After being around Trainer road for a little bit, are we learning just enough from the podcast and readings and message board posters to think “hey I can do it better”
We now over analyze all aspects of our training. Thinking we know enough to make ourselves faster. We make changes to the plans, and remove workouts then add in workouts we think better match what we have read or listened to. Little do we know, we are taking away aspects that make the TR plan successful. We are implementing our own take on the “science”. Next thing we know, were in the deep end of the pool but we are wearing concrete shoes.
The reason I type this is when I look back at the workouts, I have never not changed a week. Did my changes cause my fitness to become as good as it could have been? I know I have personally learned from changing of the workouts. What I have learned making things as hard as possible is not sustainable. Maybe I need to be more trusting of what is being presented until I have time to push through a block of training and see where I end up.
The plans are not a one size fits all so changing the plan is totally fine. If anything you’ll learn what you aren’t capable of, but there shouldn’t be a notion that the pre-made plans are the pinnacle of training and should not be tampered with.
you could argue that Trainerroads stock plans would never be optimal for you. How could a plan meant to work for the masses actually be optimal for you, unless you were magically on the median of all the plans they designed with the exact stamina and strengths those plans assumed. Adaptive Training is their response to the fact that they cannot come up with plans optimized for individuals as a general rule. With that in mind, if you aren’t changing them, or letting AT change them, then you will never reach your maximal potential. This requires some understanding and mistakes will be made, but I see no problems with the fact that many of us change our programs.
Depends on your friend’s fitness level, mental fortitude, ability to suffer, etc.
Generally I’d say it’s better for someone to complete every workout than fail often. Failing sometimes is ok, but multiple incompletes indicate a problem.
And who told you to make things as hard as possible?
Amateur athletes often make the “more is better” mistake. If more was better, we’d all do intervals 5 days per week and be done with it.
From what I’ve read/heard about AT, it seems more about intensity control applied to the plan progressions. Is it going to model the athlete’s power curve and determine whether the athlete needs TTE or VO2max work?
Of course I did that. Knocked out a vo2 7.0 tuesday and a sweat spot 7.0 wed and raced saturday felt so good did the same thing the following week. But of course you need more since you did the the prior week so I turned it up by 1% and made my weekend ride 50 miles longer then the race. 2 weeks later I looked like the sky on the 4th of July.
That’s why maybe I need to let the computer tell me what to do, as I only know how to set it to 11.
