For those experienced in fit training, what are the best ways to train VO₂ max for downwind foiling or pump foiling with a focus on building endurance cardio for take offs and bump riding? I’ve heard that a 4-min on/4-min off interval routine is effective, but I’m also wondering if it’s better to avoid intensity levels that you can’t sustain for more than 3 minutes straight. Are there other interval structures or specific tips you’d recommend to balance VO₂ max improvement and endurance development for foiling?
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Did a lot of this type of stuff in the past. Know I am no expert. There is a difference between doing something to be at an elite level and to just Improve where a person is at.
I found hill sprints very effective if your a sucker for punishment. Not everyone has a hill available to them that will suit.
You want to work at your max effort for 1-4min. And then let your heart rate return to about what a light walk would be and then repeat the sprint.
Each time your heart rate should reach higher and higher.
Can use a track with 100m sprint or 400m sprint can use weights, but make sure your working at max effort.
I do really think working with MAF would be highly beneficial for high level guys. This just takes a lot of time and you have to put in a lot of work.
180 - your age = your MAX HR
Through out your run/bike you do not let your HR go over that number. It may require you to walk or even stop completely. It is very frustrating if you run already because you will have to stop and walk constantly. Over time(months) your working HR will drastically decrease.
I use to combine these two methods and the results were pretty incredible. But like everything you have to put in a lot of time and work.
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Dock starting is the absolute best way to train foiling
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I hate it when people tell me this… because it’s the one disciple that makes me feel like such an idiot 
Could you elaborate on why you think it’s the best way? What part of the dock start is the valuable part? Could it be substituted by tow-boogying up onto foil and then pumping? Or is it the initial push-off and balancing that’s the valuable portion?
It is interval training that is also foil skill specific. Tow boogey up and then pump would do the same.
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That’s what I like to hear… it means I can also tow up on smaller foils that I’m more likely to use in the surf & DW too!
I got a step function improvement in prone foiling by learning dock start for two reasons:
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Technique. Dock start is much trickier than kicking off the back of a wave with speed. Once you have it down starting your pump to the second wave will feel like a free ride. Also when pumping in the flats you can get a much better sense of high you need to ride your foil. I used to think I was up there on the mast but I was wrong.
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Cardio. It’s very exhausting. I’ve heard that flat water SUP paddle ups are harder but I’ve never done one of those.
I’m sure you could get a good workout with tow boogie launching. There’s real value in the dock start but since this is a cardio thread I suppose that’s your answer.
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Maybe for DW flat water paddle ups? Reason being that way you train to accelerate repeatedly. paddle up, rest, paddle up, rest, paddle up etc. heart rate can go from 120 to 175 very quickly.
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FYI re: 180 - your age = your MAX HR
This is a rough estimation of population average, and often not very useful at the individual level. For your own training it’s best to do testing to determine your max heart rate for the particular sport in question. Your running max may be different from cycling max, for example. Another example to demonstrate. My good friend and I were racing head on in a cyclocross race a couple years back. Same age, very similar fitness levels, same course, and both going all-out. My HR was low 160s and his was mid 180s. We clearly have very different physiology. If we used predicted HR targets for training, I would burn out and he would be under-productive.
I agree with other posters that sport-specific training is typically the most productive, but depending on where/how you live that might not be feasible for foiling. If you want to take a scientific approach to building a base that crosses over to other disciplines, cycling is a pretty good choice (if you don’t mind the cost of entry). Power meters are much more affordable these days for both indoor and outdoor riding, and can very precisely quantify your efforts. Riding outdoors is much more fun for obvious reasons. But riding indoors with some of the modern software (and lots of fans!) is like a super productive torture chamber. 
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Dunker yes that 180- your age is for the max rate you let your heart rate reach training at MAF. Not your personal max HR . Your max HR will be much much higher. The MAF number is the BPM where your body begins to (easy explanation) change from burning fat to sugar. Keeping it in that lower level your body grows more accustom to using fat as a fuel and it will begin to operate at a lower over all HR over time.
Finding your personal max HR hit the track and do about 10 - 100m sprints with a few min to recover in between. Each one your max hr will go up until you hit that limit.
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Bwahaha! I totally misread your post. Saw a max HR formula and assumed you were using (220 - age). The 180 didn’t even sink in. Agree that (180 - age) would put you in an aerobic zone (around LT1?) and be great for building base. Cyclists tend to call this “zone 2 training.”
To foilsessions - the recommendations would vary a ton depending on what your sport and training background is. True VO2 max intervals are HARD and UNCOMFORTABLE. 4x4s sound like a brutal way to start if you don’t already have a strong base. Consider easing into it with shorter intervals and longer recoveries. Personally (being closer to 50 than 40) I do occasional VO2 max work, but at least 3 to 4 times as much work building aerobic base like GreatLakes is describing above. Building a stronger aerobic base is going to raise your VO2 max a bit even if you neglect VO2-specific work. And perhaps more importantly, it will improve your recovery ability between pump sessions.
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V02 max is highly genetic and you can max out your V02 max stimulus without a lot of time in that zone. while it differs from event to event, most athletes spend very limited time focused on trying to improve V02max. As the prior poster noted, lactic threshold is very trainable and improving it will result in improved efficiency and ability to maintain harder efforts for longer. Spend most of your time improving aerobic efficiency and closing the gap between LT and V02 max, and a smaller amount of time working specifically on V02 max. Training LT doesn’t mean spending all of your time in aerobic zones, you do want to spend time above threshold but still well under v02 max.
Rowing machine is a great tool for this (and I feel like it would be pretty applicable to DW) along with running and cycling.
I’ve spent a lot of time studying training theory and come from a competitive cycling and running background. I’m fascinated with applying some of the more refined training theories to athletes at the top end of downwind racing where the athletes are incredibly skilled but training still seems pretty unstructured (based on listening to interviews with the athletes - but maybe I’m wrong). I have a feeling there is a lot of low hanging fruit here as the sport continues to develop. I don’t have the youth, conditions or dw chops to try to do it myself but I’m very curious to see where this goes.
You can research the Norwegian method (popularized by Jakob Ingebritzen) or listen to the “some work all play” podcast with Dave Roache (polarizing figure who won Leadville in record time this year) for some good discussion of some of the more elite training methods in running - many of which I think could be very applicable.
Fueling is a whole other topic where there have been huge breakthroughs that could trickle down…
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