Anaerobic Intervals

Anaerobic intervals for cycling are short high powered efforts that do not use oxygen. A 1 minute effort performed at 120-150% of the athletes Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is a great example. These intervals are essential to training for road, criterium, cyclocross and cross country mountain biking. In this training tip I'll explain why anaerobic intervals are important and how you can do anaerobic interval workouts. 

Why are Anaerobic Intervals Important?
In cycling, any race or ride that requires power to accelerate, overcome an obstacle or carry momentum over a short climb, that power is often times applied for one minute or less at much greater wattages than the athlete's threshold power. These power demands are described as anaerobic power. Anaerobic power is applied in road, mountain and cyclocross races and even during fondo and gravel races. When a group ride powers over a short 30 second hill, anaerobic power is required to keep up. In mountain biking when there is a root or rock section that can be cleared with speed, that is anaerobic power. The start of a cyclocross race is 'anaerobic' as well as the jumps out of corners in a criterium. There are so many instances of anaerobic power it behooves athletes to include anaerobic intervals in their overall training.

Example Anaerobic Interval Workouts:
Anaerobic intervals are prescribed at a maximal effort. We described this intensity as 'hard as you can' or 'full gas'. Common anaerobic interval workouts are prescribed with 30 second, 45 second and 1 minute intervals. Here are 3 introductory anaerobic intervals workouts of each duration: Zone 6: 4 x 30 seconds ON, 30 seconds OFF Zone 6: 3 x 45 seconds OM, 45 seconds OFF Zone 6: 3 x 1 minute ON, 1 minute OFF Once an athlete has successfully completed the above anaerobic interval workouts, they may move on to more intermediate and advanced levels by increasing the number of repetitions such as: Zone 6: 6 x 30 seconds ON, 30 second OFF Zone 6: 2 sets of 4 x 1 minute ON 1 minute Off with 5 minutes in-between sets for 8 total intervals (and minutes) Advanced level would be: Zone 6: 3 sets of 5 x 30 seconds ON, 30 seconds OFF Zone 6: 3 sets of 5 x 1 minute ON, 1 minute OFF with 5 minutes in-between sets for a total of 15 minutes in zone 6.

Anaerobic Interval Execution:
Instructions for an anaerobic interval workout are as follows:

• Identify your FTP [Functional Threshold Power]
• If no powermeter, these are completely Full Gas efforts, as hard as you can go efforts, Heart Rate will lag behind and not represent your effort.
• Identify what value is 120-150% of FTP*
• Be well rested, fueled, motivated and hydrated for your workout
• Find a quiet stretch of road that is free of stop signs / stop lights / or cross traffic. Hills are terrific
• Go as hard as you can for these efforts! Use your powermeter as a reference but do not stare at it.
• Alternate in the saddle and out of the saddle for a maximum effort

**you could probably make more watts but the idea is to do 3-10 quality repetitions rather than a few really good ones and be 'blown'.

Pacing:
Use your powermeter to stay above 120% of your FTP from the beginning until the end of each interval. Similarly use your powermeter to pace yourself thru all your anaerobic intervals by not exceeding 150% of your FTP. Still go as hard as you can, but spread that effort evenly for all the intervals, not just the first few. If you are able to exceed 150% for every anaerobic interval in your workout do more repetitions in the next workout. Also double check your FTP but in reality you are probably just good 'anaerobically.

Anaerobic intervals are specific to road cycling, mountain biking, cyclocross racing, and even some gravel and fondo events. Anaerobic intervals are performed maximally but when executed properly will be between 120 - 150% of the athlete's FTP. These intervals should find their way into one's training program after they have built up sufficient aerobic endurance and/or in the six weeks prior to the event that demands anaerobic power. You will find several anaerobic interval workouts in our road, xc mountain biking, criterium and cyclocross training plans. These efforts are extremely difficult yet produce massive performance gains in as little as 3-4 weeks of training.

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