found differently to what you post here.
eg: DOI 10.3389/fphys.2018.00392
Sprint interval training improved VO2max.
@@aarondcmedia9585 yet not as much as dedicated training. Because they still require maximum cardiac output although not in optimal amount. And that is why I say little and not none.
Also study mentioned focuses not on the effort itself but the recovery phase. The main takeaway from it must be not about how to train for VO2max, but rather if you train for VO2max with sprints, not much of rest is required and you can proceed with multiple efforts. That very much aligns with what I said previously. But it is always nice to have extra context, thank you for sharing!
At 17, Jonas Vingegaard VO2 max was something around 97. Supposedly the highest ever recorded 😅
Nope
May 30th and Manon is wearing long sleeves... British weather, I presume? ;D
In south Poland today I spent entire day seeking for shade while my daughter played on big playground. We went by pushbike, of course ;)
Yeah I don't understand why they don't all relocate to France. The food, too.
I enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing
Or you could just ride normally in hilly terrain - every big hill will be high intensity unless you crawl up it. On every ride I aim to hit close to max heart rate at least half a dozen times for at least a few minutes each time. Garmin estimated VO2 is currently 59, and I'm 58 year old, so it seems to work for me ;-)
Thought the same. 90% of my rides are in the local hills, with mix of rolling sections and 15-20% gradient bits so a very mixed bag of efforts either way!
I wish I had numbers for where my Vo2 max was in years past so I could know how the numbers I have now compare.
Ride long distances at endurance pace 3-5 days a week. One day of HiiT. Rest the other days. The HiiT day is not as important as the long days. Time on the bike rules.
Nice one Mannon👌
Thanks! Very helpful. 😁👍
Nice vid
Thanks Chris! 🙌
useful... something i want to do
Garmin VO2 max can be games. If I warm up for 10 minutes, turn on my Garmin, ride at 120% of my FTP for 10 minutes four times a week for two weeks my VO2 goes from 58-60 to 65-68. This doesn’t work if you do it as part of a long ride whether it’s at the beginning, at the end, or both.
Is this Mannon's "I'm tired of Zone 2!" video?
I wish VO2 max was my issue. My quads burning so much I want to stop is the killer.
Deflection point training...I'm just say'n...
68 got it up to 42 and still going up slowly it was freaking hard once it got to 39
Curious how much different Manons Vo2 Max changed during off season and after her training program.
is there any breathing techniques to know in order to increase the vo2max?
I guess wim hoff method should do that. It forces your body to produce more blood cells.
5:42 "ho off" 😍
I do the sessions built into my Wahoo Roam head unit - 5x5 and 3 x 40/20s at my local Crit track - it’s 10 minutes ride to get there so I’m kind of warmed up by the time I get there. But I have to say it’s a bit tedious compared to other rides. Going around and round a track doing intervals is effective but boring 😔
Salutation with the holy kiss. The man ✌️🍏🚲
Question I always have. If you’re doing a, say, 8 min interval, but you don’t have an 8 min climb or flat section and you’re having to adjust when you go slightly downhill- is it better to AVERAGE your target over the 8 min? Or Try to maintain as close to it as possible? In other words if FTP is 300, should you be pushing 375 everywhere you can to keep the average up bc you are gonna have trouble staying at 200 on the downhill parts. 0r just ignore that and stay at 310 as much as possible and don’t worry about what it averages out to?
Incredible & Thanks :) Hi GCN, Is there a app for HIIT training to say us that after 30 secs of Intensity workout do 15 secs of recovery & repeat that for 9 minutes straight...like you feed duration as 9 minutes , Intensity workout timing as 30 secs, Recovery as 15 secs...& tell us that on bicycle computer screen or on mobile phone or via BT headphones. Like a cameras Intervelometer :) . Thanks :)
Manneeen!!!
I would like to comment on something apart from the content.
Some clips in the video are very blurry for some reason, regardless of the picked resolution. To an extent where you can't even really tell the difference between 360p and 1080p premium in some of them. Especially when watching on a large TV.
