Singing the praises of Coach Chad's VO2 Intervention plan

Training
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I know “Intervention plan:” is not the correct name for this, but i don’t know the real name. Regardless of the name, based on my favorable experience with it, i would like to have this formally added to the mix of TR plans

Background (sorry if this is a bit long)

I had got into a FTP plateau for a couple of years and decided i need to try too and shake it up with a couple of changes this year.

First of all i decided to do HV Base and Sustained Power Build as recommended by the plan builder to prepare for a cycling trip to Europe. This was a big ask as i am 56, HV plans were not recommended for mere mortals previously, so i considered i would struggle. I left my FTP where it was (276) and hopped into it. I got half way through the build and Covid-19 came along, the trip was cancelled and i lost my mojo. I kept training without a plan and at a lower volume to protect the immune system.

Once my motivation perked up again, i thought it was time to try Chads VO2max plan to change things up. I had never done an intervention like that before, but after excellent learnings from Tim Cusick and WKO5 webinars, i decided it was time to try and lift my roof to allow my FTP room to grow, and Chad had an informal plan that might do this

I worked through the 3 weeks of Chad’s plan and tweaked the numbers to reflect my own WKO5 power profile over FTP (targets went up)

I am now working through the Baseline testing from WKO5 and the results are unexpectedly good
5 min - 21w up on career best
20 min - 11w up on career best and 20w up on last test
Other test to come.

The purpose of the post is not a brag. it is give encouragement to those who often post about how do get off a plateau. How much i should weight the improvement on the change in structured volume and the VO2 intervention plan i do not know, but i would definitely like to see Chad’s intervention to be a formal part of the TR offering, rather than hidden in the depths of a forum post

And yes i am sold on how TR and WKO5 can work well together

7 Likes
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i am just scratching the surface so far, but where i see the main benefits of using both is

  • Following Power Duration Curve testing protocols that require an initial baseline test then maximal efforts at different times at different durations to keep the PD curve accurate. I just don’t many maximal efforts over different time durations normally.
  • With an accurate PD curve, then i’m able to establish personalised training targets for workouts, be it power levels above threshold or durations of sub threshold to push out my Time to Exhaustion. TR tweaks. Focus on pushing out the PD curve or pushing it up
  • Linked to the above are the optimised intervals for each ilevel FTP and above, that are targeted to my own physiology. Again i see this as an opportunity to tweak TR plans rather than replace them
  • Determining Strengths and Limiters. Some good insights that i probably new
  • Establishing a training strategy if i was going to do something other than a tailored TR plan. This is a possibility, rather than a reality, but there is a heap of material available in WKO education for the self coached athlete if that is your thing
  • Some good monitoring tools in it

I’m not saying one is better than the other, i see WKO gives me confidence and the information to tweak TR plans or design my own for best effect based on me

I’m sure others have used it more extensively and may add to this

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Would be interested in seeing how this works in more detail. What does WKO tell you exactly, and do you have an example of a workout you applied it to (with successful results)?

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Nice work!

What is this “ VO2 intervention plan” ?

:slight_smile:

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Was just about to ask the same thing…

Am assuming it’s a block of focused VO2 training, maybe 3 sessions a week with the rest easy riding? I.e. something that isn’t sustainable long term but might kick start you out of a rut or plateau.

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This?

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Thanks for posting the link. Yes, that is the plan

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An example relevant to the OP, when doing Chad’s FTP Boost plan i used TRs workouts listed in the link below and referred to the time frame of the intervals on my 90 day Power Duration curve to get High and Low targets. I used the mid point as the target for the intervals. For the shorter intervals, say the first two weeks, there was a significance difference and i bumped the targets up 5-13% if i recall correctly. I got through them. As the durations got longer, the target from my PD curve and the TR target got less and less and by Spencer, it was the same. I also checked the 90 day PD curve targets against other timeframes like 2020, 2019 etc… to see what my historical capabilities were

With or without the tweaks, i still think there were real benefits from the Boost plan, which in WKO terms, lifts the roof of the house to let the FTP grow.

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Interesting, I hadn’t seen that idea mapped out before. I’m in a quandary now - my current plan runs out soon (was training for an event long since cancelled). I’d almost persuaded myself to move to Sustained Power Build (my main weakness) but now you’re tempting me with a solid week of VO2max work :grinning:

Even if I don’t do that, I have to give Gawler a go … looks fun …