Sweet Spot Sevens

1) Our profile consists of four, 7-minute efforts. As we prepare for next week’s functional threshold power (FTP) test (our last one was about two months ago), the idea is to think of the 20-minute time trial as three, 7-minute efforts, or seven, 3-minute efforts. Check out this link to learn more about the FTP test, click here.

2) As we continue to base build, we introduce a new term: Sweet spot training (SST). Your sweet spot is achieved when working between 84 and 97% of your functional threshold (or 75 - 85% of your max heart rate). Steady, consistent efforts in this zone balances the training impact and recovery time . . . hence the “sweet spot.” Every endurance athlete has a notion of how hard is too hard. Indoor cycling often turns a blind eye to this concept as everything is supposed to be hard. A recent Wall St. Journal article suggests this trend may be ending.

Source: Source: http://www.intraawareness.com/body/cardio/

Unlike high-intensity intervals which (should) require large amounts of recovery. Conversely, sweet spot intervals achieve the desired physiological improvements with a decreased need for recovery. Learn more about sweet spot training here or here or here

Illustration: Frank Overton / FasCat Coaching Blog

3) The underlying goal of sweet spot training is honing your ability to identify and maintain intensity. Using either heart rate or power (which is better . . .there is a debate), you must be able to maintain a pace. It’s not a sprint, it’s more of a marathon.

article from Outside Magazine.

My Norwegian fellow instructor Brian Overkaer (check out his platform Intelligent Cycling) mentioned: “Endurance is not just about intensity, it’s how long you can maintain it.”   As we arrive at the halfway point of our base-building phase, the goal is to improve our ability to endure on the bike.

4)  This week’s artwork is from Joni MItchell’s eighth album Hejira. Released in 1976, it marks the point she stopped playing with rock musicians and began working with jazz players. Mitchell wanted the instrumentation to complement her voice and felt the rock drums were overpowering her vocals. Sonically, it sets Mitchell in a new direction.

5) The word ‘hejira’ means exodus; a journey undertaken to escape an adverse circumstance or situation. Discovering your FTP, and enduring 20 minutes of pedaling to do so, can free you from the ho-hum of pedaling to music. Identifying intensity and adjusting it based on the duration of the interval unlocks the real-world potential of indoor cycling. You go from exercising to training! Like the old Nike campaign

I just loved Nike’s campaign around this notion from a few years back.  Using heart rate as a feedback loop to track progress is one way to move beyond just exercising.

Yes, fitness can be fun, but achievement is so much better. 

No one will ever ask how fast you can run, swim or pedal in twenty seconds. Now 20 minutes? Different story. A food time for a 5k is 26-35 minutes. And running is undeniably harder than cycling. So let’s call it a 5k. 20 minutes, next week! LFG!!!!!