I’m using Dr. Michael Ross’s training program for my “get in shape” plan. I’m using his book, Maximum Performance for Cyclists.
Matt and I tested ourselves Wednesday morning on the trainer to get some stats. Unfortunately, my chart doesn’t have the nice “bends” in the curve to tell me what my aerobic and lactate threshold rates are, so I have to kind of guess. My guessing is coming from the way I feel when I ride the bike too, so I don’t think I’m too far off. Another interesting thing to note…the Garmin was way off on all of my zones except Zone 5. Below is the graph for my heart rate and power. As you can see, pretty linear.
So I looked at the graph for my cadence to power. I can find my aerobic threshold in the first bend in this graph. Supposedly, my aerobic threshold would be at 124 HR based upon this first bend you see, but that seemed too low, so I bumped it to the next bend that corresponds with a 135 HR. My lactic threshold will be dependent upon where my breathing became very labored, which was 165.
So based upon a combination of my gut feel and the modified Conconi test, these are my training heart rate zones.
I did a critical power test too to set up high intensity training zones, but I’m not even near being ready for that. Critical power for me is 230 watts. I was able to sustain that for 90 seconds.
Really interesting stuff. It will also be interesting to see how much you’ll be able to improve your LT. Great post and I can see you’re going to be tough in the endurance events this year!
This should be interesting. Dr. Ross doesn’t get much press…Joe Friel usually gets the most publicity. However, I like the background research Ross references to support his program, so I’m giving it a whirl.
While I’d like to see great gains this year, I don’t I’ll actually start getting real benefits at events until next season. I started a little late, on the program.
Hope to see you on the trails!
This training really is pretty interesting. Dr. Ross has a really good program, and I like the research he’s put into his book. Unfortunately, I started the training program a little late, so I don’t think I’ll see great results until proabably next season. In the meantime, it’s all about getting in shape!
That’s how you’re doing it. This is still an area that I have no F-in clue in. I know where I feel good end where I feel like crap. I just don’t know what I need to do to train properly. I also don’t want to pay a coach to tell me. Might have to check out the book.
Great post and good luck with the training.
Hey M–
The book, in my opinion, is all you need to get started. I think coaches are better for those needing the total package…how-to’s, mental training, the opportunity to talk with someone who has done it before, etc.
You’ve been there and done that, so all you need are the how-to’s to improve yourself physically. What I like the most in the book are the actual references to research conducted to back up Dr. Ross’s claims. You need that when you are doing some of those stupid training exercises wondering whether it’s worth it or not!
Ross is a M.D. and has followed up on the work of Conconi and Ferrari (before he went all uber euro-villain). The book not explains the what to do, but also the why and cites many medical journal articles. Damn good stuff.
[...] got lots of stats on my blog, and one of the posts with the most number of hits is my page on the Modified Conconi Test that I did. Interestingly, there’s still little good information on this, and I still think [...]
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