INTERMITTENT HAMMERING
WE ALL (?) KNOW ABOUT INTERMITTENT FASTING. For those trying to shed pounds or be more lean it can be quite effective. But, what about...
... intermittent hammering?
Not intervals.
I hate intervals.
I'm sure some of you love them, which is great, but...
... when was the last time a race went hard for 3 minutes,
then easy for 3,
then hard for 3,
then easy for 3.
Don't shoot the blogger.
On my MTB ride last night, I thought...
... what if I trained 1 or 2 days a week with intermittent hammering?
So, here's how it went down.
Zone 2 everywhere,
for the most part.
The trails here are mainly straight up,
then straight down.
So, Zone 2 requires some real finessing from a heart rate stand point.
It's easy to get right up the upper limit,
hard to stay out of tempo.
Any time I came to a steep section that 5-30 seconds, sometimes up to a minute...
... I put down 500-600+ watts.
Here's the deal.
Do that for 3 minutes, and the heart rate sky rockets.
Do it for a few seconds, and it barely has time to respond.
Which means, from a heart rate perspective I'm popping out of Zone 2 ever so briefly.
But, from a power perspective it is much higher.
Check the data:
Ave Pwr 144 vs Max Pwr 844
Ave HR 126 vs Max HR 160 (nowhere near my max)
28% in Z1 - 64% in Z2 - 9% in Z3 ... I never reached threshold or beyond.
My thinking is that I can...
- increase my strength
- keep the legs and brain fresh
- turn the training into more of practice
... and make all the neuromuscular connections associate with putting down the power.
Based on this trial run last night...
... I'll get in 15-20 legit bursts.
Does it have to be done on an MTB?
No, but the payoff of a fun downhill between the mini efforts is pretty sweet.
I'm going to practice this through Sea Otter and see if...
... I can post higher power numbers on the longer tempo/threshold rides.
That's the idea anyway.
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161.4
8.5 hrs sleep
Breaklifting
10 minutes stretching
82 (fitness per training peaks)
45 min vision therapy