2 months ago I published a training program designed to increase your VO2 max in only 14 days. I promised you a higher VO2 max if you completed the training program as scheduled and I’ve already heard from several readers who have made significant improvements.

Now I want people who have completed or almost completed the VO2 max Booster Program to enter their before and after VO2 Max power outputs and comments about the training program. I will use your feedback to make an optimized edition of the training program. Thanks in advance.

12 Week Cycling Training Programs

12 Week Winter Training Program
This program can be used by a wide range of cyclists who want a high quality training program for their winter training.

12 Week Pre-Season Cycling Training Program
This program is an example of how you can plan the final 12 weeks before the race season begins. If you have been lazy during the winter, starting on this program might be a good chance to catch up.

Examples of in-season training programs

12hrs/week Cycling Training Program (4wk)

14hrs/week Cycling Training Program (4wk)

16hrs/week Cycling Training Program (4wk)

18hrs/week Cycling Training Program (4wk)

Indoor Cycling Programs

Indoor Cycling Programs – part one
3 super effective indoor training programs that can be used on ergometer bike or in the spinning class.

Indoor Cycling Programs – part two
2 Highly effective indoor training programs that will boost your aerobic engine.

VO2 Max Booster Program (Editor’s choice)
This training program will dramatically boost your race performance in only 14 days. The training program can be used by any cyclist, but riders with a SRM or PowerTap mounted on their bike will get the best value. There are amazing reports from readers who have tried this program. You can improve your VO2 max dramatically in only 14 days using these workouts.

Strength Training Programs

12 Week Strength Training Program for Cyclists
Here is a very effective strength training program for cyclists. The program is based on multi joint exercises with free weights, which indicates that this program is not for beginners.

I have previously posted three quality programs for indoor cycling. These programs are not only easy to understand they are also a very efficient way to train if you don’t have much time for training. The principles used in these training programs are very similar to the ones used in my VO2 Max Booster Program. Another advantage is that it is not necessary to use a heart rate monitor or power meter for pacing even though it certainly will be a good help for an optimal training session. I will now introduce you to two more indoor cycling programs that really rocks:

Indoor Cycling Programs

Aerobic power 3
10min warm-up
3min (semi-high intensity)
2min low intensity
8 x (3min high intensity + 2min low intensity)
5min cool down

This program gives you 24minutes at very high aerobic oxygen consumption. Your aerobic engine will love this program and you will be glad that these tough intervals are separated into short 3minutes bursts. It is though important to maintain some intensity in the recovery periods since that will help you to recover faster.

Aerobic power 4
10min warm-up
3min (semi-high intensity)
2min low intensity
4 x (6min high intensity + 4min low intensity)
5min cool down

This program also gives you 24minutes at very high aerobic oxygen consumption, but it will be tougher for you to maintain the same power outputs as in ‘Aerobic Power 3’ since the intervals are twice as long. If you compete in time trial events this program is good for pacing control training.

If you use a power meter for pacing then focus on intensity in the difficult parts of the workout and relaxe in the rest periods. There is a big difference between 350 and 380w in the work period so it is here you shall concentrate on your power output. If you get a good recovery in the rest periods that’s fine, don’t worry about your power output here.

Looking for more indoor training programs?

Read David Ertl’s ebook with more than 50 indoor workouts:
Indoor training for cyclists

Now we are so close to the finish that I’ve decided to publish the final stages of the program. One thing I haven’t mentioned in the previous days is the principle of overreaching which helps us to achieve progress. Distinguishing overtraining from overreaching is important, because overreaching is a very natural process when we train.

Overreaching vs overtraining
Many riders use the term ‘overtraining’ for both overreaching and overtraining and I guess that is why many riders diagnose themselves as overtrained. The problem is that if you are really in an overtraining situation, it can take several months before your performance is back at 100%. If you have overreached in a period, a week or two is normally enough to get you back on track. This principle is often used in tapering protocols, where training volume is reduced the last two or three weeks before a big event. Overtraining syndrome doesn´t happen over a night or week. It takes 6 to 8 weeks or even longer to develop.

Read more on overtraining and overreaching here.

Day 11
Total time: 1hr
15min incremental warm up
6 x (3+2min) 85% / 50%
15min easy rolling

Day 12
Total time: 1hr
12min incremental warm up
3min 80%
3min 50%
2x(3+3min) 100 / 50%
10min 50%
2x(3+2min) 80 / 50%
10min easy rolling

Day 13
Total time: 40min
20min incremental warm up
5min 85%
5min 50%
10min esy rolling

Day 14
Total time: 1hr15min
20min incremental warm up
8 x (30+30sec) 100 / 50%
7min 50%
8 x (30+30sec) 100 / 50%
7min 50%
?? x (30+30sec) 100 / 50% (Maximum number of intervals possible!)
10min easy rolling

Congratulations! You’re have completed the VO2 Max Booster Program! Afterwards I recommend you to take some easy days, maybe a day off, to recover from this overload of VO2 max intervals. Remember what I said about overreaching? You are not overtrained now, you are overreached and in the next couple of days you will begin to super compensate for the last 14 days impressive workload.

5min max test to find your new VO2 Max
When you have had 4-6 days with easy training it is time to do a new 5min maximum test to track your progress. I will appreciate if you share your results with the readers here at Training4cyclists.com by posting a comment with your results.

Did you miss day 10?

When you train hard, the importancy of recovery is more pronounced. I guess most of the readers will agree that the VO2 Max Booster Program is challenging, thus there is also a significant increased need for recovery. Today you will have to do an easy ride of just 30minutes, so use your extre free time to think about how you can improve your recovery.

I like to optimize recovery principles because that helps you to get stronger without working harder. Work smarter, not harder. Proper use of simple recovery tips can accelerate your recovery and help you to reach a higher level of performance. If you rehydrate, eat carbohydrates and proteins, change clothes and do some easy rolling immidiately after training sessions that helps you a lot.

You can read more on recovery tips here.

Day 10
Total time: 30min
10min incremental warm up
5 x (30+30sec) 100% VO2 Max
10min easy rolling

Next step: Final Stages of VO2 Max Booster Program (did you miss day 10?)