First anaerobic workout

Hi, just about to start some anaerobic workouts, the first one I have is shown below. Surely I could squeeze more work into a 90min workout this has only about 9mins of effort so seems a waste of time to me. Would you leave it or swap to something that looks a little more challenging

It’s a 1.5 PL so it’s meant to be easy. It’s probably a 1.5 because you haven’t done any anaerobic workouts before now. However, that doesn’t mean you haven’t trained your body for that type of work through other workouts. I’d pick something you think would be achievable, but harder, but consider that if you are supposed to do VO2Max as hard as you can go, then Anaerobic is even more so. Those power targets are really meaningless.

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“Surely I could squeeze more work into a 90min”

Yes! Of course…

“Would you leave it or swap to something that looks a little more challenging”

Whatever workout you think you would switch to, not the difference in anaerobic progression level. Look a couple weeks ahead on your calendar…find the anaerbic workouts scheduled…apply a similar increase in progression levels and see what prospective workouts would look like. Do they also seem easy?

Proceed appropriately.

I would tell you, ‘Walk down the hill…’ mxNXp86gFnw

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You can replace planned workout with any harder workout. If it feels challenging but doable then remember it for next time you do similar block i.e. it will be your floor for specific PL.

For example, I have done anaerobic block couple times and already know that I should start with PL 7.4 (Striped +6) and over 2-3 weeks can progress to PL ~9. I have similar “starting point” workouts for each PL. With shorter blocks it is pointless to wait for AT to catch up when it reaches to actually productive range for me. I wish TR would remember each athlete’s individual zones floor PLs itself.

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Trust the algorithm. 9 minutes if you do it right will be plenty. It’ll be more the next ride. Every ride isn’t supposed to push you to the breaking point.

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Sorry,. Respectfully - hard disagree.

If you’re even a slightly sprinty type then anything below a PL of 5 is almost certainly a waste of time if you’re performing them at the power targets dictated by the workouts.

@svens has it right, I think. :+1:

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Hey there!

You certainly could fit more work into a 90-minute workout. That workout in particular doesn’t have a lot as it has a Workout Level of 1.5. This means that it will be relatively easy compared to other Anaerobic workouts at higher levels.

If you have some prior training history already and this workout seems a bit too easy, you could use Workout Alternates and filter your search to find something a bit tougher/what you’re already accustomed to.

As you complete your workouts and progress through your plan, your Progression Levels will change, which will trigger adaptations to your training plan, ensuring you get the right workouts for your current fitness. :muscle:

Hope this helps! Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions. :slight_smile: