🚴 Maximise Cycling Performance with Polarised Training & VO₂ Priming
🔍 What is Polarised Training?
Polarised Training (POL) involves allocating approximately 80 % of training in low intensity zones (1–2) and 20 % in high intensity zones (4–5), steering clear of the moderate ‘grey’ zone. The latest scoping review of 14 studies confirms that matching around 75–85 % easy riding with 15–26 % high intensity significantly improves VO₂max, VO₂peak, and work economy in endurance riders .
A meta-analysis comprising 17 studies and 437 athletes further found POL especially beneficial for VO₂peak, particularly during training blocks under 12 weeks and among highly trained cyclists . However, improvements in time-trial speed and endurance metrics remain comparable across training models .
🧠 Why It Works
- Endurance building through low-intensity volume enhances mitochondrial density and capillarisation.
- High-intensity bursts reliably boost cardiac output and oxygen transport.
- Avoiding middle-ground efforts prevents inefficient training that taxes recovery without delivering strong gains.
In short: easy plus hard equals excellent.
🧩 VO₂ Priming: Smarten Your Warm-Up
VO₂ priming is a strategic warm-up with short, intense efforts to prep oxygen systems before your main session. Recent investigations confirm it ramps up VO₂ response and primes muscles and nerves for interval workouts .
Example priming routine:
- Warm up for ~10 minutes
- Perform 2×8 minutes at about 90 % HR_max, with 5-minute easy recovery
- Proceed to your main HIIT session
🏋️ Sample Weekly Training Plan (Approx. 6–8 hrs)
Day | Session |
|---|---|
Monday | Rest or gentle spin |
Tuesday | VO₂ priming + HIIT: 2×8 min at ~90 % HR_max, 5 min rest, then 4×5 min at Zone 5 with 5 min recoveries |
Wednesday | 90 min Zone 2 ride—chat-friendly pace |
Thursday | 2 hr steady ride at Zone 2 |
Friday | Rest or light mobility session |
Saturday | Over-under session: 3×10 min alternating 2 min Zone 4 with 2 min Zone 2 |
Sunday | 3+ hr long ride at easy Zone 2 |
🏋️ Strength Training: The Forgotten Boost
While not the focus of POL studies, real-world coaching routinely recommends 2–3 strength sessions weekly during base season (tapering to once during competition periods) to improve power output and injury resilience. This aligns neatly with enhancing neuromuscular efficiency and supporting higher training loads .
✅ How It All Comes Together
- Polarised structure (80/20) builds aerobic capacity and power.
- VO₂ priming elevates physiological readiness before interval work.
- Strength sessions reinforce power and combat fatigue.
- Recovery is crucial—without it, gains stall.
⚠️ Final Word
Recent evidence (2024–25) solidly supports POL training as the most efficient route to enhancing VO₂max and economy—particularly in short training cycles and among already-fit riders. Add VO₂ priming and gym work, and you’ve got an intelligent, well-rounded plan that delivers performance without overdoing it.
Stay smart, ride hard… and don’t forget the recovery tea.
