6 Training Sessions to TRANSFORM your Vo2 MAX

[@tristantakevideo]

Thanks for watching! For anyone looking for additional training information, I've included links to other videos with John in the description, covering base training, improving your FTP, plus a 7 and 28 day training plan every cyclist can follow.

[@DDai-qd8uk]

Thanks you legend. Keep it up man. Might be time to jump on the podcast bandwagon

[@jamegumm]

From playing bass in Green Day to cycling coach, amazing…

[@Spotofgardening]

This is incredible content! I may shorten them slightly but as a relative beginner who enjoys pushing it, this gives me some structure 🙏🙏

[@georgesarris5556]

number 5 sounds perfect for last lap at Melbourne sandown!.... 30 sec for the back straight rise, then the 10 sec sprint for the win!

[@bentaylor2607]

Great video, will definitely be using some of these this summer!

[@FlyingGravelMan]

Love these video’s! You know what would be really helpful is a spreadsheet with an overview of the sessions. Im now manually typing the data in excel and I might not be the only one😉

[@tristantakevideo]

Glad you’re liking the videos 🙏🏼 I usually recommend people grab a screenshot of each of the different sessions, pop them in a folder on your phone and then you’ve got them on hand when you need them.

[@xAudiolith]

You can really easily type them up into trainingpeaks. Don't need a premium account or anything. Can customise it to however you like and save them for later. That's what I've been doing with these sessions. Syncs to all your favourite devices too ;)

[@cskcb163]

Thanks for these videos Tristan, invaluable. Anyone can put together a solid training plan with this content, truly appreciate it!

[@mrazik9365]

really good video, my fav from the training series with John Wakefield so far

[@tristantakevideo]

Thanks so much, glad you liked it 🤝🏼

[@jb50-w3k]

Excellent, no questioning of the training plan required when John Wakefield is the coach! Keep them coming!👍👍

[@Gofastmark]

Been loving this series Tristan!

[@lcooperdesign]

Great stuff Tristan. Really like how you overlay the session charts, helps me visualise what I can’t process quickly enough when described verbally! One thing I’d really value is if you could make a “how to set your Wahoo up for planned sessions outdoors”. Wahoo’s documentation is terrible so some real user guidance would be awesome.

[@s-ultracycling]

Great workouts and info , cheers

[@lloydjarm]

Very nice. An idea for a video, if I may: show us how those look like. I used to run and trained mostly by myself. I learned so much just by training with others and looking at how the most experienced executed these workouts.

[@livingwithfshd]

i love Science 2 Sport, I see the team here in Cape Town! Top level professionals!

[@Bluesman2509]

What is the difference between longer efforts of 5-7 mins at low Z5 and higher Z5/Z6 efforts for only 1 and 2 mins?

[@wertyboy8704]

Their different body systems, vo2 is around 8-12 min effort and 3 min effort is getting to high intensity to get the load in

[@michaambroz6148]

Question 🙋‍♂️ For the 30/30s or 40/20s etc. is it better to: A) Target the effort that one can sustain over the duration of all repeats, e.g. hit 500W for every one of 10x 30s repeats or B) Go as hard as one can for every single burst risking that the first effort will be done at e.g. 700W but the last one at only 400W?

[@tristantakevideo]

Good question. I always suggest aiming for the same number for all of them, so 500w if that’s what you think is sustainable, and if you’re still feeling good by the last few, you can lift it for those. You’re better off completing the session as planned rather than completely blowing your doors and limping home having only finished 70% of the intervals. Hope that helps 🙏🏼

[@raymondgrayscape]

thanks for sharing this training tips...

[@dlhtd1021]

Great video Tristan, I am coming off a lot of base, and some regular high intensity, and launched straight into a block of 30/15's - before even watching your video. They are great and I'm starting to see what proper Vo2 training should feel like now.

[@aarondcmedia9585]

Appreciate the videos Tristan.

[@antonioviribaytorreblanca1460]

Muy bueno. Ejemplo de intervalo metabólico!! Saludos desde España.

[@KL-gl3qs]

very interesting approach. to increase the intensity as we head towards the race. I do it the other way around. lots of 80/20 in the winter and then a big SST/FTPblock with KA3 (low Rpm)8 weeks before the race to reduce Vlamx

[@MarkBurghouwt]

What are KA3 and Vlamx?

[@dlhtd1021]

@@MarkBurghouwtVLA Max I know, but am not familiar with KA3

[@G3o_]

Can you make a podcast with training sessions about climbing faster? Thanks!

[@scugno]

Wow, I really appreciate all these great workouts that you provide for free. They are so useful; however, just thinking about them makes my heart skip a beat. 😅

[@tristantakevideo]

I reckon you’d smash them! 😏

[@enchong03]

Love the Video! Definitely will incorporate these VO2 workouts on my training. I'm 2nd year cyclist who fell in love with the sport and looking to join some local races this year... These kind of video will really helps us out a LOT especially when it comes to our training regimen... Thanks Tris and Coach Jon! You guys are the best 💪

[@endorphintherapist]

Great video mate! love your work!

[@DennisGonzalez101]

Amazing video as always. Love your guys energy very pleasant to watch. John seems like a very nice human being to have as your coach 😂.

[@tristantakevideo]

Haha he’s a legend, until it comes time for 13x30/15’s 🥲

[@DennisGonzalez101]

@@tristantakevideo 😂😂🥵

[@frans.7975]

Thanks!

[@JimBlack-pk1mg]

Thanks heaps for taking the time to do these videos John - just getting a bit confused by what exactly you mean by metabolic training? (Fat max, sub LT1 or more lactate shuttling/clearance etc, etc?) It seems to mean different things to different people - and obviously don't get Andy Coggin onto the subject!

[@bobkatanga]

If you watch some of his previous videos you will understand what he means by metabolic training

[@Lioneldanjoyce]

By the way, what is warm up ride....? Newbie here 😃,and should we do it before do some interval day?

[@Artyq3]

Descubri este canal hace poco y me esta resultado muy util para mis entrenos!. Muchas gracias tristan!

[@tristantakevideo]

Gracias!

[@DDai-qd8uk]

For the 3 x 13 x 30s / 15s @ max. I'm ready to vomit after literally 2 reps if I do these at 100% effort. Well, looking forward to trying the other 5 sessions lol.

[@SwiftR]

Lower your power, you’re bound to drop out of sprint power eventually so I don’t know why they just do vlamax power/z6

[@DDai-qd8uk]

Yeah that's what I'll do, good call mate. But when he says maximal sprint, does that mean my full 1800W for 30sec? Because if it does, I need 5-10min recovery to even think to go again otherwise it's definitely vomit time.

[@tristantakevideo]

Lower it to what you can sustain for 30s (say ~1000w if your one-time 30s power is 1800w), and hit the 13 of them. It’s still a neuromuscular effort each time and your heart rate will still be sky high with lactate coming out your ears by the time you’ve done a bunch.

[@DDai-qd8uk]

@@tristantakevideo ye sorry my all out peak power is a shade over 1800, my best 30s power is a shade under 1300. being a track sprinter (the running kind...) in a previous life has left me with a weird power curve. ftp of a newborn baby, but reasonable anaerobic ability, but always need a stupid long rest between big efforts. will give 800-1000w a go and see how it goes. i actually have a feeling i may never be able to do this session at a decent power. i think i'd misinterpreted the idea of maximal here.

[@tristantakevideo]

@@DDai-qd8uk For these efforts, don't worry about hitting a specific number and rather try make it through all 13. As John says, aiming for a power number isn't all that realistic because often you'll fade during the effort. It takes some time to work out what 'sustainable' is for these efforts, but instead of power, aim for a RPE that is high, but sustainable over multiple repeats. If you fail, it's okay, you can have a few days off (or a week) and go again when you're ready...thats the beauty of training.

[@Jujukatrevinkatorze]

Wonderful content

[@eltribun]

3x 13x 30/15 is actually not ment to be all out sprints but the upper end of your vo2max watts otherwise you just blow up after two reps... doesnt make sense. 40/40 I would replace with 40/20 since recovery time is to high to stay in the vo2max zone. can recommend Steven Seiler for that stuff. I often use to do decreased intervals, so first min of a 5min interval going harder to faster reach the vo2max zone and then settle to a certain output for the rest. its a bit similar to the "winner" intervals but without 10sec sprint and no all out at the start.

[@justinf1343]

Thanks for sharing.

[@johankarlsson1344]

Great video! Quick question though: What are the metabolic intervals recommended on day three of the example training week?

[@bobkatanga]

If you watch some of his previous videos you will understand what he means by metabolic training

[@tristantakevideo]

Good question. I've included a bunch of links in the description to other videos we've made covering different kinds of training - the 7 and 28 day training plan videos in particular discuss metabolic intervals and give a more thorough run-through with visual explanations.

[@johankarlsson1344]

@@tristantakevideo cool, thanks a lot!

