I’m not training for an event, just general fitness, so it doesn’t matter to me, but I if I were the massive dip I’ve seen in Threshold and Sweet Spot levels due to lack of workouts in these zones would be pretty concerning!
For context I’m doing 4 rides a week, which in specialty my TR plan has given me as 2x VO2, 1 x anaerobic and 1x endurance, so not targeting sweet spot or threshold at all!
My adherence hasn’t been perfect with some rides missed and some swapped out for zwift races, but even with perfect plan adherence I’d have had no threshold or sweet spot rides since the end of build, hence the massive drop in PLs - looking back SS was at 6.0 and Threshold at 4.3, but a combination of FTP increases and erosion through lack of stimulus has led to these falling to almost 1.0!
Everyone’s levels will be different at the end of the day. This is only natural because everyone has different fitness levels, are successfully completing workouts at different rates and of course, adhering to plans differently.
In short, Progression Levels are determined by the level of recent workouts an athlete has completed in that power zone and how successfully they completed these workouts.
As you progress within a training plan, your Progression Levels can go up and down, depending on which abilities you address in training (hence why your Threshold/SS levels have decreased). Think of it as a snapshot of your current fitness rather than your “destiny” as a cyclist.
Good thing that TR is not just looking at PL’s when picking workouts because we all would be back the square one by the end of a plan.
I’m almost done with build and my PL’s is looking almost like the OP.
Keep in mind that in a Rolling Road Race plan, you’re mostly targeting VO2 and Anaerobic workouts in the Specialty phase (aside from easy rides).
Your Anaerobic level is pretty high, but it looks like you’ve missed a handful of workouts recently due to illness, and a few other factors, which is likely why your VO2 PL isn’t quite as high.
I wonder if all of your Zwift racing is draining your energy and leaving you fatigued and unmotivated for your hard TR workouts..
Regardless, I wouldn’t focus too much on your levels and instead work towards finding a way to get into a rhythm of good consistency with your structured training. If you need to modify your training, I’d say go for it! It’s also okay to take a step back and rest, refocus, and recover before jumping back into training.
100% agree with all your points on the Anaerobic/VO2 split, and you’re not far off the mark on the Zwift races impacting the other races, however as I’m not training towards an event at the moment they give me something to aim for and provide motivation and demotivation in equal measure
My question was more on the gap in threshold (and to a lesser extent sweet spot) work, which I think you and others have answered is as expected!
Great question!
