ERG Mode for stomps and VO2 max efforts?

Training
3

  1. At least 1 minute before the start of the stomp, shift into a tall gear (I normally ride 34t x 17t in ERG, but swap to 50t x 17t for these).

  2. In the minute after the shift and before the stomp, I gradually slow my cadence to the starting cadence (usually around 60-70 rpm for me).

  3. At 2 seconds before the interval, TR will send the high power target to the trainer. Depending on your trainer, you better hit it hard at 0-1-2 seconds on the count down.

  4. Rip the stomp. Once you are done, the TR will adjust the trainer down to the main interval or recovery. At that time, it will likely be spinning very fast. This can take a while to spin down and catch the new ERG power target. You can try the trick below, if you are on PC or Mac.

  5. Trick:

    • Before the stomps, usually in the recovery after the warm up and before the first interval, I use the ‘M’ key to swap to Resistance or Standard mode (varies with trainer and connection protocol). When in the non-ERG mode, I adjust the setting to something around 20-40% Resistance or 2-4 Standard. This sets a controlled resistance. Hit the ‘M’ again to return to ERG for the start of the interval.
    • Option 1: Right after completing the stomp, hit the ‘M’ key and the resistance will kick in harder and sooner than waiting for ERG. Once you get to the power around the ERG target, hit the ‘M’ key again to keep ERG until the next stomp.
    • Option 2: Same as Option 1, but hit the ‘M’ right before the stomp. This puts you into Res mode sooner, so you get the catch up sooner. It may even be the full Resistance during your stomp, depending on how soon you hit it and how fast your trainer adjusts.

Here is my recent one with this process in use:

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