Seeking clarification on Who Dares last sprint

Training
#1

Today during Who Dares, just before the last sprint, there is a message on the screen that says to try and set a new personal power record (I don’t recall the exact text). But since I’m in erg mode then that doesn’t make sense. And there was nothing prior to suggest that I ought to do the workout in level mode. Also, the target power was an orange bar… as opposed to the red one. It wasn’t clear whether I was supposed to pause and switch to level mode in order to go all out, or stay in erg and follow the workout as prescribed.

So, I’m a little confused.

And I believe this isn’t the first time I have come across confusing instructions like this. But this one is fresh from today’s workout.

Thoughts? Is it just me?

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#2

I don’t recall that in Who Dares. The Shovel, it is. If I remember the last sprint on Who Dares says something along the lines of “long sprint” or something…?

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#3

I guess I’ll go do it again and get a screenshot. :slight_smile:

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#4

I think it says it just before the last sprint in the second block. I’ve wondered whether to flick to level mode for that sprint, but so far have just let ERG do its thing.

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#5

It’s really there for people who aren’t on smart trainers. I’ll take a look at it as perhaps it doesn’t make sense there with a fixed power target. Having said that, it’s so easy to get stuck in the tyranny of erg mode, isn’t it? Even when we’re feeling good and could do more, we let the machine guide is. Quite hard to break that, but I think doing a ride in level mode every once in a while is important.

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#6

…and cue @Coach.Mac.C’s dramatic, superhero-like entrance to explain the value or not always using Erg mode

#7

What is this Level mode you speak of?
Off to find the manual …

#8

I’ll just leave this article here if you have a few minutes to read.

There are a number of sessions that we do not recommend erg mode due to the power demands or the “nature” of the efforts. Violator is a great example. The goal of that session is to go 100% all out on every effort. We have power targets set based on the “expected” decay rate of peak power, but everyone is different, and your own performance on that one can change from day to day.

I would highly recommend doing at least 30% of your SUF sessions in level mode so you can work on your own power finesse, a skill far too many people neglect these days!

All that being said, you are 100% correct that the text for that final sprint does not make sense for users in ERG mode, and thank you for bringing it to our attention!

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#9

That’s interesting to know about your recommendation to do 30% in level mode. I used to do almost all workouts in ERG, but have starting doing more in level mode. Initially this was because I struggled to hit the targets in MAP based workouts (Nine Hammers and A Very Dark Placs) but I found I could hit them much better in level mode.

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