When it comes to base training, Head Coach Chad Timmerman usually recommends Sweet Spot Base.
Sweet Spot Base is more intense than a Traditional Base training approach. Everything from neuromuscular bursts to VO2 max intervals and Sweet Spot work is included to get you generally fit in a hurry. When an athlete who’s — physiologically — getting older hears this recommendation, they sometimes wonder if Sweet Spot Base is right for them. We’ll see questions like:
Is Sweet Spot Base a good plan for someone my age? Will I be able to handle the intensity?
Yes and yes. Assuming you have no pre-existing conditions or lingering injuries limiting your activity, Sweet Spot Base is a safe and highly effective base training approach for aging athletes.
The Intensity Factor
Training, at the base level and beyond, should provide a stimulus that challenges what our bodies can do right now. This rationale especially applies as we get older. Like we’ve touched on in a previous discussion on aging endurance athletes, the intensity included in plans like Sweet Spot Base is in fact one of the only methods to combat physiological aging. When we’re no longer challenging our aerobic and strength capabilities, we run the risk of perpetuating the age-related performance decline.
The Time Factor
Time — not intensity — is the main determinant of whether an aging athlete should choose Sweet Spot Base or Traditional Base. Many cyclists have good intention when they decide to do their base training the traditional, low-intensity way. The trouble is, they often don’t have the circumstances in their life that allow them to ride as many hours as they need to achieve real fitness gains.
If you want to see significant aerobic improvements from riding at a low intensity you have to ride a lot. So unless you have at least 12 hours/week to train, we don’t recommend the Traditional approach.
How Aging Athletes Should Adjust Their Training Plan
Coach Chad is currently in the process of creating a ‘Master’s Plan’ to help guide riders through their training as they age. In the meantime, know that every TrainerRoad plan is flexible. Once you’ve chosen your base training approach, here are a few specific ways aging athletes can adjust the plan they’re on:
- Drop one of your high-intensity workouts. Does three high-intensity sessions feel like too much? The third intensity day is the ‘icing on the cake’ so-to-speak in that it provides marginal adaptation compared to the other two HIT sessions. So, if you are having a good week and feel like handling the third session is doable — go for it. If you’re feeling weak, shoot for the two HIT session and call it good.
- Allow yourself more recovery. A week of workouts doesn’t have to be seven days. If you’re struggling to make gains, your body probably needs more recovery to allow more adaptation. Add the extra days of rest while maintaining the rest of your intensity. You’ll then need to adjust your training plan accordingly.
- Switch up the time you train. Doing your training sessions in the morning? When your Thursday session rolls around, has the fatigue from Tuesday’s heavy workout worn off yet? If not, try pushing that workout to an evening ride instead. Sometimes just a few extra hours of rest makes the difference. Any more adjusting may call for you to increase your ‘week’ of workouts.
- Recover when it feels right for you. The typical training plan Coach Chad Timmerman designs includes three weeks on with one week of active recovery or taper. Feel free to manipulate this. Maybe two weeks on with one week off will better suit the adaptation capabilities of your body. Simply swap week three and four, then repeat that recovery week again in lieu of week six’s planned week.
- Take some time off the bike if necessary. Maybe the active recovery sessions during the recovery weeks are still too much work. If this is the case, slip in some days where you’re completely off the bike, and perhaps it won’t be necessary to make any adjustments to your plan.
To Wrap Up
Understanding how to combat physiological aging reveals the type of work older cyclists should focus on in their base training. If the intensity included in the Sweet Spot Base plan seems like too much, use these suggestions as tools to adjust your plan for you.
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This directly addressed my current concerns as I’ve been wondering if the three tough workouts in Sweet Spot Base 2 HV were too much. I’ve been back on the bike for 7 months now after 2 years off with a serious back injury and surgery, and I’ve gained a ton of fitness quickly in those 7 months…but I’m tired now, though that’s largely life in general!
Another interesting thing that has happened is that if I didn’t see the watts I was supposed to be pushing I think it would be easier. My initial reaction to the workout plan is, “I can’t do that.” I believe that’s because the my brain still thinks I’m injured and weak. So, when I’m supposed to do intervals of 370 watts, I think I’m still struggling to do 270. Time to adjust my mindset!
It’s also interesting that I’ve discovered that sometimes doing the workouts in the afternoon instead of early morning makes them better. I prefer morning workouts as I usually execute them better, but I woke up this morning tired and this afternoon gives me a better shot at performing well.
Great article, thanks again for your knowledge and insight.
Glad this helped clear that up, Philip!
Staying mentally tough can be a large part of the challenge — sounds like you’ll be over that in no-time.
It’s sometimes those small tweaks that can make the big impacts on your training. Nice job recognizing when you need to make them to make your plan work for you.
Happy Training!
This one hits home for me. I’m 57. I finished Sweet Spot Base Mid Volume 1 about 2 months ago with about 4% ftp improvement. Problem was, I noticed a little bilateral knee pain, so I took a week off & my knees felt better. I then charged into Mid Volume 2, and by Sunday, my knees hurt again. So I figured I would take another week off & ease back into it. This time the pain didn’t go away.
It has now been 5 weeks and I haven’t been able to ride at all. After 2 minutes on the bike, I need to stop due to knee pain.
I have been to 2 PT’s, a bike fitter, and had X-rays & MRI’s. Results show mild arthritis.
I hope there is someone with similar experience that can advise me. I am dying to get on my bike.
Man, sorry to hear about the knee issues, Scott. :/ I don’t think I’ll be able to help much in this department. I think continuing to work with a sports therapist will certainly benefit in finding a way to work around the pain in your knees, but I’m going to see if our Head Coach can give us any recommendations. I’ll get back to you on Monday.
