I do follow the running Wo, but not the swimming.
I don’t change the run vo2max Wo (usually Wednesdays for me), but have swap the weekend schedule and have done LR on Saturdays…
Swim, the main set guides me but not the wu or drills, and I’m limited to 45mins.
Run, I’m using Garmin Coach so will align the easy runs with TRs base runs, long runs or brick runs, and speed work to speed work, tempo to tempo.
My whole week is arranged the way I want to train which means hard swim and bike Monday, SBR on Tue, Thu, Fri, and long run on Sunday.
You might want to check out the Ironman or Short Course threads as this isn’t really Beta related though.
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Interesting thought, I wonder if they will/should be spacing the Ramp/FTP testing a bit further. Or perhaps, have AT adapt a test to a workout if athletes haven’t reached X-level in whatever zone relative to the plan.
I kind of wonder if we’re better off training to a higher Level at an FTP than constantly increasing FTP but only being able to do low level workouts.
(This isn’t directed at you PB, but inspired by your post about the build time between testing)
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I suspect that plenty of people - particularly those who’ve trained for a while and who normally see only (very) modest FTP improvements at best - will behave so as to make what you suggest happen anyway, ie. by performing tests less frequently than their plan schedule states, and perhaps much less frequently or hardly at all:
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They’ll already have a visible metric (their PLs) showing them that they they’re progressing, so a higher FTP number won’t seem as big a “reward” as it did previously prior to AT
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They’ll avoid the “risk” following an FTP increase of AT lowering their PLs too much (conservatively overshooting) with them then “wasting time” on what feel like too-easy workouts until the levels adjust upwards (plenty of anecdotes on here re this issue)
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By letting their PLs progress slowly higher they’ll potentially be exposed to novel workouts they won’t have seen before, perhaps keeping things fresher feeling than if they were to potentially revisit lower level workouts following an FTP rise and PL reset
I’m not saying that people should do that, just that I suspect plenty of people will - particularly those who feel they’ve got a good handle on their FTP number without needing a test protocol to confirm it back to them.
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I completely agree, and that’s kind of what I’m getting at.
For me, I’ve really gotten a better handle of what FTP is, and what my FTP really is, and I seem to be getting much more value out of training for longer at a more accurate FTP than constantly pushing what my FTP could be. Obviously I want my FTP to continue to grow, and that means increasing the intensity, and monitoring it via some form of testing/benchmark workout. I think this (with AT) is another great method for preventing overtraining.
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Great comments. Funnily enough, it hadn’t occurred to me to just skip the test. 
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Just a query for the more ‘knowledgable’ people on this thread; is the following pretty normal for AT … ?
Just about to finish ‘General Build’ low volume and have really enjoyed it. It’s my first time trying general build as opposed to short power etc. Over the 8 weeks of work I have swapped out four of the longer weekend rides for higher TSS outdoor sessions (200k ride 9 days ago as an example) but have nailed all bar 1 workout (failed midway through last interval of a multiple interval threshold workout).
I’ve felt pretty good doing this programme - and put in my usual extra ‘rest’ period to account for being an older rider (coming up 50) who recognises recovery can be slower sometimes.
Anyway - I’ve noticed the AT Beta has bumped my levels up significantly on both VO2Max and Threshold (from around 5 on VO2Max to the numbers in the screen grab below by way of example).
My question is, is this normal?
I’m concerned that my next training block might end up being too challenging if my FTP is ‘bumped’ by the spike in shorter duration power, as historically I’ve found my endurance is my weakest attribute. I suspect I’m just second guessing the system and should just trust in the process but still have a nagging doubt the AT will start me off with a level I cannot cope with.
My next block (after a week’s holiday in Devon - definitely taking my bike 
) is going to be more ‘build’ as I have no event to focus on, via a speciality block and don’t fancy returning to base - so am thinking Sustained Power Build to target my endurance more.
I guess doing the ramp test again will re-baseline things, but I’m curious as to how the AT actually works in this scenario - I’m not a tech geek guy so admittedly struggle to wrap my head around how it is supposed to operate.
Any steer gratefully appreciated. 
Are you saying AT bumped your PL for VO2 to 7.6 without you having done a workout that high?
My understanding is that the polarized plans are experimental, and not supported as a PB plan in AT. If that’s the case, then someone using a polarized plan, even in PB, would see PL changes, but would not see any adaptations to future workouts on the calendar.
I think that’s been stated somewhere in this long thread, but it would be helpful to have an update on polarized plans and AT would be helpful. @IvyAudrain or others from TR?
Good question. I’ve just been riding, following the workouts it gives me and have seen the numbers on the chart rise steadily. Today’s VO2 Max workout was as below (badged as a 7.6), the last VO2 Max one was badged as a 6.8. I have opened up the link and noticed (for the first time!) that it actually notes progression below the graphs. Doh !
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I test very infrequently (hardly ever) - with AT I suspect I’ll only test following either major progress up the levels, or conversely following some hiatus from cycling where I realise my fitness could have shrunk a lot , ie. in circumstances where I feel my number could’ve moved materially, warranting some benchmarking.
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ok - so with this in mind what would you recommend - mid volume? If so, which option would be suited?
I was midway through the polarised plans when I was added to the beta. I didn’t see any point in swapping plans until I’d completed them. So I’m doing the workouts but not expecting to see adaptations to those in the future. I’ll do a “standard” plan in PB shortly when I figure out what events/challenges I’ll be doing.
Similar to me, except I was i week 5 of base and decided to go all in on PB/AT so did a new plan, backdated to when I started POL LV. FYI, I have no events in my plan right now.
Great - thanks for the advice
Thanks for the suggestion I have read through some of the short course stuff, but do need to go back and read through it some more.
I thought this was a New Plan/Beta related issue that should have been kept in mind by TR for the future but I think it is the Workout scoring that made me think about it more. I just went back and realized that Build phase has always had the hardest interval run sandwiched between moderate/hard VO2 rides.
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Yeah I think you’re right that the new PLs and AT it highlights the systems/zones being worked per session where the Plan Builder week organiser just says easy/medium/hard or something. But those levels aren’t necessarily true any more I suppose? Not sure. PL 7 doesn’t actually mean hard, nor PL 3 easy. I’m not sure a Stretch workout will always be tough either, so they wouldn’t affect you’re scheduling (if you are following a plan). If you randomly decided to do a Breakthrough I guess you could manually plan that for one of your hard days.
Certainly it might make more sense in Plan Builder to see if you are scheduling a tempo/threshold day or a vo2/sprint rather than medium or hard.
I’ve been getting that for all my outdoor workouts (on Garmin). I choose “didn’t struggle” but never get a bump. So my Threshold PL is still a 2, even though I’m doing 3s and 4s.
I sent support an email regarding it but apparently just a coincidence as my last sweet spot workout at the higher level was two weeks prior so dropped it to the level of the completed outside ride. Made sense when I looked at it like that.
Long day planned, threw ‘Bandeira’ on the calendar and headed out the door with it running on my Garmin 530. Finished the ride and got the failed survey and selected didn’t struggle and got my endurance PL to go from 3 to 10
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