There’s a 9th hammer?
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Just right! The last 10 seconds of the 9th Hammer saw my RPM drop as I suffered! That was after doing my first Full Frontal on Friday, 50-mile group ride on Zwift on Saturday, and Stage 1a and 1b on Sunday.
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Never noticed before, the first hammer, at threshold is actually even higher
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Just right.
Really only just, but just!
I wonder the motive for this question. Are you considering changing it? (Don’t change it).
Unless GvA thinks it’s too easy??
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Wait, there are NINE hammers? In my own ‘mental toughness program’, I consider the last two hammers as one continuous beating. That way, I only need to complete EIGHT hammers (even if the last one is 7.5 minutes long). Worked for me…just did stage 3 of the 2021 ToS nuclear and survived - barely.
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Hello all ! I’m a new Sufferer - today’s 9th hammer was my 496th Sufferfest workout - I think GvA would class me as a ‘newbie’ ! 
Certainly felt it today after Joyride and Cobbler yesterday - legs were heavier than lead.
I am a little disappointed there wasn’t a 10th Hammer to be honest, being a round-number sort of person…maybe GvA will bless us with that in the future…
Hammer on fellow Sufferers !
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Its supposed to be a hammer…after all its not called 9 pillows
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I think one of my biggest problems with NH is the soundtrack. Music is a very personal thing. I know I love some of the techno tracks on a lot of the videos which I’ve seen some people complain about. I also love some of the metal / hard rock songs, as well. But, I just don’t find the music in NH to be very energizing to me. That’s not to say that everyone feels that way. But of all the SUF videos I’ve done, this is the one, for me at least, where the music really falls flat. I love Defender and The Bat and so many other videos. I’ve found a lot of great new workout tunes just from doing the SUF videos. In particular, no matter how much pain I am in or how dead my legs feel at the end of ISTLA (or the stand-alone Thin Air), the music for the final 4 minutes always pushes me to finish strong. I just never get that feeling at any point during Nine Hammers. That gives me an idea to try to create my own soundtrack for it and see how much that helps. 
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To advance your theory - and for the record - I love the music in 9H.
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Started SUF 3 months ago, only riding 2 sessions a week.
First attempt at 9 Hammers this morning, ERG mode at 100%.
Precursor: Last night I was reading Ant Middleton’s “The Fear Bubble”. I can only say it helped, especially when preparing for 5/6 and 8/9. When you feel the fear, it’s not your body being afraid, it’s your body preparing itself for the onslaught, telling you “Get Ready”, “you’ve got this”.
I have no idea what was on the screen for the last 2 minutes of the 9th, as I was dribbling on my handlebars, the soaked towel being blessed with even more holy water, HR at max, grinding away in a heap of self-belief, just hanging on to the bitter end knowing it would be over soon, 30 seconds to go, count to 10 and look up at the clock but still 25 seconds to go, what?.. damn, keep pushing, arrgh, empty the tank now, final corner… Bloody finished it!
Had a conference call 2hrs later and was still sweating.
I’d say it’s teetering on the very edge of too much, which means it’s just right.
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My tuppence worth. I have completed 9H three times on rollers. If you are close to your 4dp numbers I think it’s perfect. H5 is difficult mentally as well as physically. Each time I have had to push through H9 to the point of almost collapse. But I have always seen a small HR drop between 8 & 9. I would imagine that this is what is intended. You cannot be fatigued before attempting this one and I think it’s better to do it after a couple of recovery sessions but well into a training schedule and not directly after a FF (I know that’s all slightly contradictory). Probably the toughest session under an hour.
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The last Hammer is disgusting but having done Stage 2 this morning, I found Hammer 5 was the worst. Up until then I felt I was in control and on top of the ride, and then H5 hit and I was completely chasing the ride for the rest of the time. So… I say we take off and nuke Hammer 5 from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure… 
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I became a Sufferlandrian a little over two years ago and have 4 rides through the Valley of the Nine Hammers. Only once, in the middle of summer when I am able to ride outside, ride longer, and more frequently, did I finish Nine Hammers properly. The 7.5 minutes of 8&9 with the fake recovery period put my avg. power above FTP for all 7.5 minutes and just above, at, or just below MAP for both of the hammers. After 7 previous hammers with 4 of them above FTP and just below or on LT, that is asking a lot of my aerobic engine. Any matches that I had available were long past burned up in the previous 7 hammers, so the question is, “how well do I process oxygen?” Most of the time, not well enough to hit the targets on Hammer 9. So when one does make it all the way through, the pounding of that ninth hammer elevates one to a higher spiritual plane of pain and endorphins.
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It’s hard, but it should be. I’ve done it a few times, but I’ve had to dial back my MAP to about 85% for the last 2 hammers. This is ESPECIALLY true after my MAP target increased in my last Half Monty touch-up. There would have been no “getting through it” without dialing it back a little bit.
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I’ve only done it 4 times and the one time I failed was the only time I felt confident going in. Evidently I do far better starting from a position of fear and loathing
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Just right
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Only time I’ve completed 9H was at 80% intensity, and even that felt like most other videos at 100%.
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I always see an increase and just blow up in 9
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My daughter is a top foil fencer for her age. One of the mental toughness tricks her coach taught her was to think about how she feels when she is nervous or scared, and how she feels when she is excited.
Turns out, a lot of the same feelings and body reactions occur. Raised heart beat, funny tummy, hopping from one foot to the other etc. Shes a beast when shes on the finals stage and it’s all tied up. If it gets to 14-14, I cant remember the last time she lost from that position with the next point deciding the winner. Shes mentally tough as nails. (Pun intended).
Martin
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Well thanks to this thread I knew this would be brutal. Just wrapped my first attempt and I failed on number 5, tried to start 6 and failed again, dead. I am a ‘climber’ per FF and after a half monty last week, raised my MAP by 20w so that was fun. Good stuff, looking forward to trying to get a little further next time.
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