Last time on the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I talked about the science behind high intensity interval training.  In the end of that podcast, I said that I'd be back to talk about how to program high intensity interval training into your schedule and avoid some of the pitfalls that typically plague the HIT protocol.  I also said I'd give you a few different kinds of workouts to try adding to your training sessions.  You'll find those at the end of these show notes; all you have to do is share this podcast with your friends or get yourself signed on to the Tailwind Coaching Newsletter to download them.

So listen to the podcast, check out the show notes below, share with your friends and learn how to put more HIT into your riding!

As a reminder, the sponsor for this episode of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast is Stages Cycling.  Check out their power meters and help support the show!

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High Intensity Interval Training Part 2 Show Notes

@5:05 – Some questions on VO2 max

  • The expression of VO2 max – ml/kg/min
  • Ways VO2 max increases – decrease body mass, improved lung capacity/tidal volume, improved efficiency, improve stroke volume or amount of blood pumped, hemoglobin mass, etc
  • Typically we don't raise VO2 max over genetic potential, we improve the amount of our genetic potential we use.

Programming High Intensity Interval Training

@14:34 – How do we effectively program high intensity interval training work?

  • Short workouts with very high intensities vs long workouts with low intensities
  • Start with 1 per week (even in the base phase to introduce some variety into training)
  • Progress to 3/week during peak phase
  • Judicious use of high intensity interval training is key: too much too soon will overload the system
  • Special care should be paid to duration and intensity, both for intervals and overall workout

High Intensity Interval Training graphDuration/intensity programming is SUPREMELY IMPORTANT!  Why?  Too much of one or the other will push into overtraining.  Learning how to properly schedule your high intensity interval training sessions is a learning process that takes a lot of thought to execute properly.

@25:01 – Recovery is where the magic happens

  • Not just recovery between days, but recovery between SETS
  • Concept of HIIT relies upon rest between intervals to ensure quality work is completed
  • Rest intervals need to be AT LEAST 1:1, sometimes up to 4:1 rest/work interval
  • Dependent upon the goal of the interval: aerobic vs anaerobic adaptation
  • When interval quality declines during later sets, rest interval is too short or work capacity has been exceeded.

Examples of High Intensity Interval Training Programming

@33:34 – Aerobic HIT

  • 30/30s
  • 9x3s
  • 3x8s
  • cardio strength training or boot camp concepts

@42:31 – Anaerobic HIT

  • Track starts
  • 1 minute attacks during other intervals
  • Race winners (a variety of anaerobic and aerobic mix)
  • Flying laps on the track
  • Strength training in the gym (generally explosive type work)

Another high intensity interval training tool: Fartlek training

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