2x20 intervals - wow !

[nammynake]

I did a decent amount of road mileage last year and probably hit my peak fitness in July/August. The mileage dropped during the Autumn, and Winter was pretty rubbish due to illness and general laziness.

I went out for my first road ride of 2013 in mid January on a very familiar route of 45 miles. It's reasonably hilly and includes the Norwood Edge climb near Otley (for those who know the area). Well the ride was unbelievably tough - I was shocked at how my fitness had dropped over the previous couple if months. I was very close to stopping on one climb, which I hadn't experienced since starting riding a couple of years ago.

Anyway this gave me a kick up the backside to start putting some miles - especially important as I'm signed up to do the Fred Whitton and La Marmotte this summer.

I have done 3 more weekend rides since then, ranging from 50 miles to 67 today. I've also been doing 2 turbo sessions per week for the past 4 or 5 weeks. I didn't really know what kind of sessions to do but I'd heard good things about 2x20s.

Anyway, my yardstick for fitness is the aforementioned Nor wood Edge climb:

http://app.strava.com/segments/2521267

My recent times are:

Jan 5th - 9:44
Feb 16th - 8:27
Mar 3rd - 7:49

My PB is 7:46 which was set in August.

I felt really strong today but I am shocked at a) my progress since January and b) I'm only 3 seconds of my PB set during the summer. The 2x20 intervals really do appear to have had a massive effect.

So a big thumbs up to them! I am keen to hear other peoples thoughts on them. Should I continue doing them, maybe 3 sessions per week, or start doing 2x30 or 3x20?

My main focus is training for La Marmotte in July.

Oh, and also did this beast on today's ride - Greenhow Hill out of Pateley Bridge:

http://app.strava.com/segments/1097296


Of course, it could be all down to the fact that I was wearing my new Pistonheads jersey today!

[IroningMan]

How do 2x20s work, then?

[nammynake]

IroningMan said:

How do 2x20s work, then?

Not sure if there's a prescribed format, but basically I warm up for 10-15 minutes (easy resistance / high cadence) then 2 blocks of 20 minutes of hard but constant effort, with a 5 minute easy spin between blocks.

I'm still not sure how much effort to put in but I usually gauge it by really really wanting to stop after 15 minutes or so!

[IroningMan]

Cheers - I might give that a go. I'm bored with base work on the turbo, so on the lookout for ideas.

[RGambo]

2X20MINS are really usefull for building up your threashold power. You should work at around 95% of your FTP (functional threashold power) or just below your threshold HR. I call them sweet spot intervals, hard to do on a turbo, but easiler to do on the bike. near to my house there is an industrial estate with a flat perimeter road that is 2 mile long and straight out and back. really usefull for this type of work out.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

nammynake said:

I'm still not sure how much effort to put in but I usually gauge it by really really wanting to stop after 15 minutes or so!

This is where power is useful. Having said that I also look at average HR, distance covered and cadence. That and a whiteboard to keep record of it all.

Maybe try 3x20. The last one is generally the most beneficial but also the most unpleasant.

[nammynake]

RGambo said:

2X20MINS are really usefull for building up your threashold power. You should work at around 95% of your FTP (functional threashold power) or just below your threshold HR. I call them sweet spot intervals, hard to do on a turbo, but easiler to do on the bike. near to my house there is an industrial estate with a flat perimeter road that is 2 mile long and straight out and back. really usefull for this type of work out.

No idea what my FTP is or how to measure it, but I do monitor my HR during my sessions, which is approximately 85% for the duration of the 20 minute blocks (~160bpm).

[okgo]

Harder than 85%.

85% is not high enough.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

okgo said:

Harder than 85%.

85% is not high enough.

Agree. 20 min intervals should be at c105% of FTP

[nammynake]

okgo said:

Harder than 85%.

85% is not high enough.

That's an estimate. I need to get a true measure of my maximum heart rate. The highest it's been on a ride is 180. The various on-line calculators all estimate around 185 (based on my age of 34), which is probably pretty close to the truth. I've only hit 180 on maximum effort long climbs.

I do try to steadily increase my HR during the 20m block from about 150 to 170, which is 81-92% HR Max. It drops down to 120 (65%) during the 5m easy spin between blocks.

[sparkyb999]

I find the 2x20 really difficult on the turbo. I set my Garmin to have a HR zone tolerance +/- and keep to a certain cadence. On hitting the start of the first block, i was all over the place and even worse on the second. The garmin connect data looks like peaks of mountains, but out on the road can hold the zones perfectly!

[nammynake]

I am continuing to do 2 of these sessions per week. I need to start doing three really though as the only ride I do is a long road session at the weekend.

Heavy snow in West Yorks today so did a 2 hour session with 3x20. I did them all at a lower effort than normal as I wasn't sure how I would fare. Aimed to hold between 150 and 160 BPM during the intervals, which is about 80-85% of my Max heart rate.

[Rich_W]

okgo said:

Harder than 85%.

85% is not high enough.

You misread. He's talking HR not Threshold.

85% of max HR IS plenty hard enough.


But as I've said before knackers to all this HR/watts nonsense. RPE is the truth. It's what champions use

[okgo]

An ok. Makes more sense.

Yeh it works in races but in the turbo I find I drift off if there isn't a number in front if me

[Gnostic Ascent]

The middle 20 was too easy. Your HR should climb in a similar fashion to the first and last repeat.

BTW rather than doing longer time you can do the 2x20 harder.