OBC’s Virtual Studio On VQ Velocity This Month Is All About Sprint Power!
The VQ Velocity Virtual Studio platform has allowed me the opportunity to work with my clients on an individual level, while in a group setting. I’ve been using this platform since February of 2023. However, it’s an outgrowth of a software platform that I’ve trust since 2008 – PerfPro Studio.
In the OBC/VQ Velocity Virtual Studio, I build workouts and training programs which are based on % slope, as well as % of Functional Threshold. The workouts are about 75 minutes long, and VQ Velocity saves the workouts, while also exporting them to the platform or cloud of your choice. My LIVE workouts are hosted at 0500 PST, but every workout is archived and available for replay or on-demand. While most of my European, Eastern US and Central US clients participate in live classes, my Pacific time zone clients usually sleep in and ride the replay.
The Advantages of Group Training on VQ Velocity
When I first conceptualized my training studio at Cycling Center Dallas in 2006, the best results were always had when the studio was full. The more cyclists and triathletes who attended, the better. I was able to observe the nuances of stress and strain with each client, and then show them how that workout fit within the context of their individual goals and achievements.
Now that everything is online, VQ Velocity gives my clients and myself a robust, seamless experience. Cyclists with Bluetooth trainers, computers, or tablets can log in, connect their power meter, heart rate monitor, trainer, and more, and then perform their workouts at THEIR preprogrammed intensities, while I’m conducting the orchestra. Audio and Video connections are optional, but the riders love getting to know each other across distances, and will often meet up for outside rides if they’re in the same vicinity.
The Garmin “CONNECTion”
I have mentioned before that I am no longer hyper-focused on watts with my clients. Here’s where things get exciting. Online Bike Coach uses VQ Velocity’s workout structure as a SKELETON for workouts. We look at the cyclist’s HOLISTIC fitness. So, while VQ Velocity is running the workout, my clients and I have set up Garmin watches and head units with specific fields that emphasize Aerobic Training Effect, Anaerobic Training Effect, and Training Load. This allows each individual to MODULATE their intensity so that they hit cardio-vascular goals as well as, or in accompaniment with, wattage goals.
VQ Velocity does not yet have these features integrated, but 2 of their 7 board members have extensive histories with Garmin, and I believe these will be considered in the future. But at Online Bike Coach, we’re doing this RIGHT NOW. We look at Sleep Scores, Hydration, Pre-Ride Stress Scores, Performance Conditioning as the ride progresses, and EPOC, which I’ve mentioned before.
VQ Velocity provides the workout protocol. Online Bike Coach, using Garmin Products, Profiles, and Fields, provides the individualization and holistic context.
This Month With Online Bike Coach At Our VQ Velocity Virtual Studio!
This month’s programs are almost exclusively about short-term power, and the heart rate range or penalty that results from these strenuous intervals.
The goal is to help improve Anaerobic Work Capacity, while also helping to teach the body how to process the lactate that builds up from these Anaerobic efforts, and convert that into fuel.
Most of the intervals are less than 30 seconds long, are performed at 3 to 5 percent slope to add drag, and have about a 3:1 or even a 5:1 recovery ratio. If a cyclist cannot get their HEART RATE up above Threshold, we know we’ve got the Cardio-Vascular Physiology all wrong. If, after one of these workouts, Garmin’s Anaerobic Training Effect (Anaerobic TE) is too low, we know we can push the WATTS and go a little harder.
Garmin Connect melds Heart Rate Variability, Heart Rate Range, and Power via watts, to give us the best picture of just how a workout is helping, hurting, is effective, or not.
An Invitation to the OBC’s VQ Velocity Virtual Studio
If you’re curious about the VQ Velocity Studio at Online Bike Coach, here’s a link to OBC’s Virtual Studio. There is ZERO obligation to pay, and you can sign up for live or on-demand classes. I’ll even let you try it out for a month. If you have questions, or want to meld that Garmin Connect info with the workouts, don’t hesitate to send me a note, and we’ll arrange for a Zoom meeting or a Microsoft Teams meeting. You can also ask questions to the group when we’re in our sessions, but just don’t ask when we’re huffing and puffing our way through an interval! 😉
Anyway, that’s it for now – thanks for reading, and as always, ENJOY THE RIDE!