I am a young professional, a 23-year-old male, who has been cycling since 2018 and has been riding with power for almost 5 years. I have been using TrainerRoad since 2019, but haven’t been consistent with it until recently.
I am someone who has “unlimited” time to train, as I do not have a stressful job at all (mostly work from home), and I am single. I am quite comfortable doing 9-12 hours per week of riding, and I’ve done that a lot back in 2021, 2020, and even 2019. Well, this was well before the RLGL feature came by, and going back, I noticed that most of my riding was in endurance (zone 2). Although there are some instances where I’ve managed to squeeze in a low volume training plan. Looking back, quite a bit of intense training was done on yellow and red days, which I presume caused me to burn out. My FTP was hovering around 285W.
Starting this year, I started to become more serious about consistency, and I am preparing for quite a lot of biking events ranging from road races, crit races, gran fondos to even some epic bikepacking trips! In 2023, my highest FTP was 290W, and I believe that it was due to my consistency!
Now in 2024, I started training back in December and have completed General Base 1, General Base 2, and now I am nearing the end of the first half of the General Build (mid volume). I initially started this season with a low volume (3 intense workouts per week) and then upgraded to a mid-volume plan. I was aiming to do around 8-10 hours per week by incorporating some 2.5 - 3-hour endurance rides every week. I started this season with a 274W FTP in December, and now I am currently at 293W (4.0w/kg), and I expect to surpass 300W by the end of my build phase! I strength train twice per week. Well, I wouldn’t call this training, but just to maintain my strength - these are 15-20 minute sessions, and I don’t do too many reps to cause fatigue.
A trend I am starting to notice is that three intense workouts per week feel like a lot in terms of intensity. I am barely able to hit 8.5-9 hours of riding per week without getting a red day. I am fuelling well, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, getting great sleep, and as I said before, there aren’t any limiters in my life that would make me want to reduce my riding volume. I personally would like to ride around 10-12 hours per week, but I find that to be quite difficult, if not impossible, with 3 days of intensity. I am answering the post-workout surveys honestly, and ever since I’ve begun my General Build phase, most of my workouts are “very hard,” and that’s what I answer in my post-workout survey. Here are some additional observations:
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I started doing more above FTP efforts since starting the General Build plan, and these workouts are pretty challenging! The above FTP efforts - especially VO2 max and over-under intervals - squeeze a lot out of me and leave me gasping for air. My maximum heart rate is 206 bpm, and I’ve been going over 180 bpm a lot more in the build compared to the base.
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It is challenging to do a ~3-hour endurance ride without getting a red day even when on a low volume plan. Last week, I did the Four Horsemen route on Zwift in addition to doing the 3 required intense workouts, and I got a red day the next day. My upper body and lower body were completely sore that day, and even on the next day. It took me 2 days of rest to get back to normal after that ride! It was 3 hours and 15 minutes in length. Rides like these require additional recovery.
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The only way I can safely add volume to my plan without going into the red is to do a recovery or a lower zone 2 workout like Dans after a workout. This intensity is very digestible for me, and I am able to accommodate this.
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I even struggled with long endurance rides when I was doing low volume plans, and doing a 3-hour ride every week caused a lot of fatigue. I feel like riding 9-12 hours per week, with mostly zone 2 with some zone 3 sprinkled here and there, is not the same as riding 10 hours per week with 3 intense workouts per week. Even the low volume plans aren’t low intensity!
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Right now, with a mid-volume (or even low volume) plan, I feel like I can barely hit 6.5-8 hours per week. That is what I can handle without overwhelming my body’s ability to recover.
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While I understand that not all TSS is created equal, I am quite surprised as to how I was able to handle 500-600 TSS/week of endurance riding when now, 350-400 is what feels sustainable when on a mid-volume plan.
I’d like to hear your insights on how you would increase your volume. Additionally, TrainerRoad says that a masters plan is for those having high-stress lives and older athletes, but I might be missing out on my PLs. What would your approach be?
I am also planning to do a training camp sometime in late April when I will be in my rolling road race specialty to increase my aerobic base prior to the start of the racing season. While I won’t be traveling anywhere, I feel like 2-4 days of unusually high mileage will cause enough stress that would improve my aerobic fitness and fatigue resistance.
