Friday Smash Session March 25th 2022
It was great to have two awesome Friday smash groups! Happy to add another later time so more of you can join. We had a great Vo2 max effort followed by some good sprinting where we chatted on strategy to sprints and how higher cadence going into a sprint was more beneficial for creating a faster speed to then maximise your power.
A bit on that Type 1 fast twitch muscle that remain important for sprinting...
What are fast twitch muscles?
Fast twitch muscles support short, quick bursts of energy, such as sprinting.
Now its important to work on these even if you dont necessarily want to be a sprinter. For a more well rounded muscle build, its good to work in both fast twitch efforts to stimulate the response of the type 1 muscle fiber.
Fast-twitch fibres can shorten twice as quickly as slow-twitch fibres while generating the same tension. Cyclists with a high percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibres in their lower limb muscles will be able to produce more power, and at higher cadences.
Again, higher cadence means less force on your muscles resulting in less fatigue over time.
With that, You were all superstars for taking my little twist at the end with that extra VO2 effort
Now lets recap some of the conversation we chatted about involving our good Friend VO2...
WHY VO2 max. Yes its a hard effort and not too pleasurable.. so why would it be so important to train it?
VO2 max is a measurement of your maximal oxygen consumption - your maximal aerobic capacity.
As you increase your effort, your muscles use more oxygen until the demand overtakes the supply.
If you work above your VO2 max zone, your effort becomes anaerobic and only sustainable for short durations. Broadly-speaking, power on the bike can be generated in two ways: ‘aerobically’ (using oxygen) and ‘anaerobically’ (without oxygen). In other words, your VO2 max defines the size of your aerobic engine. The bigger this engine is, the more power can be produced via this energy system.
You can try to train near your VO2 max and slowly increase it which in some cases is a great way to keep building your overall power, but training at your VO2 max will really work Right at that max uptake zone and push your body to learn to adapt and cohabit without full oxygen usage. over time and practice with such intervals, your body will do the incredible... build to adapt and become stronger meaning your VO2 max will increase greatly.
Now don't confuse VO2 max with being the only thing to do to improve overall strength on the bike. You have to have a periodic balance of gaining both aerobically AND anaerobically. This means you also have to train in your other zones to become a more well rounded rider and overall capable and more well rounded in strength.
Why is it important to improve your VO2 max efforts?
VO2 max matters for cyclists because the aerobic system is the most sustainable way to generate power. Yes. if you are looking to get to that 'next level' with your power, VO2 max work is the way. so today you can check your weekly VO2 workout off!
I recommend doing a VO2 workout one a week or every other week to keep improving cardiovascular health and overall power. Once a week with good recovery because generating power ‘anaerobically’ is a time-limited system, and although quick to deliver energy, produces byproducts that cause fatigue.
Vo2 max builds lactate fast, but building that lactate within your body also trains the body to work with lactate and be able to work more efficiently to take that lactic acid that builds and break it down into pyruvate and lactate that can then go back into the energy system cycle and be formed back into that ATP energy. The only way to be best at this is to practice with accumulating such through workouts like on Friday. That's why we took on those VO2 max efforts followed by sprints to push that limit further for the body to adapt
our bodies are incredible with adaptation!
It was a super session! and you all killed it! THis week we head back to the longer climbs and have some goodies in store! Make sure to sign up and invite your friends to come along! I am happy to give 1 week free to any new user! Together is more powerful and together we are unstoppable.
If you want a specific time, Be sure to sign up under the time you wish *either monthly or weekly (if you are an athlete of mine, just communicate what time you wish). TO that let's get more joining along for these awesome smash session!
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Stay tuned for what's coming up on Wednesday for this week's Friday Smash!
See you around!
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