Originally Posted by
DaveLeeNC
Yesterday I rode indoors (afternoon - just too damned hot - heat tolerance is another old age victim) and the plan was 90 minutes of kind of tempo riding where I would throw in a few 'simulated climbs' just for grins. I ended up fielding a phone call that took an hour about halfway in. After the rest the 2nd half of the ride was both 'way better' (WRT how it felt) and it was at an average power output that was at least 10% higher than it would have been otherwise. And that means it burned more calories which is one of my goals here.
So now that I have typed this I guess I have a question. Does the last half of this workout (now that I look at the data it is actually the last third) have more training value vs. having stayed on the bike and slogged through (higher RPE) at a lower power output (assume the same power profile)?
Doesn't surprise me that the brief "breather" you took rejuvenated the ride. Intervals, with occasional lulls or "breathers" for short-term recovery during the activity. Very useful.
In my experience, everybody's body and training results can be different enough for a given training technique that it's worth finding what works for yours specifically.
In my own case, with my performance distance running I found occasional hill work along with regular intervals/fartlek made huge differences in my overall cardio and speed. And much of that translated to stamina on the bike as well. When I could "peg" the right number and intensity of such workouts, combined with my strength training and general distance "base" mileage to keep up, I found I would perform better on tougher routes, longer runs and rides, hills, etc.
I've also found that HIIT seems to work reasonably well for me. Or, at least, it did back when I could "bring it" to the level that gains could be had from such periodic challenges in my training.
Doing a small variety of workouts, too, has helped. For cardio, a bit of swimming, a bit of rowing, a bit of higher-tempo HIIT/fartlek type segements. For strength, a bit of hills, a bit of gym strength exercise of the compound varieties, a bit of hard trail hiking. With plenty of cycling and running as the "base" part of the training. By varying which types of workouts I once did, interspersing the tougher stuff within the regular workout every other day or so, I found I could keep doing activity nearly every day with only the rare day off, while still improving. That varied approach worked well, back in the day. (Injuries, these days, preclude my doing much intensity in any of my workouts; needs to be closely managed, given the hard limits I've now got as compared to when I was seriously fit.)
As I'm aging, too, my biggest barrier: recovery time. Seems best when I do a reduced-intensity active recovery, doing some sort of physical activities other than my tougher, primary exercise activities, allowing the body the increased blood flow, increased flexibility, but allowing the impacts from most-recent harder workouts to repair themselves.