Some boring Coach Jack Z2 workouts :-(

Training and Performance Fundamentals
#1

It’s probably my fault because I set Coach Jack up wrong, but the plan he created for me has too many boring workouts. Today, for example, it was a long flat endless 60 minutes ride, which I spent playing with my smartphone.
I felt like I wasted 75 minutes doing nothing, for the fourth week in a row.
I have to create a new plan in the hope of better understanding how it works.

  • 7 min @ 40%
  • 3 min @ 60%
  • 5 min @ 60%
  • 5 min @ 66%
  • 5 min @ 67%
  • 2 min @ 65%
  • 5 min @ 66%
  • 1 min @ 72%
  • 5 min @ 65%
  • 1 min @ 70%
  • 5 min @ 60%
  • 5 min @ 66%
  • 5 min @ 67%
  • 2 min @ 65%
  • 5 min @ 66%
  • 1 min @ 72%
  • 5 min @ 65%
  • 1 min @ 70%
  • 2 min @ 50%

What is the purpose or benefit of doing 3 minutes at 60% followed by 5 minutes at 60% again? Or 5 minutes at 66% then 5 minutes at 67% and again 2 minutes at 66%?

#2

If I understand correctly the zone 2 rides are randomly assigned to different structures (Kerfuffle, Collywobbles, Fard, etc…). I think these are done so a 60 minute zone 2 ride isn’t a 7 minute warmup followed by 48 minutes at 65% and then a 5 minute cool down.

You may want a custom CJ plan that doesn’t have zone 2 rides or to change the ride feel to make it harder.

Dave

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#3

Yep this is typical endurance rides from a power perspective. We are not pure polarized believers but follow a similar belief system that most of your rides should be easy. But yes you should be able to tweak CJ to get it exactly like you like it. Like stated create a custom plan with 3 workouts of your choice and don’t put them 2 days in a row and you won’t get any zone 2 if you don’t want it. If you need harder just crank up the intensity slider. Just remember hard winters followed by hard springs and summers usually lead to burn out. So in a typical racer periodization fashion winter should be preparing you for a harder spring. Everything in training is very individual and requires some personal experimentation and adjustments to fully match your desires and life. We always suggest doing what is fun as long as it does not compromise your health (too much).

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#4

I don’t want 2-3 months of hard workouts, but I don’t want 2-3 months of too easy workouts either. I think I’ll do an intense month of January, followed by February in Z2 with maybe some peaks in Z3 or some hard reps.
Then I’ll have to think about what to do in March as the last month of indoor workouts. Maybe it’ll be a mix.

#5

Yeah it’s not traditional if you want a spring peak but at the same time, I like non-traditional :slight_smile: It sounds like you are getting some recovery/base periods within the year so I think you are setting yourself up for fun and performance rather than burnout which is most important!

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#6

I like working out without getting bored and hoping not to lose fitness :upside_down_face:

#7

Bored sucks!!! Have fun!!!

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#8

Last winter I did mainly Z2 rides. Is it boring? well, Netflix helps. Instead of sitting just in front of a television on the couch, I’d figured I could as well sit on my bike. The result : Garmin and Strava didn’t get it, but when it got to spring time, I had made some real solid progress. Resulting in a summer of fun. Just ignore what the charts are saying, boring Z2 rides are not good for their device or subscription sales :slight_smile: … The thing I did notice : I improved big time on my basic endurance level (read : my Z2 power was up 20% for the same heartrate), but my Aerobe treshold didn’t go up with the same values. I would assume a bit normal, since I didn’t do any VO2 of HIIT work. So for this winter, just for fun, I decide to change the approach slightly : 4-5 days of Z2, 1-2 days of VO2/HIIT. A rest day when I feel like I need it, skipping one of the harder training session. It’s all not completely scientific, but I’m a 50+ cyclist just planning to do some events/gran fondos in the summer. I started doing this when the weather turned bad over here (which was in October and there’s stil no improvement in the weather). First results are amazing. both Z2 as the aerobic treshold seem to be moving in the right direction. No “cycling proof” yet (the road are literally flooded over here, so no outdoor riding). But : all number are trending in the right direction and I went skiing last week. It literally felt like I was 35 again… I could just keep going… Just my experience…

#9

Thanks so much for sharing. I have had exactly the same experience and so is everyone I know that has tried it. Some give up early feeling weak but anyone that has completed 3+ months of real base says they had the best spring ever. I also don’t find Z2 boring at all. But I was just accepting that he felt they were boring so not trying to convince him otherwise :slight_smile:

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#10

The real base needs more hours than what the athlete has done in the past, right?

Dave

#11

Not necessarily. It always helps and depends on your goals but I think 6 hours a week of zone 2 can give some one a really decent base. Now if previous years you averaged 10 hours a week for the whole year, this may not be as effective but the difference is more how you feel. After this base period you are just seriously hungry for harder efforts and as you start to do more effort you get immediate benefits having this solid base.

Each person is so unique as well as goals and expectations that’s it’s not exactly easy to answer that question. For absolute top performance big base might be critical but to have the most enjoyable spring/summer you have ever had, you can get away with a lot less.

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#12

I took the exact same approach 3 winters ago. And I added another one: I did already walk my dog every day, my buddy needs that! In stead of doing a leisure walk, I decided to transform that in a brisk walk, then a power walk, and now an easy jog. All that still at the same low HR. Hitting 70-80km a week now and feeling super strong at base intensity. Going on 60 this year, feeling in better shape then ever!

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#13

Oh yes I forgot to mention this, great point try to integrate other z2 work or even upper z1 work into your day. All efforts count.

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#14

In just discovered another great use of the heartrate training functionality. OK, I wish I didn’t have to “discover” it, but it’s great to have. So : just before New Year, I got a hefty cold. A real bad one… Read : couple of days not on the bike. Since Jan 4 I was able to get back to cycling. But how do you normally do that? Studies tell : start “easy” again, if you overdo it, it will do more harm than any good. TADA : HR based training ! For the first couple of days, I put the HR target at 110, which is somewhere low Z2, high Z1. and did just an hour of spinning around. The fun of it : if you feel the sickness is still there, stop it. If you feel you just had a dip in your fitness, the average power will tell you. And better still: over the days after, I could see the average power for the same HR trending back up. It’s not only an efficient way to get back on track, but probably also a safe way. You’re not overdoing it by design. And if you sickness is not yet out of your body, your power numbers will tell you. But you’re not putting any stress level on your heartrate…

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#15

I also catched a cold and restarted my training with some low intensity workouts. I just didn’t care about the power on the pedal just observing my heart rate to keep it in Z1/low Z2. Worked fine for me.

#16

That exactly my approach as well. All I did was I left the “observation of the HR” to the app :slight_smile: