VO2 Max
140 min
High intensity
Accumulate lactate in the over portions and clear it just below threshold, across three blocks with different over/under ratios, to learn your threshold and recovery quotient for breakaways and technical climbs.
John Cox
Coach, Contour Endurance
VO2 Max
140 min
High
7 / 10
Intermediate
Indoors
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.
John Cox
Why this workout
The breakdown
Inside the workout
A staple for Contour athletes: accumulate lactate in the over portions, then train the body to clear it by dropping just below threshold for short periods. Racing rarely gives a rest interval; being able to go over threshold and recover while still riding at a high share of CP is what a breakaway pull or a technical climb asks for.
Three blocks with different over-under ratios: five of 1:15 at 105–110% against 1:45 at 80–90%; five of forty-five seconds at 115–130% against 2:15 at 85–90%; six of one minute at 110–115% against 1:30 at 80–90%. The variation is the point. It shows the rider their threshold and recovery quotient at different intensities rather than at one.
The W′ balance trace in Vekta is the tool for this session: each over dips it, each under should partly refill it, and the shape of that sawtooth across three blocks says which ratio the rider handles and which one breaks them.
A build or race-block session, once a week, indoors or out. Progress by shortening the unders before raising the overs.
VO2 Max
Stimulus
Intermediate
Workout level
Indoors
Best ridden
Road,
XCO and MTB,
DISCIPLINE
The stimulus
VO2 Max, explained
Short, hard repeats that push oxygen uptake to its ceiling and raise it.
What it is
Efforts of roughly one to five minutes above critical power, usually between 105 and 130% of CP, with recoveries short enough that the next effort starts before the body has settled. Formats vary from classic 4×4 and 4×3 to 30/15s and 40/20s, where the "rest" is a tempo effort that keeps oxygen uptake high.
Why it matters
VO2 max is the size of the aerobic engine. Everything below it, threshold, tempo, endurance, is a fraction of it, so a higher ceiling lifts every other zone. It is also the quality that decays fastest without stimulus, which is why the sessions are short, frequent in blocks, and brutally specific.
These are the sessions that change what you can hold for three minutes on a climb or after an attack. Expect to see them in blocks of two a week for three to four weeks, then a rest. They cost more W′ than anything else in the library and should be ridden fresh.
The variable that matters is time above 90% of VO2 max, not the number of reps. Short-interval formats accumulate it with less perceived strain; long formats train the ability to hold it. Watch W′ balance in the preview: a session that drains it in the first set has the wrong recovery.
Add the session to your Vekta calendar and the targets convert from % of CP into your watts. The preview shows where W′ will run low before you ride; the analysis afterwards classifies every interval and tells you how much of the session was actually spent above 90%.
Common questions
How often should I do VO2 max intervals?
Should I use heart rate or power for VO2 max intervals?
Are 30/15s better than 4×4s?
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