That’s sort of expanding on what I was getting at with “need to have done (at least) one such workout before to know what they are like and how you respond”. Short of doing a workout like Spencer +2 on a regular basis and systematically trying different percentages it’s going to be pure guesswork.
I’ve a couple of workouts that I use as markers - Kaweah for threshold and Pettit for endurance. I don’t yet have one for VO2max or anaerobic, Spencer +2 might well be a candidate. Having done them a couple of times I can compare across time not just for power but also cardiac drift, recovery, etc. I’m thinking of having a specific week at the end of each block where I do these marker workouts to give me a better picture of my fitness than just the Ramp Test. Then with a wet thumb in the wind I can make a guess at what I need to adjust for the coming weeks in terms of percentages of FTP.
Yeah I’ve recently gotten a handle on the 3 minute ones…now TR is throwing 6 minute repeats at me and I have no idea how I’ll do with that.
Personally I’d die if I attempted a v02 workout fasted. Generally the higher the intensity, the greater the proportion of energy that comes from carbs. I’d also recommend fueling for key sessions in general, but I understand the jury’s still out on that
That being said they do take a while to get used to, especially if you’re new to v02 work. I saw my performance increase dramatically after a few weeks as I got more used to the format. I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with dialing down the intensity until you can just complete all the intervals…v02 is a pretty broad zone, and varies from person to person. It’s certainly not my strength
Today’s session was 3 mins x 3 x 3 (Matthes +4). I had a large bowl of porridge for breakfast, then about 2.5 hours out I had 85g of rice, half a large sweet potato and half a banana. During I had 90g of home-made beta fuel. So yeh, lots of carbs!!
