A mix of mid vol and high vol. Is it ok?

Training
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Torn between mid and high volume for my 1st SSB phase. The TSS is 347 with mid vol and 534 with high. Something in between I think would suit me perfect( being awkward I know) Is it ok for me to start week in high vol and if need be to swap a weekend harder workout for an easier one and there fire leaving my RED somewhere in the middle. Also, does TSS religiously have to increase week to week? By the way, very impressed with TR👍🏽

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Sure you can mix up the plans. But it is generally advised to start out with the mid volume plan and add some extra workouts if you feel you can handle it. The high volume plans are really hard work and not suitable for the majority of riders. Certainly if you are just starting with Trainerroad and structured indoor training. Not all TSS is created equal :slight_smile: Indoor TSS might be a lot harder than outside earned TSS…

Anyway, good luck and don’t be afraid to ask for guidance!

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@teamkennyg I do the mid volume plan and then supplement that plan with +1 version of the scheduled workout or add a extra Friday recovery workout. This gives me the ability to gently increase my TSS to bridge between the mid and high volume plans.

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You can mix the plans but there are some things to consider:

  1. When borrowing workouts from high volume to mid volume, don’t drop the VO2Max and over-under work. This is because if you’re not doing all the work that is in the high volume, you’re going to need more than just sweet spot.

  2. Don’t start out too hard: go from lower training load to higher. Getting yourself too tired early on doesn’t help if you just have to cut down on training later. Also, if I have understood correctly the weekend workouts are the most important since they are harder and thus push you forward more. If you have to make them easier, you may be getting more load but actually missing out on the improvements.

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Sounds like a plan👍🏽

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If this is your first time doing structured indoor riding, I would recommend starting with the Low volume plan. You can always add additional workouts when needed (when I started I just did the corresponding workout from the mid-volume plan for that day). There’s still plenty of work in there, allows you to stick to a plan (consistency is more important than volume) and you can supplement as needed.

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I am in the same boat too - I have plenty time to train at the moment and have a history based on high volume riding (but not necessarily high quality… enter TR!). I’m going through SSB mid volume 1 just now, and im just about to start week 4. I’ve decided to tackle the workouts as prescribed, but using +1 (or more) versions to up the stress a bit whilst still targetting the right areas as laid out in the program. Feeling good so far, although definitely feeling the fatigue slowly starting to build throughout the weeks and I can imagine I’ll be happy to see recovery week!

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