Buongiorno!
It has been over 2 years since I wrote the original sweet
spot article and it is nice to hear how many athletes have
added it to their training and benefited. I have lurked around on the
message boards and the following "part deux" is how I have
been integrating sweet spot into the training I prescribe for athletes.
First what is Sweet Spot?
Technically, the sweet spot is located between high zone 3 and low zone
4: between 83-85% to 97-100% of your FTP/MSS, or power at threshold.
For the non powermeter user I would call it "medium hard"
- below your 40k time trial race pace, but harder than a traditional
tempo workout. |
|
The underlying principle of sweet spot training is a balanced amount
of intensity and volume. From the table above, sweet spot elicits more
adaptations than tempo but less than threshold work. The trade off is
the key element because day to day an athlete can achieve more positive
physiological adaptations by sweet spotting than with threshold or tempo
work. The balance lies in the athlete's ability to repeat and achieve
similar wattages day after day with more frequency than full on threshold
workouts. The end result is mo' better training, and ultimately a higher
power at threshold.
How to Sweet Spot
Conceptually sweet spot training can be applied in a variety of ways.
Here is my original favorite:
Example 1: "Sweet Spot: __ hrs" I
prescribe this "free form" workout for ultra motivated athletes
with a kiloJoule target that's based on previous data. Suffice it to
say, this 0.5 to 3-4 hour workout is not popular. Most of the following
examples below have originated from creative ways to sweet spot that's
easy on the "head". In other words, not mentally taxing. After
all this is the off-season and the of end season is a long long way
away.
The duration is dependent on the athlete, their training load, and their
state of fatigue. For example, I'll prescribe more sweet spot following
a block of rest than I would following a more difficult workout.
Instructions: Go out and ride hard. Start off the ride just below your
threshold wattage around 90 - 95% of your threshold power. Get after
it and as you fatigue let your wattage fall between tempo wattages.
Then after further fatigue sets in, high zone 2 finishes off the workout.
Basically - get after it and accept the fatigue that comes with riding
hard. You are also looking to achieve a lot of kiloJoules and a large
TSS once the day is done.
It is important to note that you are not trying to hold one certain
wattage or range during the ride. However, once the workout is downloaded
and analyzed you do want to see specific sweet spot wattage for the
duration(s) that you where "sweet spotting". In these files
the longer the athlete continuously sweet spots the more close the normalized
power will be to high zone 2. The shorter the sweet spot, the more I'd
like to see normalized power come in at a high tempo/low threshold range.
Example 2: "Group Ride Sweet Spot"
ride on the front in the wind, take longer more frequent pulls. Do more
work, be aggressive. While all this is going on, use your powermeter
to confirm that you are indeed sweet spottin'. Or participate in a group
ride with stronger riders that force you to ride harder just to stay
with the group. Also see example 4.
Example 3: "45 minutes of Sweet Spot climbing
during a 3 hour ride" For those athletes in hilly or mountainous
regions, I like to prescribe this ride a lot. Athletes are encouraged
to choose the route he or she wants and ride in sweet spot from the
bottom to the top of any climb they want. The athlete must keep track
of their total time spent climbing. It offers a lot more freedom and
motivation than structured intervals say 3 x 15 min On. A good example
is an 18 minute climb followed by a 10 minute climb and finished off
with a 15 minute climb. 45 minutes of solid work in a stimulating format.
Example 4: "Ride with stronger riders,
sweet spot" Girls ride with the boys. Cat 3's ride with the 1/2's.
Masters with the young guns. 'Nuff said. Riding with stronger riders
makes you stronger - and often times it is because you are pushing sweet
spot watts. Download and double check your power file to be sure.
Example 5: "Race Sweet Spot" &
even better "Stage Race Sweet Spot. Perhaps you are using a race
for training and aren't interested in the usual strategy of "sitting
in and waiting for the move". Make the race hard and go off the
front early. Ride the break at sweet spot wattages. The longer the break,
the bigger the training effect. So what if you get caught! Nothing risked,
nothing gained and maybe you will be so good at sweet spotting that
you'll take yourself all the way to line for the "w". You
never know till you try.
For stage race sweet spotting - it's the cumulative effect of 3 to 5
days or more of "hard racing". A stage race like the Tour
of the Gila or Mt Hood with plenty of climbing is a great example. Even
7 days of Superweek racing will bring your form up because most of the
criteriums come in at sweet spot wattage for the race as whole.
Example 6: "Mountain bike Sweet Spot"
-- Choose challenging terrain and focus on having fun but going fast
and working hard. I do not have any mountain bike races files, but I
would venture to guess that the normalized power for a 2hr mountain
bike race is at the upper end of the athlete's sweet spot wattage.
Example 7: "Motorpacing Sweet Spot"
- the ultimate in my opinion. Try it - you'll go fast. One hour once
a week at sweet spot wattages (normalized for 1 hour) over rolling terrain
will turn you into an animal! Note that this is not a steady state workout
-- juice it on the hills and recover on the downhills. When you download
your file the normalized power for a super hard motorpacing session
should come in at quality sweet spot wattages.
Example 8: "Structured Sweet Spot"
For those athletes looking for more structure or are targeting a race
with a key climb or time trial duration, a sweet spot workout can be
written similar to traditional threshold workouts. Sometimes having
the duration and wattage to target is reassuring for athletes. For example:
"Sweet Spot: 4 x 15 min On 10 min Off between 85 - 100% threshold
power".
Total work = 60 minutes
"Sweet Spot: 2 x 20 min On 5 min Off between 85 - 100% threshold
power".
Total work = 40 minutes
Sweet Spot Metrics: TSS, kJ's, CTL & wattage
Back in front of the 'ol computer you'll want to measure, track, and
quantify your work. This subject is a whole other article but briefly
here's what to look for until I can write "Sweet Spot Metrics".
Wattage is the easiest way to analyze a specific sweet spot duration
in a power file. Select the duration you were sweet spotting and verify
the normalized power was in fact @ sweet spot wattages.
Training
Stress Score (TSS) is the ultimate way to measure the benefit
of sweet spot aside from directly measuring/testing your power at threshold.
By sweet spotting you are looking to achieve a large TSS at the end
of the day. kJ's are good for the non WKO+ user, but TSS is better.
For tracking your TSS from day to day, use the Performance Manager Chart
(aka TSTWKT)
to watch your Chronic Training
Load (CTL) rise. During a build phase where
the goal is to raise your CTL, there's nothing better than sweet spot.
You can't go sweet spotting 24/7 but you can lead off a block with plenty
of sweet spot.
Finally, sweet spot training and the workouts above are a fantastic
way to build a huge aerobic engine
this off season. In my experience as an athlete and a coach, a large
aerobic foundation should be your number one priority this winter for
a successful 2008 season. There are several areas of your training you'll
need to address afterwards but starting with the "big base"
will increase your performance. The bigger base you can build, the faster
you will be.
Copyright © 2007 FasCat Coaching - all rights reserved
|
