It’d been a while since I rode Butter and I’m sure glad I gave it another run. As I recall, Butter entered Sufferlandria at about the same time as The Chores (an equally fine workout) when I believe Grunter and his helpers started paying more attention to the science behind the workouts.
I find the intervals in this workout take me just to the edge, where (almost) all confidence is lost, then gives me a slight reprieve to the point where I (almost) think I can do it all over again. The sign of a good workout in my mind.
I’m also at a point where I have just upgraded to a smart trainer (Kickr Core) and am still in the tail end of recovery from a major surgery, so that could play a role here as well.
Again, a great workout, and a great test. After a few easier rides I’ll need to give The Chores another try.
Thanks for listening to my diatribe as I try to catch my breath…
I churned Butter for the first time last night.
Good workout - found it fairly comfortable at the time, but legs are not quite so comfortable the day after
Fan of Butter here too. Doesn’t seem to appear on many training plans now (or at least not the ones I’m doing) which is a shame. Wonder why that is? May be doesn’t hit MAP or FTP as well as other workouts?
Much like bacon, everything is better with Butter.
I think of Butter as the smaller sibling of A Very Dark Place which is only 5 intervals albeit a wee bit longer but still only(!) 4 minutes . My favorite two days back to back…Butter then A Very Dark Place. After that the legs are knackered
My late Mom was Queen of the “everything is better with Butter” mantra! She lived a long, adventurous, and conquering life, even though my siblings and I often cringed at the dollops of BUTTER she put on most anything.
I try not to follow ALL of her example, but my baked sweet potatoes MUST have BUTTER and cinnamon!
I did the Butter workout today for the first time. It is a deceiving little hour of suffering… The first intervals raised my confidence that this would leave legs intact for another workout to follow.
By midway through the first set, I was adjusting my expectations a bit, but still thinking the same direction.
The last 90-second hit of the first set told me clearly there would be some pain involved.
The recovery section before set 2 was just enough deception to get me committed to a follow-up workout today.
The second set didn’t let me harbor any delusions of an easy day today. I knew from the first interval that it would be a test, but I counted on the recovery portions to be sufficient, and they just barely were. Finished up solid and determined I would get another moderate workout done.
HIGH TIME was waiting in the wings, being the last of the December Challenge I hadn’t done. I knew it was going to be a long effort after Butter, but I buckled myself in and told myself, anything below Threshold could be endured.
It tested my will for sure, and once I was starting to feel the unrelenting nature of that almost constant level of suffering, I knew I needed to block out any clock-watching because it would weaken my resolve.
The nature of a nearly constant effort at just below threshold meant that I could maintain the workload without constantly watching the video and targets graph on the PC, so I started rehearsing Romans 8 to myself as I pedaled on. When I got beyond the verses I’d already committed to memory, I opened my Bible app on my phone and focused on each verse, repeating it to myself and internalizing the words as much as I could. It kept me disconnected from the suffering and fatigue in my legs, while connecting me more closely to what means far more than physical benefits to my flesh.
I finished the extended effort of High Time and held to targets without giving up.
(Although the SYSTM app on the PC apparently dropped the Bluetooth connection OR ELSE the WiFi connection for over a minute late in that long effort and gave power and cadence numbers of 0 during that glitch; but my backup recording on my FENIX 6 registered steady output and cadence right through, so I know the KICKR Bike was still outputting the data with no hiccups.)
If I had to guess, I’d bet it’s more about complexity of programming it rather than effectiveness.
It gives 4 stars for MAP but metabolically it’s really an FTP workout, just done over-under style rather than steady. Think of it that way and the “intervals” are pretty long, like 20+ minutes iirc? Thats long for SUF FTP, I think the FTP progression tops out at something like 10 minute intervals.
So, for Butter to give proper progressive overload, there’s limited real estate in the plan where it should go. Probably should be a capstone workout for middle of block a week or so before your retest. And your weaknesses or plan focus may simply dictate different workout in that spot.
I had my first encounter with Butter this evening and thoroughly enjoyed the Suffering it induced. The final interval went exactly like the final effort in Full Frontal and I only very narrowly avoided the ERG death spiral. The “Be the butter” at the start of one of the intervals messed up my breathing for the first 30 seconds or so due to laughter.
. My favorite two days back to back…Butter then A Very Dark Place. After that the legs are knackered