Calories planned vs calories burned in TrainingPeaks

Just completed 30/30 vo2 with sprints.
I noticed that my calories burned are no where near the expected calories burned.
I also noticed people commented that this was a tough workout.
Am I doing something incorrect? It was hard getting the power output to not fluctuate too high or too low during the sprint sections, and I didn’t always make the final stand up high power .
Is this why there is such a discrepancy? Should I worry, should I just ignore.
Any suggestions as to why I’m not hitting it?

@tdash I wouldn’t take any notice of the calories. Mine said 1275 :rofl: I burned just over 400. It seems to be the only workout that had calories in it. I did a hard endurance ride of 40 miles yesterday and didn’t burn that.

I try to make my watts fluctuate above the required watts. Some times I’m way over (I’m sure Coach will have a quiet word with me about it :grimacing:) Coach said that the watts are the base and to try and bounce above that base, so that’s what I’m doing.

It annoys the Hell out of me when the watts or cadence keeps dropping. Todays workout (A.2.1) Coach said in the video to keep cadence to 50 if you could, but the workout kept dropping my power until I was pedaling at almost 60 cadence which was the top end of the cadence workout. For my last block I literally had no more gears to go down to.

(A.1.2) Was quite a tough workout for me because I am just starting to work on my top end Vo2, I did complete it, all be it huffing and puffing.

I am only just beginning to understand how to ride these workouts and there is definitely a technique to riding them. Was this the only workout you felt you had issues with?

Try not to let it worry you too much :hugs:

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@tdash and @Debbie every time we have a VO2 type workout or workouts with “all out” efforts, TrainingPeaks calculates an estimated calorie expenditure that relies on whatever number I put in for that max effort. When you complete a workout the estimated kcal completed is based on the actual power and duration.

And in fact both numbers are just that - estimates. I’d not use it to plan nutrition.

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I completed the 30/30 Vo2 sprints today as well. I was no where near the level for the standing sprints, my legs are just not there yet. But hoping one day soon I’ll smash those higher power sprints.
I barely burned 330 calories.
I manually upped my FTP by 5, I don’t think it would have made a difference on the standing sprints. My FTP isn’t very high.

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@ronyiigibbs it takes awhile trust me - VO2 intervals are tough! Just keep at it!! And dont worry, when they get easier, @Coach_Theia will tell you to up your FTP :joy:

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It really takes a while, like how long are we talking? I’m really bad at being patient with myself😃

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@ronyiigibbs that’s very individual and it also depends on how long you have been doing this type of cycling training. We can talk about this more on our 1:1 call. But keep in mind that unless we challenge our bodies to go beyond what it can/is comfortable doing, there is no growth.

True, wise words Coach!

@ronyiigibbs what @Coach_Theia said - sometimes it’s factor of what else you’ve got going - are you fueled enough, how much did you do the day before, did you get recovery; sometimes its truly the pushing yourself to that next level - you will start to figure out which it is although some days you may not realize it until after you get off the bike. I notice this even in rides or races. Sun am i usually do a group ride, didnt feel bad but didnt feel 100% - i realized about 2 hours later that i had not had my usual pre-ride snack - i only made coffee that morning - a factor of dealing with pet sitting and my own schedule was off.

Too true! I appreciate your advice as a newbie!