Hello!
I thought about opening a discussion for us amateurs to share our workout plan, so we can get some positive feedback from the community. I’ll go first. 
My aim for today’s workout is to build base and finish it with some salt and pepper.
Thanks! 
What is the purpose of the 5m Vo2 at the end of the ride?
ah … just something san millan mentioed a few times. i know, i know … 
I would suggest to first build up to at least 80min of Z2 before adding end-intensity.
Z2 workouts have best effect when duration is at least 70-75 min.
It’s a good idea to add some intensity at the end during base period, simply to preserve top-end power, but it doesn’t have to be 5 min VO2. 4-6 all out short (20sec) sprints is good enough and induces less fatigue then the VO2 interval.
thanks for the feedback, i agree. it’s just that i want to somehow maximize my 60 min workout. with the job and two kids under 6 is somehow hard to do longer workouts as i would absolutely love to do! 
How many days a week do you have to train?
Weekends included.
three times a week, one longer on weekends. i also run.
I would recommend having a dedicated day for VO2, and get the benefits of doing 12-25 minutes of time in zone.
Yes, that is an example of 4x4 minutes.
You can progress that to 5x4m (20 mins) and 6x4m (24 mins).
Then move to 5m intervals, and 4-6 repeats.
If you need a little more than equal rest intervals, eg. 5-min on 4x4, then take the extra minute.
Once you have a feel for how hard it is, try do it off ERG mode, and go as hard as you can go, rather than cap yourself to a limit (112%).
How does 4x4 compare to very short 30-20-10 repeated 10 times on a 30 second rest? Do you know which one is more effective? I’ve read somewhere that some Norwegian scientists did a study on the 30-20-10 and it is very effective at boosting VO2max.
Gerald has great advice.
Here’s my latest VO2 workout: 5x5min standing w/5min easy spin recovery, though I needed to build up to being able to finish this workout, and probably could have done 6x5min, but I’m putting in ~12hrs/week. I started at 4x4min.
I know you asked @gregor the question, but I will encourage my athletes to do the workout they are likely to want to do. I prefer 4-5m efforts, but will do over-unders during the year.
Crits, XCO and some road races have short, hard, repetitive efforts, so over/under type intervals might be better. XCM, punchy profiles on road races require longer efforts at almost full gas, where 3-5 minutes are required. It all depends on the intended use in the field. Both have their place, both are effective.
It might be worthwhile listening to this podcast, where they go into detail on both types of intervals (Threshold and VO2).
Today, I’ve asked ChatGPT: “Write my a cycling workout session to maximize health benefits”
Here’s the workout:
Warm-up:
- Duration: 10 minutes
- Zone: 1 (Easy Effort)
Main Workout:
1. Endurance Building:
- Duration: 15 minutes
- Zone: 2 (Moderate Effort)
2. Interval Training:
- Duration: 10 minutes
- Intervals: 1-minute High Intensity, 1-minute Recovery
- Zone: 4 (High Intensity)
3. Resistance Training:
- Duration: 10 minutes
- Zone: 3 (Moderate to High Intensity)
4. Endurance Building (Recovery):
- Duration: 10 minutes
- Zone: 2 (Moderate Effort)
Cool Down:
- Duration: 5-10 minutes
- Zone: 1 (Easy Effort)
Thoughts?
Per Billat and Seiler, the time spent in VO2max is where the benefits are best obtained. Obviously many of us, well me anyway 
, have some improvement to do so we can maintain that high heart rate (shorter cooldowns) and maintain the high power output we want to equalize across all the intervals.
But, no, LoL. ChatGPT is full of …
ChatGPT is on LSD sometimes :-p
besides shortburst in races (still able to do with a good aerobic base) , most tme to create adaptations is better ; so 3 to 5min (Elite maybe a 8min) , is better with higher respiration and RPE8,5
This exactly the opposite what i prefer and show me my weakness , with 30-30 - 30-20 is when i stronger, but races is not like that . So i sugest you pick where you feel weak , not only do things you are good at.(Of course build big aerobic always)
