Intensity

Good bike session this morning and one that prompted some interesting discussion with regard to intensity levels.

As with all Tuesday Front Runner bike sessions, this morning's was a threshold interval session. That means a number of efforts working at or near threshold intensity levels. Typically a tough morning out.

Despite the toughness of the session, we generally don't have an issue with people taking it easy. In fact what we discussed this morning wasn't about working harder, but actually working too hard.

When athletes get going on the efforts, often typical competitive athlete behaviour kicks in and they start pushing harder and harder. In fact, it is not unusual to see the athletes working pretty darn hard by the last effort. While hard work is good, in these threshold sessions it is actually possible to work too hard.

With the threshold sessions the physiological adaption we are after in an increase in the anaerobic threshold. We know that the best way to increase the anaerobic threshold is working at, or just below your threshold. That means you need to be working pretty hard, but it also means you don't want to be flat out. About an 8 or 9 out of 10 is about right, not a 10 out of 10. Working harder might feel good, but it also will mean that the session won't be produced the desired outcomes, so it is important to keep the appropriate intensity in mind during the efforts.

All this is fine on paper, but the concept often flies out the window once the efforts get going, people will sometimes just keep ramping up the effort as the intervals progress. That is what we were discussing this morning. The idea of moderating effort during hard intervals can be a bit of a foreign one for people. The idea of holding back a little during an effort can be even more difficult to get your head around, but it may be what is required for the session to have the desired effect. The session this morning was a good chance to practise.

Every session has a purpose, it is important to remember what that purpose is.