Aerobic
205 min
Medium intensity
Raise the intensity at which the body switches from fat to carbohydrate: three 30-minute blocks at 73-80% of CP, around LT1, inside a three-and-a-half-hour ride. For long road, gravel and marathon events.
David Van Orsdel
Coach, Devo Performance
Aerobic
205 min
Moderate
5 / 10
Advanced
Outdoors
The session
The workout
Written as a share of critical power, so it fits every rider. In Vekta it becomes your watts, with the W′ cost shown before you ride.
David Van Orsdel
Why this workout
The breakdown
Inside the workout
Raise the intensity at which the body switches from fat to carbohydrate. Long time at or around LT1, the turning point where carbohydrate starts to dominate, teaches the body to burn fat more efficiently, which saves the glycogen that long road, gravel and marathon MTB events need in their final sixty to ninety minutes.
Three thirty-minute blocks at 73–80% of CP with fifteen minutes easier between, inside a ride of nearly three and a half hours. The blocks are deliberately not hard: the adaptation comes from duration at the right intensity, and a rider who drifts into tempo has moved the session off its target.
Vekta's zones tab shows time in the 73–80% band, which is the only number that matters here, and the carbohydrate recommendations scale to the session so the fuelling supports the aim rather than fighting it.
A base-phase long ride, weekly, for anyone racing long. Outdoors; the trainer makes three and a half hours harder than the session is.
Aerobic
Stimulus
Advanced
Workout level
Outdoors
Best ridden
Road,
Gravel,
DISCIPLINE
The stimulus
Aerobic, explained
Sustained aerobic power below VO2 max: the engine between endurance and threshold.
What it is
Intervals and blocks at 80–100% of critical power, longer than VO2 max efforts and harder than tempo, often with torque or cadence work built in. Step-downs, long tempo-to-threshold progressions and torque blocks belong here.
Why it matters
This is where aerobic capacity is converted into usable power: the ability to hold a high fraction of VO2 max for long periods. It is the stimulus behind time trialling, long climbs and the last hour of a road race.
These sessions are long and demanding but not maximal. Pacing is the skill: the target is even power across the block, and the last minutes should feel hard but possible.
Aerobic sessions are the bridge in a block: enough intensity to hold the ceiling gained from VO2 work, enough volume to keep the base. Watch the intensity score in Vekta; these sessions should score high on volume and moderate on intensity.
Personalised to CP in Vekta, with the intensity graph showing where the session bites. Afterwards the session is classified by its dominant stimulus and compared with the athlete's previous aerobic sessions.
The Next workout
Workouts to pair with this one
Free for coaches. Test with your whole roster during the trial.