Free weeks between plans. Best workouts?

Hi peeps,

can anyone suggest good random week workouts to maintain momentum between plans?

I have my calendar more or less set up for important events with all 3 main plan types in use. With the plans in place a have a free week between the first and second plan, and free two weeks between the second and third plans.

What would be the best way to manage these free weeks in terms of good workouts?

An hour on the couch with a good book to read, a cup of tea, and a bowl of fresh fruit is one of my favourite workouts. If the weather is nice this can be done outside. Otherwise go for a low intensity outdoor ride.

2 Likes

What types of racing are you doing? I see crit in the last phase. Are you considering all of those races, ‘A’ races? Regardless, have you used plan builder yet? It will fully customize your plan, taking into account all of your races. As @JacobMorsboel mentioned, use those free weeks as recovery weeks with some easy riding.

1 Like

One bluebell, one petit and one eclipse will work a decent amount of systems.

1 Like

Is this not the default chart in Calendar for TR…?

Why not taper a bit into Race week 1 & 2? Your race weeks fall right into the default recovery week in both SSB2 and SPB2?

1 Like

Why aren’t the free weeks before the race week so yo can rest and taper?

Could you not just start the next plan early? Or, repeat the last ‘work’ week?

1 Like

Yeah I’ve check it out but as I wanted to do the full classic 28 week session the Plan Builder would have changed that. After the last race I will use it to automatically plan my next workouts before another major race I will be planning.

Yes it’s just a basic screenshot of the calendar view cropped down and with some quick added text and color. Nothing too fancy, a 2 min photoshop job.

The race weeks have the races at the end, during the weekends. Normally Saturday or Sunday. So with the week being generally easy, by the end of it I’m normally ready and prepped for weekend races. I found that having a plan based recovery week a whole week before an actual event makes me perform badly. I perform better with some strain just prior to race days.

So for example, during the last week of SPB MV I will just consider fully dropping Boarstone -1 and having a full rest day before fully frying myself during Sunday’s race :slight_smile:

1 Like

Repeating the last work week sounds good. I might just do that, thx!

I always thought that the actual last week of a plan is the one at the end of which you should be most suitable for racing. I used to follow British Cycling Training plans, their protocol was just that. The final week is a taper week with a race at the end of it on Saturday or Sunday.

1 Like

Yeah, the TR speciality plans are the same, they end on the race day. But each base and build plan ends with a recovery week, so there is no real need to have extra weeks between plans. A lot of people recommend that though, planning in extra weeks like you have done, in case life gets in the way and you have to postpone parts of a plan. But then, if all works out fine, you’re stuck with spare weeks.

Just think repeating the last hard week should be fine, the workouts are usually barely doable anyway, so a second crack at the them seems like something worthwhile.

1 Like

Disaster! :rofl:

pic600x400

1 Like

Ok, got it. The race weeks are part of the plan. I thought they were separate.

1 Like