I share some thoughts on cardio training modalities for offroad moto racers. If you'd like to see how we do it on the Race Ready Live program, here is a link to a Free 7 Day trial: www.trainerize...
Right on i've been doing a lot of XC mtb training after my shoulder surgery so it's been mainly been just one modality of cardio for me. When you're switching between different types how does that work since you're building up slowly to more and more time in z2 endurance or intensity reps of intervals for anaerobic. So if you have worked your way up to say 4h z2 or 5x40 v02max in biking and decide you want to do some rowing to switch it up, wouldn't you injure yourself jumping into that same amount of work rowing and need to go back down to a small/easy amount when adding some rowing? So if you do multiple forms of cardio you'd need to keep track of the different progressions you're at?
It always just comes back to load management. I would never give someone 4 hours of Zone 2 rowing straight away if they have never rowed before, just because they can ride a MTB for 4 hours in zone 2. The idea isn't to fully replace your total volume completely with another modality, it is to incorporate a couple of different modalities within your total weekly energy systems training. Example: 5 hours per week total volume = 3 1/2 hours on MTB + 1 1/2 hours on Rower spread across multiple workouts potentially. You might even start with 1 rowing workout per week & slowly progress it up over time. Hope that helps :) P.S. Rowing is a great modality to include if you are coming back from a shoulder injury.
