Beer Drinker Appreciation Society (BDAS) - Open (Page 106)

I'm jealous. I have no DVR. I rely on what people upload and youtube. Mostly I just watch 1998-2005 over and over again because that's pretty much all I have. 

Sufferfest.

1) Almost all sufferfest workouts are hugely variable in their efforts. They're more like kitchen sink workouts in that they hit every zone and intensity level over the course of the workout. This is great for the occasional workout (depending on the time of the year) but these workouts don't really do anything for overall fitness.

2) They are usually all focused on high intensity efforts. High intensity and efforts at 105+% of FTP have their place but no one needs to train their 20s-3min power in the fall and winter. It's a fitness that doesn't last and the intervals aren't structured enough to have longterm adaptation benefit. I.e. You'll get really good at hammering for 30s for a couple of weeks but won't see as much hypertrophy of fast twitch muscle fibres, increased ATP storage, or increased lactate tolerance as you would with proper structured anaerobic and neuromuscular  workouts. 

3) Because the workouts are so intense you accumulate fatigue, you sweat, you burn calories, you might even be a little sore after. All these things we take to be signs of a 'good' workout and give us the impression that we're training effectively. The problem is that Sufferfest workouts incorporate very little moderate intensity work (65-95% of FTP) and when they do it's often for very short intervals, much shorter than is needed for the effort to be effective. So while you feel like your getting a good workout, you aerobic ability is probably suffering (possible pun intended). 

4) Folks often argue for the benefit of Sufferfest because they 'simulate real riding conditions' i.e. riding outside usually involves lots of varying effort and very rarely do we, for example, ride a 20min effort at exactly 85% of FTP like you would in a TrainerRoad workout like Logan. And this is true. But simulating real road conditions isn't what makes you a stronger rider. Sweet spot, Tempo and threshold intervals aren't meant to simulate real riding. You don't ride at one power output for 10-30minutes to get used to doing that, you do it because it increases plasma volume, increases density of mitochondrial enzymes, creates a larger callipary network, etc. If you want to get better a real riding conditions, go real riding in the summertime. 

5) Folks often feel like stronger riders doing Sufferfest videos for one of two reasons. Either they lack a lot of cycling fitness to begin with, in which case any consistent riding will cause improvement, or because they get used to the workouts, they acclimate to the effort but can't necessarily produce more power or are any stronger. It won't necessarily equate to faster times out on the road. Sufferfest workouts will definitely result in some performance improvements but compared to structured workouts of the same length, the benefit per minute of workout is significantly lower than in structured workouts. 

6) Sufferfest workouts can be so difficult at times that many people without the requisite base fitness can either injure themselves or burn out and get sick of training from doing these too much. Those Tour of Sufferlandria things are cool but don't mistake them for a week long training session just because they emulate hard racing. Actual stage races kill fitness (and not just because they make you tired). Those kinds of races and race situations are what you train for, not what you use to train. 

Thanks, Alan.  That makes a lot of sense.

I've used them pretty sporadically over the past few years - the one I've used the most is Hell Hath No Fury which is basically a 2 x 20' workout with a beat down TT at the end.

And yes, I've done the TdS.    And I'll admit I definitely had to do a recovery week after (maybe two LOL).

What do you think of the TrainerRoad training plans?  I've loosely followed the older versions of their triathlon/TT plans.

Another month, another half marathon in the books! This time it was one of my favorites as it was the first HM I ever ran, City to the Sea. A minute faster than last year, conditions were cooler and I was ready for the hill at the end. Celebrated with a Racer 5 IPA as usual.

Still left on my calendar: 2 HM's and an Oly, with the Oly just a week after a HM. Fortunately I don't race too hard so my legs should recover in a week.

Last week I was up in Seattle for business and sampled a bunch of beers at Pike Brewing. Overall good brews. There is a chance I may be up there more often so other Seattle brewery recommendations would be appreciated!

I know I've said it before, but I'm so jealous.  That's my favorite beer and I can't get it here in Maryland. 

My daughter had a swim meet over the weekend and there were some FAST kids there.

I saw a 10 YO girl do the 100 SCY in under a minute.  I also saw a 12 YO girl do the 200 SCY in under 2 minutes.  Let that sink in for a bit.

First of all - congratulations on taking the plunge.  Investing the $$ into it is sure motivational.  Next - prepare your offseason...figure out how much down time you're going to need or what limiters you could focus on over the next 6-10 weeks.  I think from Jan 1 gives you like 28 weeks, plenty of time.

Looking forward to hearing about the journey.