[@tristantakevideo]

@@johankarlsson1344 No problem, good luck with it!

[@thelegitwardrobe]

Please make a video on how to increase our ITT 40km performance With ITT specific workouts

[@wertyboy8704]

Do some FTP 20 min under overs 👍

[@benjaminwesercreative]

Translates pretty well to running 👍🏻. I‘d be curious what the amount of recommended vo2max session would be outside the 1-2months leading up to a race.

[@tristantakevideo]

I’ll ask John next time I see him. Going off what I’ve been prescribed over the past 12 months, not many sessions (if any) have been focussed on vo2 max when I’m not in the race season. We’ve focussed a lot more on metabolic and threshold work.

[@Benjaber74]

Amazing

[@karlhammerl1420]

How do u set up your Garmin head unit to any of these sessions ?

[@tristantakevideo]

My lap page is set up with speed, 3 second power, lap average power and lap time. Keeping it nice and simple so you can see just the data you need when you look down quickly. I then have a second page set up with last lap time, last lap average power and last lap normalized power.

[@Der_Richie]

@tristantakevideo Can you make a video for diferent garmin page setups?

[@tristantakevideo]

I will try to integrate it into a future video for you. 👌🏼

[@tristantakevideo]

Inspired by your comment, I made a reel on my Instagram with a short version of how I have my Garmin pages set up.

[@DDGB08]

Excellent content

[@tristantakevideo]

Glad you enjoyed it🙏🏼

[@Stefflaj]

Great content ! I wonder what is John's thought about shorter vs longer vo2max intervals !

[@davidblack5179]

What are metabolic intervals? Threshold?

[@seriousstuff50]

was there a mention of breathing techniques? ie breathe in through the nose.....out through the mouth,as this is considered one of the best ways to increase lung capacity.

[@tirolerachefliegenfischer8437]

If you can breathe through your nose you are far away from VO2max…

[@ricardocamacho1627]

Sounds like you already have it figured out!

[@seriousstuff50]

Intelligent reply.

[@quintinnel5230]

Best coach. 👊🏻

[@judd7699]

Very cool videos 🕺.. having access to a legend like this in the sport is 🎉🎉 Are you using salt - lemon juice or maple syrup in your sports drink ?

[@Doralex1708]

Might be a stupid question but how do you train outisde ? I'm used to train inside where I can be consistent but outside should I pick a climb, do the intervals then go down during rest if the climb isn't long enough ?

[@tristantakevideo]

Correct - climb for the intervals, then descend back down in between.

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Some really horrible ones amongst that. Could you maybe do a video on warm up? When I just do a normal ramp before a VO2max session, my legs just hurt and there is no power, if I do a few 5s sprints before, somehow my legs remember that you can also produce lactate instead of just hurting and the power is there.

[@ANGUS-HAS-TIME]

I managed to increase my vo2 max from 44 to 59 in just 4 weeks... Is this a lot? It seems quite crazy? While I naturally mixed it up in terms of intensity and did a few different types of sport, i actually just focussed purely on time and doing stuff I was in the mood for. Do you think this is just n00b gains?

[@tristantakevideo]

That’s a massively high jump, but I’m guessing is a Garmin watch estimate? You’d have definitely made improvements but not a 15 point improvement in 4 weeks unfortunately.

[@ANGUS-HAS-TIME]

@@tristantakevideo Hey Tristan, thanks for replying. It was actually the Harvard Step test that I have been using (funnily enough Garmin didn't change in the same period!). Do you know much about the Harvard test, any opinions on accuracy? You can see my video here which explains what I did: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnanmJ99bMqGptEsi=jQs0KYLhwnVrTyCZ Looking at Vo2 Max training, I wonder if I did actually just do the ideal mixture of stuff? (44 hours of sport in 4 weeks, mix of Zone 2, intervals, weights and some other stuff?). Since I was really not on form, maybe this is just noob gains? I'm really curious of the trajectory...

[@christhornham]

What are “metabolic intervals?”

[@jefuteerx0216]

I know, I'm asking too much but do you have a Pdf with the information just to have it more handy. Great video though

[@jeaniedevilliers1090]

John Wakefield is THE BEST

[@woutervl]

Any advice for flat earthers? Aka areas with no hills anywhere..

[@Nobleazure]

The dude at 3:52 needs to lower his saddle, stat!

[@drmitofit2673]

These HIIT workouts trigger mitochondrial biogenesis. VO2Max is a measure of mitochondrial mass. It's the focus of Greg LeMond's book "The Science of Fitness".

