Just out of interest, whats your FTP at that training schedule? Is it still going up? etc.
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Not really, just a few watts here and there. Itās been a long training and racing season so big gains in FTP were already had over last winter and spring.
However my fatigue resistance and TTE has gone through the roof! My ability to hold power for longer is amazing. Not to mention, my ability to sprint at the end of a race. Iām now winning group sprints at the end of a race where before I couldnāt even stay with the group let alone contest a sprint. Iāve actually surprised myself because I donāt understand why everyone else is fading when I still feel strong.
This winter and spring Iāll add more volume and hopefully that translates to a higher FTP for next year.
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I had same experience, since last year second half. Unfortunately could not repeat this year ā various metrics still improved but FTP not so much. For coming year Iāll try reverse periodization, pushing lower volume + high intensity indoor season and return really high volume from spring
I think cycling lends itself to unintentional structure through topography, group dynamics and drafting. If you train in big hills or mountains you are inevitably going to do a bunch of tempo, sweetspot or threshold intervals going up those climbs (especially with old school gearing meaning you couldnāt spin up them) with recoveries on the descents. Short climbs lend themselves to VO2 intervals and recoveries. Group rides lend themselves to intervals on the front and recovery in the draft. Maybe over unders in a small, fast group doing a rotating paceline, or more like tempo on the front, z1-2 in the draft on a steadier ride. Iāve been around cycling clubs and group rides since the 90s and nearly every club/group Iāve ever been part of has always had a fairly similar mix of hard rides before or after work during the week and long rides at the weekend. Thatās a fairly solid foundation for a training plan even if nobody ever called it a training plan!
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Did 18-25h/wk from 2016-2022. Throughout my 40s. Initial bump in everything was nice but canāt really say I have improved any further after the first year. However, I have a fairly long endurance sports history. Iām sure I should have focused more on intensity at some point, though.
Now prepping for longer trail running events, the low training volume of runners irritates me. But I get reminded every morning that I should not run too much. LIfe logistics are definitely easier now. Seems absurd to me now to get out at 5am in the middle of winter just to get in a 4h ride.
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To the working people doing 15+ hours consistently, how many hours are you working a week? And what would that riding time look like spread over a typical week?
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Not been doing it recently, but when I have done it in the past while working full time (~40 hours) it was typically done by getting about half that volume on the weekend, and then lots of 90-120 minute rides midweek and very few missed days. Did mean very little socialising other than with people who rode bikes!
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Regular work week 38-40hrs.
Worked on week-ends. Worked extra on rest days or in taper weeks.
Project based work ā no fixed working hours, schedules training around meetings/family
Flexible training schedule
In the later years many, many 2-a-days. This was the easiest way to get hours up.
Home-office ā no commute!
Grand-parents/family in the neighbourhood
No other hobbies
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Best podcast that I never listen to. 
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Iām in the same boat wrt job and family. How do you get the 20 hours in? Iām at 15-18 for three weeks, then an 8-10 hour recovery week. I take Monday off the bike, get up at 5 on Tues, Wed, Thurs to ride for 3 hours before work, Friday 2-2.5 hours after work, then typically a 5 hour and 2 hour ride on the weekend. The longer ride is usually MTB, so even if my intention is endurance pace the short bouts over threshold add up and leave me pretty fatigued after. Thatās why my other weekend ride is short and easy. Iām just having a hard time figuring out how to get more volume. I may do more intensity on the MTB and longer rides on the road bike next season, so I can get more practice cornering and tech skills at race pace, and also get two longer rides in on the weekend.
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Iām now back running and swimming again after about 18 months of injury rehab, but when cycling only for those 18 months it was essentially:
- 90-120 minutes morning
- 60-90 minutes evening
- 4-5 hours Saturday
- 3-4 hours Sunday
Over and over again
Work commitment is 40-65 hours a week depending on time of year and what my company is doing at the moment. Weāre acquisition heavy and Iām controller/VP/head of accounting, meaning our quarters and year end are pretty time heavy as well.
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Full time job at an executive levelā¦with a fair amount of travel involved. That said, I also have a fair amount of flexibility re: office time. If I walk in at 8:30 or 8:45, it is not an issue.
As for what the training looks like, it is usually 1.5-2 hour rides starting ~5:30AM, sometimes augmented with a quick lunch spin (almost always recovery). Weekend rides range from 3-6 hours, usually.
Usually average 250-300 miles/ week, or roughly 15+ hours, depending on how much gravel time I am logging vs. road.
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I really donāt know exactly when/how this z2/endurance/LV trend started, but we can reasonably say that endurance volume always was important, if not the most important driven factor for performance. We could change the old adage ācash is kingā for āendurance is kingā.
Maybe the indoor cycling has changed things a bit. People want the same TSS for 18hrs in 10. They shrunk endurance long rides into shorter SS. Iād love to put 25 hr/wk, but I canāt. For those who can, go for it.
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Back when I raced, I probably put in 10-12 hours per week. That was like 5-6 hours on the weekend and 5-6 hours sprinkled throughout the week. With working full time and traveling to races, I already had no life. Iām not sure how I would have done 20 per week. And I was single with no other responsibilities and could eat dinner at 8pm.
The only guys at the time who could do higher volume were the guys that worked at the bike store and lived with mom and dad.
These days with smart trainers and work from home jobs people could probably squeeze in more hours with double sessions.
Yes exactly. Group rides on the weekend plus in my district you could race 1-2 times per week all year long (California). Two races a week plus group rides gets you in shape pretty quickly.
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Donāt be afraid of 2-a-days and rides/workouts on Mondays (my used to be off day). Mondays now are typically bottom of z2 spin/recovery day. Additionally, I find it easy to hop on the trainer before work and just ride low z2 for however long I have or feel like. Then later in the day/evening Iāll do intervals if needed or a longer z2 at 65-70%. Also, Tuesdays and Thursdays generally I work from home and put in more hours. That coupled with 4-ish hours on Saturday and Sunday.
Fatigue doesnāt stop me from riding duration, but rather intensity. So if Iām fatigued on Sundays I just ride at 60% instead of 70% but still put in the hours.
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I work about 40hr weeks and do between 16-22 usually, but an off-season, like right now for me, is then critical.
I have no kids but a demanding dog 
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Would you say you are a fast or slow switch sort of guy? Which ever you think you are this is a good podcast to listen to as it might give you clue as to why you are wiped out. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/68-muscle-fiber-types-revisited-with-professor-wim-derave/id1631457776?i=1000631385246
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Iām in my late 60ās and probably do close to that in the summer when the weathers obviously a lot better, With holidays and weeks visiting the kids I average out at just over 12hrs/wk for the 52 weeks
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This. Higher hours usually involves a level of fatigue that freaks some people out, especially if they havenāt done it before. You can still put in the hours, and even do your intensity days, but there are times where you are probably not going to hit your best ever numbers. You may be 10-15 watts low on your threshold intervals, but I still complete as long as HR and RPE are in the ballpark. I wonder if very prescriptive training plans and ERG mode are an obstacle for some? It may create a false sense of an exact number you need to hit and a very high pass/fail mentality.
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