I noticed this a few videos ago and I wonder why no one has mentioned it yet.
Example clips: 1:45, 2:44, 3:14
Not for me. Could be an unstable connection on your end or you were very early in watching. Sometime just uploaded videos will show in a lower quality like that until finished processing.
I'm sorry but no. I think I made it clear that some clips used were definitely rendered in lower resolution or possibly downloaded again from somewhere already compressed. The timestamps I listed are each for the full clip, not a single frame.
Not sure what device you are watching the video on, but you could compare 2 of the clips which were reused from a few videos ago and clearly notice that there is something off. Or watch it on a bigger screen or zoom in on the phone to 4x and compare the transition in the video from normal sharp clips to those I listed (especially the second one).
Btw. the is an option called "Stats for nerds" which let's you see the exact bitrate, buffer health, frame drops, actual current resolution etc. while watching a video.
Also I watched it on my TV first and rewatched it on my PC to pick out the timestamps...
I hadn't noticed this but rewatching at those timestamps in isolation, you're definitely right
if you take up squash weekly your vo2 will be outstanding
Care to improve your VO2 max, do some of fartlek running and you'll see how faster and for how longer you will be riding.
While cycling, my legs hurt but I don't run out of breath. I can walk very fast while humming a tune. I wonder if this indicates my muscles need more blood supply or to build more tolerance to exercise stress/lactate.
Do the miles
What’s the filming locations?
Doing 8 minutes at above your FTP is super easy to do….😂
i was feeling the same - i think 8min EBs are like the biggest hell
Most people estimate their FTP via 20 minute tests and subtracting ~5%. If you can do 105% of FTP for 20 minutes, why is 8 minutes hard?
@@scotth3354 I wouldn’t use the word easy
@@tiktak22 that’s a good sign that you may have estimated your FTP too high
Proper 110% of FTP for 5 times at first is a tasking effort. When I get out of my lair to start training I start with 4x4m -> 4x6m - 5x6m etc. You need to hit Z4 so it is not just aove FTP, and body must be able to adapt. I also became religious about the starting protocol (20+ m in Z2 -> 4-6x30s in Z5 + 30s Z1+ 5m of Z2 before starting the main part) as well as cooldown (high cadence Z2 at least 20m). Helps me as I am already 54, but maybe for younger chaps not a must.
first one whos not a bot lol
Thanks! 🙏
A bot……and Castello
That's exactly what a bot would say.
@@keithhooker2709 👀
@@keithhooker2709botception
I want your bike.. so nice.
I have 5 Saturdays to get ready for a 100 mile ride. I can commit to 2 rides per week. Longer at the weekend and one mid week session. Would HIIT be my best option through the week?
With limited time for sure.
If a century is a big milestone I wouldn’t sweat the fine details. Making your shorter mid-week ride punchier with some good efforts makes sense at any level. I would concentrate more on your endurance strategies. Not just mileage but also bike fit, (especially saddle choice and placement), attire (especially chamois), nutrition and hydration. Gotta get those dialed in. I can eat anything and still ride although I have my standard preferred fare. But for some folks venturing into the unknown can be disastrous. Sometimes it is less about the miles and more about the hours. A long day on the bike is a long day on the bike. I just love a long ride. Enjoy!
@@johnandmarie7250 perfect thank you! 🙏🏻
EPO!!! 💉🩸💪
Does EPO help? I don´t have time to train and my wife is a doctor...
it really does... just don't do any UCI doping tests and you're fine.
The UCI has no jurisdiction here!
Ask Lance Armstrong. GCN isn't the right place
@@drketangadre Lance? Just as Pog.
your wife is a doctor? better ask youtube videos, no experience in the house.
Gravel bikers taking the shortcut on the left @2:11
Ngl the title just sent me lol 😆
Surely some of this is training lactate threshold ? Isn't that a more effective way for large improvement gains than V02 ?
Please, upload a video on how to survive from dogs during cycling O uphill.
This video was interesting, but confusing… it sounds like overall an interval session like that would average out to a zone 4 session, especially if you can’t recover within the low intensity interval. I thought it was not good to always be doing tempo sessions?
I've heard that while 'yoga breathing' as you top out filling your lungs, taking an last gulp of air forcing a bit more into your lungs can improve VO2max. does anyone know it this it ligit? Whatever, It doesn't seem like it has a downside.
Not legit.
VO2max requires a lot more than lung capacity. Heart volume, ejection fraction, heart rate, haemoglobin and red blood cell density, muscular efficiency, even body weight.
The truth is that everything that seems “easy” is either BS or of marginal effectiveness. Getting fit, staying fit requires real work. Youth helps too, but only insofar as genetics and individual responses to exercise.
My Garmin is100% accurate as well.
My Garmin tells me my VO2Max ist around 65 and I am not sure if I can believe it. I am not really doing any focussed traning.
Have they tested doing bodybuilding training to increase mass for cyclists in lieu of HIIT then only zone 2 for efficiency?
No idea, bit looking at the physique of elite cyclists I don't think" body building" is going to help much.
So what you're saying is, it's going to hurt...
Im curious why folks wear cycling jerseys in the lab. Don’t need the pockets or the aero. They just raise your body temp and raise your hr!
What’s the white glasses that she is wearing?
Bike upgrade Manon?
❤
Is this relevant for anyone other than pro’s? Takes all the fun out of cycling
👍🏼
👍
so what effect would something loke a 90-120 minute ride in zone 4-5 have??
90 minutes in zone 4?
@@sevenrats Yep'.....
@@OldManonaBike-vs6zw by definition 90 minutes in zone 4 is impossible.
@@sevenrats Tell me where to send it. I can send you the garmin screenshot, actually a couple from different rides.. Im 61 max heart rate should be 160. Last saturday did a ride, 1:48 total, 1:24 moving. avg hr 146 max 170 Garmin says 1:18 hr over 143 and 19:49 over 128-143
The problem/confusion is because some like Garmin use the Word “Vo2 max”, which is in fact fitness level (which is Vo2 max/weight). Vo2max is numbers like 4000, and fitness level is like 60.
Or, you could just have fun, enjoying your cycling and enjoying a good quality of life.
Can 1 min power be a good sign of vo2 max
It gets tricky.
There is a lag between short, intense bursts of activity and heart rate. At the other end of the spectrum, long expenditures of energy can contribute to cardiac drift. This is where pulse increases in response to body heat.
Another complication is energy source. Short, intense bursts of movement relies on glycogen stores in the muscles themselves. This does not require oxygen to occur. Conversely, long low intensity movement relies on fat burn. This requires oxygen but slows when you exceed Zone 2. Zone 2 is nowhere near your aerobic limit.
Next, we have form. Good physical form while running, cycling, rowing is a major factor in long duration athletic energy requirements and, with it, oxygen requirements. We’ve all seen runners who appear to move without effort. We’ve also seen rather spastic runners whose movements even make spectators tire. Form is easy to control for short periods. Holding good form over long periods of time is much more difficult… it’s more an issue of practice than aerobic fitness. But its impact on energy expenditure (and by extension, O2 needs) is considerable.
These quirks of human physiology are why accepted systems such as the Ramp Test and Coopers Test are of a certain duration. Time is required for the body to warm up and respond to exercise. Too much time gives rise to other factors, such as core temperature and movement economy, that skew the results.
Long answer, short… 1 min power is unlikely to be a good (i.e. accurate and reliable) sign of V02max.
Isn’t the relation the other way around? Zone 2 increases the size of your engine (i.e. number of mitochondria) and VO2max increases the efficiency? 🤔
I personally tend to nearly only do VO2max with little time at hand. That way I am nearly as good as my cycling buddies riding double the distance per year. But I suck at longer rides, though 😂
No, zone two builds efficiency. You become aerobically fitter.
Vo2max raises your ceiling.
Mont ventoux shots...?!
Just start running....
Hi everybody is there here some good soul to post top 10 VO2Max pro cyclists of all times?
Just train your mitochondria 😊
for me its more like 2 sessions a month and im half-dead all of it
The 255 view whobis not a bot