Focusing Your Cycling Training

Every year you spend countless hours cycling, swimming, running and lifting weights. You read all the articles and books you can get your hands on, you consult with coaches and other athletes on the best type of training and yet you are probably missing the most important piece of the puzzle. What do you as an individual need to train and how do you know if you are focusing your training properly.

 Cycling in triathlon is roughly 90% aerobic and 10% anaerobic, with some variation on these proportions depending on the distance of the event. So it would seem logical that you need to improve aerobic fitness to improve your performance but what type of aerobic training should you do? In a standard program you will focus on low intensity base work first and then add higher intensity work later in the year. But is this right for you? It is possible that you need a different approach to your training. Determining where you as an individual need to focus is a matter of something called proportional fitness.

 Proportional fitness is an examination of how peak anaerobic power, VO₂ max, anaerobic threshold, and aerobic threshold compare to each other. In an ideal situation you would expect to see the following relationships: Power at anaerobic threshold should be 80-85% of VO₂ max power, aerobic threshold power should be 65-70% of VO₂ max power and VO₂ max power should be 40-45% of peak power.

 The ideal way to determine these relationships is with a fitness test that includes both lactate and oxygen analysis. A standard VO2 max test with lactate measures can give you the scores you will need for VO2 max, anaerobic threshold and aerobic threshold. A Wingate bike test, which is a 30s all out sprint with a predetermined load, usually done on a Monark bike will give you your peak power score.

 If you went to an exercise physiology lab and had all these variables measured you could get a very accurate picture of where you stand but this isn’t possible for everyone. Instead several simple tests you can perform on your own will give you a start at estimating your proportional fitness. You will need to determine all your data in watts so you will need access to a computrainer or another type of bike that can provide wattage scores.

 VO₂ max can be estimated as the average watts from a three minute time trial. Anaerobic threshold is close to the average watts used during a 30 minute time trial. Peak power is the maximum wattage you see during a 30 second all out sprint. Unfortunately there is not a good field test to determine aerobic threshold so you will not be able to get a complete picture unless you get some professional testing done. Do each of these tests on a separate day so that fatigue from one test does not interfere with the results of another test. Let’s assume you do all the tests and come up with the following data:

 Table 1. Sample Data

Test	Wattage
VO2 max power	400 watts
Anaerobic threshold power	295 watts
Aerobic threshold Power	180 watts
Peak Power	750 watts

 From this data we can calculate:

 Table 2. Comparing the Sample to the Ideal

	Actual	Ideal
VO2 vs peak power	53%	40-45%
Anaerobic threshold vs VO2	74%	80-85%
Aerobic threshold vs VO2	45%	65-70%

 

 Interpreting the Data

To understand the data we need to understand the relationship between the physiological points we are discussing and the concept of ceilings. Figure 1 shows the relationship between the physiological points. Each of these physiological points can only get so close to the point above before you stop seeing progress. For instance if your anaerobic threshold gets to 85% of your VO2 max it becomes very difficult to move it any higher, this is not to say that you couldn’t get it to 90% but it may take years to get it to do so. You would probably get better race results by focusing your training elsewhere. Table 2 shows the results of our example and the ideal relationships between the physiological variables.

 Looking at the results we see that VO2 max is a higher percentage of peak power than it should be, 53% versus the 45% ideal, suggesting that this person needs to improve their peak power or they will have difficulty improving their VO2 max any further.

 Anaerobic threshold is 74% of VO2 max as opposed to the 85% ideal. This means the person in our example also needs to raise their anaerobic threshold.

 Finally we can also see that aerobic threshold, as measured by the 75- 90 minute test is 45% of VO2 max instead of the 70% ideal, indicating a need for more low intensity long duration work.

 Setting Your Training Focus

Now that you have the data and have determined what needs to be trained you can now set training priorities. Your first priority is to train the area with the biggest percentage difference between your score and the ideal. In the case of our example this would be aerobic threshold, which is 25% away from where it should be. Second priority will be anaerobic threshold and third is peak power. Fortunately training at low intensity, to improve aerobic threshold will have some carry over affect to anaerobic threshold, improving it as well.

 If all the variables are close to the same percentage away from the ideal use the following guidelines:

1.  Work aerobic threshold first, particularly during the winter months. This will help get you ready for the higher intensity work to follow.
2. Peak power is the second priority since it will limit everything below it. Raising peak power gives more room for everything else to move up. Keep in mind that it doesn’t take long to see improvements in peak power, 4-6 weeks of short sprint training combined with a year round strength program.
3. Anaerobic threshold will be improved through the low intensity long duration work and only needs to be trained 1-2 times per week for everyone below an elite level.
4. VO2 max will be improved through all of the training methods above and therefore doesn’t need a lot of focused training. Most research suggest that dedicating more than 5% of your yearly training hours to VO2 max level training may hinder your performance more than help.

 

It is difficult for anyone to admit to weaknesses but in sport it is the only way to improve and reach your full potential. Identifying your training priorities through proper testing and data interpretation will help you focus your training on those areas that are going to give you the biggest return on your training time investment.