CYCLING PERFORMANCE · JAKUB PIENIAZEK
VO₂ Max Training for Masters Cyclists
What you are developing
VO₂ max describes the highest rate at which your body can use oxygen during intense exercise. It is one contributor to cycling performance, alongside sustained power, efficiency and the ability to resist fatigue. Improving it can be useful, but a higher laboratory value is not the only route to riding better.
Fewer sessions. A clear purpose.
One of the most common mistakes I see is too many VO₂-focused sessions within a microcycle. My preference is often one demanding session every seven to ten days, adjusted to the rider’s training load and recovery.
Within that session, I may combine classic longer intervals with shorter repetitions. For a suitably prepared rider, an example is four four-minute intervals, followed by two six-minute blocks alternating 40 seconds hard with 20 seconds easy.
The longer efforts establish sustained work, while the shorter repetitions add a different rhythm within the same session. Intensity, recovery between intervals and blocks, and total workload are planned for the individual.
This is a demanding session, so I want the rider to arrive ready to execute it well. The days around it should allow the work to be absorbed. Before scheduling another VO₂ session, I look at how the rider has recovered and responded.
For me, the priority is a well-executed stimulus followed by enough recovery to benefit from it.
Research & further reading
The combined session and seven-to-ten-day frequency above illustrate my coaching approach; the linked study examines other interval formats.
Interval intensity and duration: a cyclist training trial ↗