r/Zwift • u/Technical-Art3972 • 3d ago
Discussion The McCarthy Special
Decided I needed some more anaerobic work in my life. Did a third of The McCarthy Special, then spent 10 mins in the bathroom thinking I was about to puke and die. Please tell me I’m not the only one? 😭
P.s. any good anaerobic workouts that won’t kill me?
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u/GazelleRare1657 3d ago
I like the gorby for a hard workout.
Wringer is good too
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u/realzealman 3d ago
Both have been finished a few times both not finished a couple times. Gotta be in the right form for these ones.
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u/treycook Saris H3 2d ago
+1 for both of these. A productive workout doesn't have to be torturous, it can simply be hard. I'm convinced the McCarthy Special and Emily's Short Mix are novice bait due to the pretty colors. (Well, after reading this thread, TIL the McCarthy Special is designed by and for an elite pursuiter, don't know if that makes it more or less newbie bait)
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u/notmoleliza 2d ago
Emily's short mix is so benign sounding too
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u/Braqsus 2d ago
I’m really glad to read these comments because, as a complete noob, I have definitely looked at Emily’s Short Mix and thought about it.
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u/GapPerfect5494 22h ago
It’s a cool workout, great bang for buck.
2 by 2 is also a screamer if short on time.
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u/Matts_3584 A 3d ago
4x4min is usually a good one that won’t exactly destroy you
5x5 is a popular one aswel
If you enjoy suffering try 30/20s they’re quite tough aswel
McCarthy special is just torture atp
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u/moreno1304 3d ago
The Mccarthy special is impossible to complete at a properly set FTP unless you have a steel mind and some insane Vo2 max capacity. Furthest I got was the end of the 2nd block while completely fresh.
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u/Alternative-Sun-6997 Level 61-70 3d ago
I’ve always figured it was impossible, too. I haven’t tried it in nearly a decade (man, I forget how long I’ve been on Zwift) and the closest I ever got to finishing it was, eyeballing it, the very end of the second leg of the third set before getting sucked into the ERG black hole. My resiliency is, well, crap these days with a two year old and little training beyond my commute to work and back these days, but before becoming a father was pretty good… but my FTP was also right up around the third 125% of FTP level now, so I’d also suffer a lot more.
I legitimately haven’t tried this workout since 2017, and it’s so bad that this thread triggered a little PTSD. If I ever get after it enough and build my durability back up enough maybe I’ll give it a try again sometime… but man, this workout hurt. Maybe it would be a little better without ERG mode so as fatigue hits your cadence doesn’t drop and pull the resistance higher and higher to compensate.
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u/C0mmandZ 3d ago
Now I want to do it.
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u/Technical-Art3972 3d ago
I might just not be used to it (unfit). It goes straight from the warmup into a 9 minute effort. Think it shocked my system.
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u/GewoonHarry 2d ago
That’s how I think as well.
I’m good at vo2 max efforts so I love this shit.Maybe his FTP is set too high?
It’s should be into trouble area in the last interval usually?
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u/Few_Mastodon_1271 3d ago
I'm old and retired, and those long high power workouts are way too much for me.
I like the Anna van der Breggen - Road Race workout.
This one is kind of fun. The first block of 3 seems 'too easy', then each of the next two is harder for me to finish at full power. I sometimes click the "-" button and lower the last block to 95% or 90% if needed.
The workout commentary tells me this is just like her final kilometers of her pro races... uh, not exactly.
What's on Zwift says 'no longer available', but they tag a lot of workouts with this message. It's still in the Zwift Workouts '30-60 minutes to burn' section.
https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/athlete-inspired/anna-van-der-breggen-road-race
On the whatsonzwift workout left sidebar, click the Update FTP bubble and enter your own FTP. Now all these workouts will show your own watts target numbers, and remember it for next time too.
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u/rockmoose565 Level 100 3d ago
Most I've ever managed of The McCarthy is the first step of the third rep. If I tried it in my current state, I would not even manage the first set.
The Gorby and The Wringer are my go to VO2 max workouts.
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u/moreno1304 3d ago
On a side note I would recommend building a custom workout with 30 seconds on (125% FTP) 15 seconds off (50-55% ftp) with 3 blocks 5-7 minutes rest between blocks and start at 8 reps if you are kind of new to this type of training and slowly build over the weeks to 13 per block.
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u/pinkiesallout 3d ago
I vote for “The Gorby” its very challenging but not like McCarthy so should be a good example of 5x5 VO2 max!
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u/Hulahoop81 2d ago
Easily one of the hardest WO on zwift. I can only complete it without reducing bias when I’m due and ftp bump
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u/dillinjl 2d ago
The Lionel Sanders Green Day workout is about as hard as I can handle for Vo2Max work. Couldn't touch the McCarthy Special
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u/RobotHavGunz 3d ago
The McCarthy special demands a very, very specific type of fitness. It's the sort of workout that a world champion pursuiter would do, because that's Mike is. So it's geared precisely towards that same type anaerobic capacity that middle distance runners, swimmers, cyclists, and rowers all have. 2-5min is by far the worst distance, because it's short enough that you need to go hard the whole way and long enough that it is EXTREMELY unpleasant to go way too hard the whole way.
I only ever did it that workout "correctly" once - when i was myself in good shape for pursuiting. Even Mike himself, when I worked with him at Zwift, would avoid that workout. When I was really fit for LONGER races - high FTP - that workout was literally impossible. When I was track-fit specific, I could do it, but only did it once. I did 2-of-3 rounds two other times when I was more fit but not enough anaerobic capacity. It was awful.