The massive volume is something else though eh. It occurred to me that is a low wattage relative to his FTP, but I think he’s really maximising aerobic/endurance volume but focusing on high efforts.
I could go do a 7hr ride at 220W, but I sure as shivers couldn’t go out again the next five days and do the same thing.
Massive motor.
I still haven’t read it yet, but there’s a few parts where he talks about the intensity and workouts etc and looking back thinking he’d change things. Did he not have anyone assisting/overlooking his training from the National Federation or on a professional level?
I disagree completely. A whole food, plant based diet doesn’t leave behind clogged arteries and plaque and inflammation. That’s not bro science, it’s basically consensus among the dietician/scientific community with the arguments hinging on how much/little meat one should eat. I was obviously generalizing with kale and potatoes, but typically a whole food (especially plant based) diet will be high in fiber/water to the point it’s almost impossible to eat 7k calories without adding significant amounts of oils. A diet rich in french fries, whole milk, ice cream and potato chips will leave you with health complications if you do it long enough, regardless of how much time you spend at 250 watts. The worlds strongest men are evidence of this. Lift weights and workout all day every day, eat everything possible in their spare time and by their mid 40’s they’re having heart complications.
Even he acknowledged the fact that his diet was rotting his teeth because it included so many simple sugars. I don’t think it’s even a question of whether it’s GOOD for ones health or not. Heck, I think most health professionals would say it’s not good to even exercise that much (30+ hrs a week, or 5+hrs a week at threshold) because it puts you at increased risk of a-fib and thickening of the heart muscle and stuff that’s not good for true longevity. The only argument might be is it better or worse for your health to eat processed carbs/high fat foods and always be at a surplus vs. whole foods and potentially run a deficit, and that may be a valid one…idk.
I think the AACC podcast does an exceptional job at keeping listeners shoveling food in their mouths and always advocating for running slight excesses vs deficits, and experimenting with eating surpluses and seeing if you feel better or produce more power or do better on back to back days.
I think intuitive eating is fatally flawed because we’re physiologically wired to crave sugar, salt and fat, and we live in a time of unbridled excess where those things are an uber eats click or a 5min drive to the store away. The amount of donuts I crave far outweighs my caloric requirements, even on a big training day. That doesn’t mean I simply need to eat more donuts until satiated. If intuitive eating worked, 50%+ of first world countries wouldn’t be obese.
As I understand it the plan is his but developed with the help of his coach, Johan Röjler, who was later looking at his data every day and helping him make decisions about adjustments. In a SVT film documentary about his training leading up to the Olympics he is also being coached by Wolfgang Pichler, a talent developer for the Swedish Olympic Committee.
It’s not that crazy a volume is it? 5 days/wk of long bike rides? Isn’t that what pros do on training blocks? Or at least did in the past before things got more prescriptive?
Anecdotally from personal experience, last May I rode an average of 8hrs day for 9 dsys in hilly terrain with a heavily laden bike. Felt amazing by the end of it and two days later absolutely smashed everyone at cyclocross training. Really opened my eyes to the powers of long and steady.
Other takeaway was that I ate about 10 chocolate bars a day on my trip amongst other things. Just felt like the right choice at the time.
See above comment about blow-back. I’m gonna reply once but it appears that there is a lot of what I referenced earlier…dogma I’m not going to go through and quote it all, but I see at least 7 different references in your reply that rely wholly on cultural assumptions and make cause/effect assertions where there aren’t any. I hope you can look back and identify them. I get it that it is tempting to rely on this type of reasoning, but it leads one down the primrose path.
I do think it is useful to call attention to one aspect of your response - you’re craving for donuts? I don’t have cravings for anything anymore. Isn’t it possible that cravings are saying something about your intake? I keep whole fat, high-calorie foods around that I can eat when I’m hungry, and I don’t beat myself up about it based on cultural assumptions (and very likely marketing misattribution 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat : The Two-Way : NPR). Recovery shake with an amalgamation of reduced animal and plant components? How about a glass of whole milk. Craving a donut? How about a couple of mozzarella cheese sticks. I’ve almost cut out snacking altogether by stacking my meals with foods that actually give me satiety like eggs, olive oils, and cheeses. In the process I’ve cut 12 lbs in 4 months (I only weighed myself because my coach made me, weight is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down IMHO )
Also the body-builder reference, c’mon man. Speaking of outliers. Their diets are as tortured as their endocrine systems. Injecting anabolic steroids daily and then blaming their diet for the CV health…maybe not the most valid comparison.
We were talking about this in the office today…
This is insane…
he is the molecules at the very tip of the pole…
he could be a Tour cyclist if he wanted to…
hell he could a be a ultra runner (probably podium runner) if he wanted!
Sorry I’d rather not spend my time citing hundreds of scientific studies on the matter for you. Matt Fitzgeralds ‘endurance diet for athletes’ or ‘how not to die’ by Michael Greger are good places to start if you’d like to read yourself.
So now I shouldn’t trust what my brain desires? Which is it? Cheese sticks and whole milk are gross. I prefer donuts.
My donut comment was obviously tongue in cheek. I don’t walk around craving donuts all day. But if someone puts a box of donuts in front of me, it’s something I would like to eat more than most alternatives. That doesn’t mean I’m nutritionally deficient in fat and sugar and would gain watts and decrease stress my fulfilling all my desires.
Strongmen are tested for PEDs, not to say they don’t ever use them in their lives…but your assumption that they’re all injecting roids ‘daily’ and that’s the reason for their heart failures is wrong.
Has anyone tried a 5-2 schedule like he cites for a mid-volume TR plan? Training 5 days on top of work sounds awful, but the idea of having a totally open weekend is pretty tempting.
I do the 2 days off part. Mostly mon-tue.
If I am gonna take only 1 day off I ride an easy 60mins or so.
I dont train heavy 5 days in a row unless training camp, block etc but ride 5 days in a row, mostly wed-sun.
Reasoning: 1 day easy is for getting the next day a bit rested so I can hit power targets.
2 day offs are for body to built itself up. Never felt like 1 day is enough for me to not only recover but to get stronger too.
After 2 day offs I usually start with mid lenght, ~3 hour z2 ride.
Years ago I pulled off a couple 5-2 weeks while commuting, but the added load of intervals proved too much for me. This past year+ I’ve been doing Mon-Wed and Fri-Sat which leaves Sunday open.
I pulled a week from the latter part of my cross country trip this summer. Over 32 hrs total with the first 4 days IF > . 7 and the second part of the week with an IF in the mid .6’s. I turned 67 yo this week as well. It’s not that impossible, if its your only job. I took one day/week off, and was supported by my wife in an RV
No its not MvdPs younger brother, its the Swedish speed skating phenomenon, olympic gold medalist and world record holder.
Like a boss after setting his world records, he posted all his training and philosophy behind it at www.howtoskate.se . An immense volume of aerobic and threshold on the bike and trainer, doing 5 days on and 2 days off structure.
doing 7-8 hours weekly on over 400w++ seems almost unreal, what can we do to get him to target pro cycling, what would his potential be?
Aaand he just announced that he will be retiring after the all round World Champs this weekend. At age 25…
But then again, he retired after his juniors gold AND after the 2018 Olympics as well and came back so who knows if he can stay away.
I’m not going to go through and quote it all, but I see at least 7 different references in your reply that rely wholly on cultural assumptions and make cause/effect assertions where there aren’t any. I hope you can look back and identify them. I get it that it is tempting to rely on this type of reasoning, but it leads one down the primrose path.
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