Change Is Good

Capture from WKO5 on 10/7/2019

Change Can Be Good

Interesting that a few weeks ago I felt as if I was starting to push against the wall of adaptation and it was not budging in the least. Where I have always found success in progressing with longer duration steady state submaximal intervals, such as, 2 x 20 minutes at 91% FTP and gradually increasing intensity, I plateaued for the first time. I kept trying to push past this sticking point and for unclear reason I could not break it. WKO5 Power Peaks Trends was reading flat from the 5 second range all the way through the 60 minute for 90 days. 

It is sometimes more clear to see how to guide someone else in training than yourself and I should have seen this a few months ago. It was right in front of me in reviewing data and it was evident out on the road that I had stopped progressing. I heard someone once say, "You are either training or detraining. There is no flat." I agree with this to a degree, but there will be a time of flat before the decline and one simply needs to recognize this and make the appropriate adjustments in training, rest (from mental burnout), nutrition or general life stress. In my case it was an educated guess for what I needed to do. 

Where I struggle in training philosophies is that I had come to a point of thinking my favorite thing to do on a bike is being in aero with a TT'er type pace. I started to believe it so much that I pretty much just kept all my efforts below L5 intensity. My endurance did improve and yet out on the road where I needed to get over some short sharp hills my legs did not putting out the brief 350 to 400 watt surge to crest a hill. Sure I have better than average strength in the gym, but this surge is far different than a heavy squat because it is seconds longer than a set of squats. I suppose I could just say my legs got lazy pushing through these intense moments. What was interesting though is it was also oddly effecting the increase of progress on sustained efforts and I was stalling out. My data became flat as noted earlier. 

I was at a cross roads to the adjustment in my training. I could go with 5 minute intervals at L5. I could do other variations, but I had already created a PerfPro session called Minute Clinic. I created that over a year ago just to throw in once and a while to break up the monotony of indoor endurance training. This session has 7 one minute intervals targeting FRC or L6 with one minute rest between. I modified this session to include a five minute 100 watt rest after the 7 intervals and then move into a 30 minute Sweet Spot or top of L3 interval. 

I have been in this change now for a couple of weeks and feel refreshed mentally even though these intervals are very intense coming from a steady diet of 60 minute L4 session for the past months. Not only has WKO5 showing signs of positive trending (screenshot above), but I am also seeing it out on the road at moments. Mainly I seeing my legs starting to respond faster and more willing to hit those surges when needed in aero, sitting up and standing on occasion. 

In the world of strength training I am a veteran. I have a lot of tools in my toolbox and know when to use them if change is required. Interesting a guy at the gym came up to me this morning and said he is trying something new on shoulder movements because he felt stuck. In the world of cycling I am not as sure what and when I need to make a change. I am currently not sure how long I will remain in this current indoor training trend with the 7x1 FRC / 30 Sweet Spot session and progressing those sessions. For now I am going with it while I am trending positive and then maybe return to the longer intervals again. I will still be doing longer outdoor weekend endurance rides that often end up with a mix of intensities so no real loss on endurance training. I want to see that 60 minute trend go positive, but it seems like to do that I need to go through this period of something different with hopes that out there weeks or months later that will make a healthy jump. 

Just a side note in observation, the 30 minute interval following the intense 1 minute intervals feels like active recovery. It feels so easy in comparison to how this was feeling a few weeks ago. This was also my perception in improving squats back in the day and the adjustment I used back then. I would do a pyramid on most strength training days where I would warm up to my heaviest lifts and then do at least a couple lighter sets after. Those lighter sets felt much easier and yet were still heavy enough to stimulate training as well even though I would come down. I found that by doing this toward the end of my competitive career turned out to be very beneficial in my long term training. In other words, if I just went heavy all the time I seemed to plateau, but if I kept in a bit of variety between 90% of 1RM and 75% 1RM I would not plateau as often.