Yes, 100% for sure. I read he discussed VT1 as well and he said they are correlated and we might find VT1 to be the right value for you. Really the actual perfect target is some what arbitrary chosen based on MAF test results and experimentation. So you are 100% following MAF if you start a lower level and move up and continue to see progress even if it is above +5. He makes it clear it’s safer to be a bit too low then a bit too high but if you are seeing progress you are following the progam.
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I’m a cyclist and I’m broken. I’ve resorted to 30 minutes 4-5x/week and staying 120-125 bpm until my issues resolve. It may not be accurate but after several weeks I’m seeing, albeit a very small, increase in power for the given HR.
In the past I would go out on my long Zone 2 rides with the intent of staying below MAF HR but due to duration or heat etc would always drift above it by the end.
It’s like Alex said, you have to stay disciplined and not drift above it. Build in the wiggle room and set it -10 beats lower to be on the safe side. You will still reap the benefits.
I have been ultimately forced to comply as it’s the only way I can continue to do what I love and not put added stress on my system further worsening my condition. I’ve seen it work in others and I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do for me now that I’ve learned that playing around with drifting above (at least in my case) just doesn’t work by putting more stress on the body than is the desired focus of the session.
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Hi BlackTrek,
Good questions.
I’m not a Maffetone follower. I’m more of a polarised guy. This is important as that’s where my advice is coming from.
I think it is a mistake to quit weight training. There are so many benefits to it. It is not the same as anaerobic bike training.
However, if you choose between quitting and doing half the weights, I would choose quitting. There are no benefits in working out with half the weights unless you are going to do 5sets of 50reps per exercise. The benefit would be an aerobic workout with weights, in which case I would advise you to spend that time on the bike.
So do it all the way. I read that you enjoy riding your mtb. You could ride easier tracks to keep that effort low, but still have fun.
I’m curious about your results.
Have fun, Coach Robert
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He is a life long weight trainer rather new to cycling (a few years). He will never give up weight training 
He’s just reducing intensity and duration for this test.
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Hi Guys,
I’ve just ended a 2h45min indoor workout for my AeT / MAF test, and here the results:
This time I’ve also added two extra blocks of 30 minutes to add some more Z2 work and also test power at lower HR.
I’m happy to start seeing again some small improvements since June. Last test made on the 21st of October was not a true correct test (made 8 days after donating blood)
Weight training: I can’t live without On top of that the gym is the door next to my office. I understand that with lighter weights there is no improvement, but at least I try to keep some form. With 3 months of Base period and no anaerobic work it’s easy to lose body weight very fast (and I’ve already lost 2 kgs in 3 weeks).
I also like the polarized approach, but for the next couple of months I want to follow Maffetone as precisely as I can. Doing heavy weights with 3-4-6 reps creates a lot of metabolic stress (cortisol) that blocks the aerobic growth.
In any case @Robert_UCL thank you for your recommendation.
@LunethG good luck with your recover, and thanks to you too!
Here I also add the raw data of this test (only the one at 135bpm)
The power in the last 10 minutes went down a bit because I increased the cadence by 5-10 rpm
3 posts were split to a new topic: Raising your Work Capacity
Six months and two weeks since I shifted to a mostly low HR training regime seems like a good time to check in on progress.
I wrote a little about it in another thread Steve Neal tempo training thoughts - #99 by Ivegotabike and here is the power vs HR graph for the period three months prior to my switch to low HR (blue), compared to the period since (red).
In the coming months, I will be sticking with a majority low HR (MAF) work, sprinkled with a very small amount of whatever other stuff takes my fancy. The results of the current “steve neal” workouts I am incorporating have been good (see the graph around the 146bpm area), so there will be more of that. I want to see how FTP intensity workouts (my least favourite) can contribute. I also have some ideas about HR+ VO2 workouts that I want to try too.
I feel pretty engaged with the process just now. More so than in quite a while. Which should help me to keep the consistency going through the winter.
Thats interesting… Strange the divergency at around 125 bpm, is this single workout comparison? The HR at 20 minutes for 5 minutes like @BlackTek does, with consistent protocol and environment… i.e. maf test would be more clear but still the general 20w increase looks great.
This is the intervals dialog box to generate that chart. You specify the minimum number of minutes to track.
CSV data is available, see an example below. 2024 is on the left and 2025 is on the right. There are weird dips in some spots, it depends HOW you were collecting those minutes, was it recovery after intervals, etc…
Dave
That is due to my fiddling about with things.
My MAF HR is 132. When I first started, I set the HR+ target to 125. As I got more used to the workouts and as the variability of my HR throughout the workouts reduced a little too, I raised the HR+ target to 126, 127 and it is now at 128.
It is very rare that I go over 132 and quite unusual for me to get to 132 for more than a few seconds during the 2 hour workout. If there are further improvements in my aerobic system, I may even be able to raise the HR+ target again.
I do, of course, need to be mindful that my MAF HR will be reducing by 1 in a few months.
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Hello,
just a short update here, after the winter spent with MAF protocol. As I mentioned, I’ve started with the polarized protocol a couple of weeks ago, and it seems that just after 2-4 weeks the anaerobic capacity is back and also already improved!
My previous eFTP peaked at 283w in the summer, after many months with VO2 Max intervals and threshold training.
Now I’ve just started doing anaerobic efforts again, and after the first week with very very low W’ (only 10k) today I’ve seen a 30k W’ drop (considering 270W FTP).
I’m very confident that results will improve, and, yes, it seems that all this aerobic training done during the winter is now showing results.
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today I made a new ftp test on the indoor trainer, and I sustained 298w for 20 minutes; therefore FTP is around 284w, +25w compared to 10 months ago.
I’m now studying a lot VO2 max training (Category: Vo2maxseries - Empirical Cycling is a nice to read), to proper implement a polarized approach. My idea is to do a VO2 max workout on Tuesday, Z2 3/3.5h on Thursday, sprints+z2 on long saturday ride, and mixed (z2 + hard efforts to have fun) on the long ride on Sunday. Total 10/13 hours per week.
Does it sound a good program?
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Wow. That’s all I can say: “Wow.”
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Tnx @Alex 
yes, it’s a nice reward after a winter spent training “slowly”
Today:
-
Best power for the season: 311w for 8m!
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Best power for the season: 307w for 12m!
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Best power for the season: 298w for 20m!
And on the 31st of January:
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Best power for the season: 264w for 30m!
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Best power for the season: 261w for 40m!
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Best power for the season: 259w for 1h0m!
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Your threshold HR has increased by 1 to 172 bpm from 1h at 172 bpm
And on the 24th of January
- Best power for the season: 351w for 5m!
- Best power for the season: 304w for 8m!
it seems that the the anaerobic form returned back, with some interests!
Thank you for all your recommendations and help!
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That is a nice collection of results.
I am pleased that your patience with the low HR block has paid off so well for you.
The structure you outline for the polarized approach looks OK. Do consider how hard the Sunday ride turned out to be before you jump into the Tuesday VO2 session. If a particular Sunday was too spicy, dialling Tuesday’s workout down a bit might be the sensible choice.
Also, watch the data and, if the improvements stop coming, consider whether it is time for another low HR block.
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thank you @Ivegotabike
the plan is to go on with VO2max workouts until the 20th of March, after that 2 weeks off from the bike (vacation), than restart with a 2 months base period again, but with one “short” VO2 max workout per week. June and July will be “build period”.
As you know I don’t race, but I like to create short-medium-long cycles to avoid plateaus
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