Cheers!
Be careful. After 8 weeks of base training, I needed to stop entirely due to knee pain. That was 6 months ago & my knees still hurt & haven’t been able to ride since.
Thanks–this is helpful.
Very welcome!
Hi…Im 57 years old with a tender sore lower back. I am now ready to begin the Sweet Spot workout plan which means I will firstly need to complete the FTP test. Is it acceptable that, during the test, I peddle off the saddle for short periods of time or would I be cheating myself? I find it easier on my back during times of more intense workloads I occasionally get off the seat for some relief.
Thanks for your help.
You can get out of the saddle to stretch/change positions for comfort and focus, but don’t make it about lifting your power higher than you can sustain in the saddle. To give your back some relief it’s totally cool. 🙂
Cheers!
Cheers Nick…thanks for your help.
This is very helpful. I’ve ridden almost 7000mi this year and agree with many points in the article. My biggest lesson this year is rest and recovery is the most important part of the training. Can’t mentally push thru constant fatigue. Need to rest my body and just like the article says. Switched from early AM sessions to shorter (but more focused) after work sessions. Seeing huge improvement already in performance and attitude. I wish I could use TR plans with my Kurt Kinetic. Hopefully one day.
Rest and recovery are arguably just as critical as the stress we apply to our bodies — many people fail to recognize that. Great work on identifying what was limiting your performance and acting on it accordingly.
If I may, what’s holding you back from using your Kinetic with a TR plan? If you have don’t have a power meter, you can pair a speed sensor to TrainerRoad and perform workouts from a plan using VirtualPower. If you need any assistance in doing so, our support team would be happy to help get you set up!
Thank you Nick. It was a misunderstanding and the issue is resolved. Starting a training plan soon! (fistbump)
Woohoo! Let’s do this! 🙂
I find it interesting to compare this to weightlifting for masters. In that arena, intensity drops off very sharply if it isn’t trained regularly, and it’s volume that masters are really sensitive to in regards to over training. So for strength its intensity every session and then adjust volume to get the right balance of adaptation and recovery. I’ve never really figured out volume\intensity in cycling. Guess that’s why I just plg in a TR programme and follow it 😉
Unfortunately I have the 2 limiting factors of age (not a big problems) and removal of centrally located spinal cord tumour at T6 (a bigger problem). Trying to get back to my touring years (ended 2 years ago); when I would happily do 300 miles in a week on a Thorn Mercury Rohloff touring bike loaded with gear. My quick 60-100 km burst used to be on a Lynskey 50/34 11 spd. Now, my legs stop working without warning a couple of times a day, my local farmer snitched on a bad fall I had one day … wife had seen me fall off a couple of times going up hills so I am now on static, securely fixed Kettler Racer S with Powertap P1s.
Anyway, stop waffling … is there a training programme focussed on similar problems to mine on your database? I want to start using the Lynskey again in the Spring and then gentle touring next summer. I have signed up for the year cos I like DCRs reviews (and he likes you!).
Keep them spinning, Vern
“The third intensity day is the ‘icing on the cake’ so-to-speak in that it provides marginal adaptation compared to the other two HIT sessions.”
Hmm. Looking at the sweet spot base II I’m currently doing, it looks like Tu, Th, and Sat or the “big” days. For example, Week 2 is sees a TSS of 71 on Tuesday, Thursday is 75 and Saturday is 114.
I guess maybe I’m missing something. Isn’t the “third intensity day” here the “big” one?
Ian,
The statement still holds true despite your Saturday HIT sessions being longer than the other two. The time-crunched nature of workouts done on the weekdays are revealed in those workouts being shorter. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t impactful. And just because a workout is longer, doesn’t necessarily mean that workout will be more meaningful for gains in your fitness — especially if it prevents you from recovering properly.
This recommendation is aimed towards individuals who may be having a hard time getting that third HIT session done while still being able to manage the stress in a way that won’t leave them run-down for the next week of training. If you can absorb the TSS from the third HIT session and still feel recovered for your next week of work, great! If you find yourself less-than-fresh, dropping the third session can be a good approach for meaningful for gains in your fitness.
Hope this clears up any confusion! 🙂
Love the sweet spot as well and thanks to TrainerRoad I am actually mentally engaged enough to stick with it so thanks for that – Seeing great improvements after 5 weeks only
Great post and great tips. I’ve found the book “Fast After 50” to be a great resource. They speak about moving to 9 day training “week”, and the importance of adding in both strength training and work on flexibility. Making time for Yoga has really helped prevent what had been recurring lower back problems = more time on the bike !
Nick has the Master’s Plan been developed?
Mike,
Masters plans are still in the works! Due to the need to create a Masters version of all plans, this is a pretty large undertaking. But we’re still hard at work to make sure we deliver at the best quality possible. 🙂 We’re really excited to bring this to everyone!
Thanks for your, and everyone else’s, patience!
Happy Training!
Nick
Since you’re a Tech company am I right thinking it’s incremental releases, early benefit realisation etc etc i.e. you’re not going to release masters plans all in one block but look at the most frequently used or suitable plans (100 mile, sustain power, sweet spot?) and then rewrite and release them first?
Hi William,
That’s the most likely approach, but nothing is set in stone quite yet.
We’ll be sure to loop everyone in as we learn more. 🙂
Thanks!
Any update on Master’s plan? I just started on SSB MV1 this week. Looking forward to complete 6 week plan.
David,
We have some bittersweet news. :/ Master’s plans are still a ways out from being released as we’re focusing most of our time on a big upcoming feature release.
In the meantime, we recommend employing any/all of Coach Chad’s recommendations from this post to adjusting your plan. Athletes may have different rates of progression, and our training plans are flexible to be adjusted.
Thanks David!