[@F1TZGER4LD]

Anybody know if Zwift has any workout blocks that replicate these sorts of efforts? Instead of having to custom one myself

[@ericbarfell]

Yes and no. Been looking into it recently myself. Zwift doesn’t have near the quality this video just gave us. In my amateur opinion, they appear to be close but pretty watered down.

[@ericbarfell]

Yes and no. Been looking into it recently myself. Zwift doesn’t have near the quality this video just gave us. In my amateur opinion, they appear to be close but pretty watered down. Zwift has a VO2 workout folder where you can see them in the companion app

[@MTBScotland]

going hard on the bike - giggidy

[@tristantakevideo]

😏

[@Evadroham-mq5ipb]

The 6 session is do for only 1 day? correct me if I'm wrong

[@tristantakevideo]

Yeah, only if you want a super, super hard workout. Don't repeat this too often as it's extremely difficult.

[@Evadroham-mq5ipb]

I don't really understand to how do that can I give me a example for 1 week training, and how to do this per day

[@SwiftR]

Real ones watched the first upload

[@troycollett8540]

Good tip is to fuel these sessions well as you will be burning through the carbs

[@tristantakevideo]

Absolutely, proper fuelling is a must for these. Especially as one progresses and extends the number of repeats.

[@troycollett8540]

@@tristantakevideo Harry Sweeneys videos put me onto the eat my ride app

[@edgibbs3229]

What is a “Metabolic Ride”?

[@bobkatanga]

If you watch some of his previous videos you will understand what he means by metabolic training

[@tristantakevideo]

I've included some links in the description to other training videos we've made, with a proper discussion of metabolic riding or intervals. The 7-day and 28-day videos in particular cover this.

[@6SpeedTA95]

30x15s at 200% of FTP???? I'm not sure that's physically possible if your FTP is calculated correctly.

[@carbonman1967]

Aim for RPE at about 8.5, or go for your 5 minute power. That’s more in line with the original Bent Rønnestad 30/15 intervals. They are supposed to be tough, but the key element is making it through them all, so it may be a bit of trial and error the first few times.

[@tristanm8250]

Most cycling youtubers seem to prescribe around 16-20 minutes of total time in zone per VO2 session, but all the really fast cyclists I know are doing at LEAST 20-25 minutes per session with multiple sessions per week. Why are y'all keeping the secret to elite fitness to yourselves? 😉

[@brankoladon2189]

We aren’t professionals

[@tristanm8250]

@@brankoladon2189 Fair enough

[@wertyboy8704]

I'm trying to get into a development team rn, im 15 yo and ATM I do 2 HIT sessions with about 30-40 min in vo2

[@2K00L2BTRU3]

I am masters racer and keep improving on one 12-16min vo2 sesh in 8-10 days

[@Spotofgardening]

Because we aren't all elite athletes with the time or need to train like a professional

[@yetogoicolea586]

wow wow wow beautiful

[@dastolh]

How are these zones defined?

[@tristantakevideo]

Z1: 121%

[@dastolh]

@@tristantakevideo do you have them in terms of %hrmax or %hr lt2 ? Thanks!

[@tristantakevideo]

@@dastolh Based off heart rate threshold: Z1: 106%

[@dastolh]

@@tristantakevideo thank you! :D

[@dlhtd1021]

Great video Tristan and Jon. Awesome sessions and thanks for commenting. Still have not summoned the will power to hit the Elite session, but it’s coming in a few weeks😂 All the others I’ve tried in some form the past year. Regards,

[@idw42]

13x30/15 x 7 per week everytime

[@tristantakevideo]

I've only seen one athlete ever be able to manage that. A guy who rides for Standert. Lives in Berlin. You'd get along with him well.

[@idw42]

@@tristantakevideo totally cracked in November

[@bryfsvt]

Drop the background music while talking!!

[@tristantakevideo]

Thanks for the feedback!!

[@gesp5151]

The amount of jumps in the editing is crazy and off putting!

[@tristantakevideo]

Hope the abundance of free information makes up for it. 😉

[@kevinmeisner5380]

Is this all in a row? Or broken up over days?

[@tristantakevideo]

Two of these sessions per week with plenty of rest in between. We discuss this at 11:15 in the video.

[@carbonman1967]

@@tristantakevideo would your recommend the 6 intervals as a build up over 6-8 weeks? Meaning, the first interval 2 times in the first week, the second interval 2 times in the second week and so on? It seems you are presenting them in progression from "easy" to superhard, so I guess they are not meant to be picked randomly, eg 8 weeks of 3*30/15*13 twice a week 😲