Alternate Build or Specialty, Work : Recovery Week Layout

I tested my own changes to Build Phase to increase recovery within the phase (along the lines of the alternate I did for Sweet Spot Base):

  • From 3:1 + 3:1 = 8 Weeks Total in the default TrainerRoad configuration.
  • To 2:1 + 2:1 + 2:1 = 9 Weeks Total in my modified configuration.

Instructions for Alternate Build or Specialty, Work : Recovery Week Layout:

  1. Apply the desired Build or Specialty plan to your calendar.
  2. Push Week 3 down one week.
  3. Push Week 3 down one week again (this makes two open weeks, after Week 2).
  4. Copy Week 4 (Recovery) up into the first open week (right after Week 2).
  5. Move Week 5 up to the final open week (right after the new Week 4 copy).
  6. Move the Week 5 annotation up to match the week move (this does not happen automatically).
  7. Pull Week 6 up one week.

The final order is:

  • Week 1 = Work
  • Week 2 = Work
  • Week 4 = Recovery (copied)
  • Week 5 = Work (see note below about order)
  • Week 3 = Work (see note below about order)
  • Week 4 = Recovery
  • Week 6 = Work or Taper
  • Week 7 = Work or Taper
  • Week 8 = Recovery or Taper + Event

Final Order Pics, Mid Vol Gen Build for reference:

Notes:

  • I swap Weeks 3 & 5 to get proper TSS ramp rate upwards (should increase from week to week). As a bonus, Week 5 includes a Ramp Test by default.
  • You can swap in a Ramp Test into Week 6 if you want, manually adjust FTP, or leave FTP alone for the final 2:1 segment.
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Just stumbled on this from the cross-link from another thread.

This is absolutely awesome and exactly what I’ve been looking for !!!

Thanks @mcneese.chad

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Nice. Glad you found it. Please let us know how it goes as you get into the new schedule.

Good luck and happy training :smiley:

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How does one adjust the work:Recovery cycle when using PB withAT? Being over 50 with a very high work and life stress I benefit from lower ratio work:recovery cycle. Is there a effective way to adjust PB with AT? Chose alternate workouts w/o changing the cycle or insert a week off and use Train Now for lower intensity rides or something else? For context work life stress has a natural rhythm that is predictable - every third week = high stress. Thoughts?

  • Not easily, unfortunately. TR removed the Push / Pull operations when they released AT.

  • We can manually add individual training plan phases, and they can be adjusted by AT, which is great. However, the operations I detail above become much more painful since P/P is gone now.

  • The Move and Copy functions still exist, and can be used to get to the same end result. I have not actually gone through the process to even see if it really works, so I can’t advise an better than the basic suggestion at this time.

  • Maybe? TR gave us the Annotations that allow for blanking out single or multiple days, and they reinforced the Move / Copy Options still exist. But I can’t really see a practical way to apply PB with the types of changes I used to do with the suggestions above. I’m frustrated about the new limits, and we have discussed them with TR in a separate topic.

Using AT wouldn’t you just follow the plan and appropriately reply to effort survey? e.g. if the 4th week of Base is smashing you then the plan will drop your next workouts.

Dropping workout intensity vs swapping to a recovery week are potentially VERY different things.

We still see plenty of masters+ age riders here wanting more recovery than the TR plans, even with AT at the helm. Good or bad, I have been able to get through multiple SSB phases with the regular 5/1 pattern while using AT. However, that is not the case for everyone.

The basic change here to add more frequent recovery weeks, is still a worthy consideration. AT is good / better than without it when considering the old TR plans and style, but I don’t see it as the “cure all” that I think TR hopes it to be.

ETA: This is one of the posts that contains suggestions from TR to deal with the lack of Push/Pull.

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Noted. That’s fair. This will be my first Base phase using AT, and my first MV Base. As I’m creeping into my mid-40s, I’m :crossed_fingers: that this will help with the tough 5th week.

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While that is one strategy, I think it would not be the best because: 1) It would require I keep the high demand workouts in the high work/life demand week and then rate them as too high. That means the toll of fatigue, loss of energy/mental acuity for the work demands with consequences. It puts me in a hole physically, mentally headed into the domain of life that I would otherwise prioritize (job over my training plan). 2) It also would then reduce the intensity on the following week when I could have more readily absorbed the intensity in that week. Work demands fall naturally to a 2:1 ratio on every 3rd week. For these reasons, I figured a different strategy more similar to the adaptation of standard training plans to “masters plans” would be advisable. It may well be that there is not an achievable adaptation of PB w/ AT. Perhaps PB w AT is not for me and I could select a strategy more for my situational reality - family life, work, cycling, etc. I appreciate the wisdom and thoughts.

I appreciate and validate that life and job impacts how much I can absorb and requires some adjustment.

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I just turned 45 and been with TR for 3.5 years. Last year for the first time I did high volume plans. However, I changed the work/rest ratio to 3/1 for SSBHV 1 & 2. It was tough, but I was able to manage the workouts.

This year I kept the normal SSB ratio 5/1 and let AT do it’s thing. SSBHV1 wasn’t bad at all and I even used alternates on occasion if I felt the workouts looked too easy, but only choosing workouts slightly higher in PL. SSBHV2 is quite a bit more demanding. It was all going well until the end of week 3. For week 3 Sunday’s workout though I couldn’t mentally wrap my head around another SS workout so I chose the 3 hour z2 substitution recommendation in the “Weekly Tips”. I hadn’t been doing endurance so my PL was pretty low. My z2 workout substitution was a “Breakthrough” at +2.5 PL and I marked it as hard because it was. In part due to my overall fatigue as well as it being my longest workout in months.

Starting week 4 I failed a 7.8 PL workout from my current PL of 7.2 and marked “Fatigue” in the struggle survey. There were other stressors in my life, possibly I was slightly sick and had a few poor nights of sleep. Mentally I was getting exhausted as well, so plenty going against me. Well, AT adjusted my remaining week 4 SS workouts to “Achievable” (-1.0+ from current PL) and I was able to finish the workouts and end the week in good spirits). Today starts week 5 of SSBHV2. I’m revived and ready to tackle harder workouts. AT has a milder workout scheduled but I’m going to attempt a workout closer to the one I failed last week.

I was pleased with AT’s adjustments and it seemed to get me back on track physically and mentally to finish off the training block.

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That is very interesting to read. I haven’t hit a wall like that yet, but am curious to see how my pending round of SSB2 goes. I am testing today, and will see how the default 5/1 works for that. Your experience, while not ideal, shows that the system may be able to adjust well enough to pull back and let a rider recover, while preparing for continued work soon after.

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