Cycling Base Training: 20 Hour Week, Is It Worth Doing Just One?

[@stijnb2645]

Wow. My question made it to a real online video session by Brendan ;-). Super answer as always...Ps: From Belgium, the cycling country 😛

[@EVOQBIKE]

oh dang!! I'll hit you up next time I'm in Belgium! not sure when, but love it there!! (Lived in Leuven for 3 months for grad school).

[@krispybacon5038]

Hats off to the guys/gals who put in those hours.

[@EVOQBIKE]

Cheers Krispy!! 🚀🚀🚀🚀⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@germanlondono8700]

Great video, as usual. NIce t-shirt as well. Greetings from Bogotá, Colombia

[@EVOQBIKE]

hey German, thanks! Hope to get to Colombia some day to ride!! Where is the best riding there? And t-shirts for sale but shipping a lot international still ;-(

[@germanlondono8700]

@@EVOQBIKE I would say here around Bogotá because I live here, but it's very high altitude. 2600 to 3000m, with varied terrain. You can train high (and long) mountains, punchy climbs, flat terrain, rolling hills... Other regions are great too (Boyacá, the coffee region [where Annemiek Van Vleuten trains], Antioquia) but they are not as versatile terrain-wise as it is around here. Weather is great too (doesn't go over 70F in Bogotá) but if you want heat, you just descend and you'll get it in less than 50 miles. Thanks a lot for your content!

[@EVOQBIKE]

I dig that altitude!! once I get towards 3k it's tough but eventually adapt, and great for training!! thanks for the awesome answer!

[@stijnb2645]

Ok, to recap. I did 12h30, 14h30, 10h, 15h (57h in December). Mostly Z2 work with one week zwift race for intensity. 3th week had less time, but started the Rapha500 that weekend and managed 17hours for the challenge. All indoor. .

[@EVOQBIKE]

thanks Stijn! Hope all is well!

[@Justnothankyou132]

"3th" 😂😂😂

[@JuanPedro-dt6lu]

Great content mate!

[@EVOQBIKE]

thanks for swinging through Juan! Cheers!

[@veganpotterthevegan]

Do you really tell people to avoid going over z2 in winter to avoid sweating?😅

[@markusseppala6547]

Good timing. I just started base, going to do 14h, 16h and 18-20 hour weeks as first block. Z2 and one tempo-burst workout per week. Would you still do high intensity maintenance workouts if you're doing tempo-burst work with 30s of Z5-Z6 every 5 minutes between tempo? It's been almost 2 weeks since last proper VO2max maintenance workout, I have hard time fitting them to the plan with the volume and 2 gym sessions per week.

[@EVOQBIKE]

honestly for the next block I'd just skip the vo2 and focus on the volume and the strength work. PLENTY of quality aerobic work in there, and you can do the harder sessions once we creep into the new year! Keep after it Markus!

[@benvowles1563]

Thanks for the vid, in the southern hemisphere here, how much vo2 per week is required for getting peak fitness during summer? I'm riding 10-12 hrs per week since September and do 2 60min crits a week and usually another vo2 session as well but feel the quality isn't there yet for efforts over 3mins, if I try more vo2 I end up too fatigued though. Could you link your best vid I can follow up with? Cheers

[@EVOQBIKE]

hey Ben, check out this one for different thoughts on different types of vo2 which might be helpful for you...longer doesn't have to mean harder, and quite often the opposite. You can use a hard start then ride just above threshold to hit 90% max hr and get some good vo2 adaptations that way. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmO3ZZ-Md7Opg9E I'd also search "vo2max" in the search box and we have a bunch of other ones that may help you out. 2 crits and 1 vo2 should be enough for summer, and change it up with different types of vo2 sessions. and re the fatigue; you might want to cycle off that 2 crit / 1 vo2 every 6-8 weeks, it definitely is fatiguing. I switch up to lactate clearance work or some thing more ftp based, then back to vo2 hard ones. hope that helps! good luck!

[@EVOQBIKE]

oh damn, are these 2 crits on different nights?! i hope the same night, otherwise you have 3 realllly hard days, that's too much IMO. I'd drop one of the crit nights

[@kochj0713]

Interesting that you would think something simple to just go and ride a bike and apparently all these lunatics complicated it to unknown measure. I just wanted to figure out how the hell do I get in shape? What’s my zone I need to keep that as far as my heart rate, But apparently that’s something no video I’ve seen on KZbin even mention it’s all complicated jargon

[@EVOQBIKE]

you nailed it: just go ride your bike to get in shape! stick to 60-70% HR Max for most rides...a chattable pace. you might see these videos as lunacy, but it's our passion for performance, where details matter. If you get more into cycling, they might be more applicable down the road. If not, no need to knock them just because it's not for you! Good luck with the training.

[@atlantaswelder]

Rest week? Whats that 😂😂

[@EVOQBIKE]

@@atlantaswelder uh oh! Hahaha 😴