+1 here
There is quite a difference between a day-insert feature and the ability to create plans on something else than a 7-day basis. The plan selection UI and the training plans themselves are all built around 7-day weeks. So both the content and the container are 7-day.
Macros, meso and microcycle management: Until TR I trained 100% outside. It took me about a week or two after starting TR (on a dumb trainer) to realize trying to do the same TSS/day/week was a mistake. I’ve since moved to LV plans and add rides/races outside and have found managing the CTL/TSS rise outstanding!
Anyways, I think finding what works for you so very important. If pushing to the right one day helps a sector of athletes then this is a no brainer. Just a different way to slice up that weekly TSS while keeping the specificity. Seems like a no brainer. Cheers!
Inserting days would not work when I have already scheduled my races and outside rides - it would shift them as well!!!
I am 60. I have done mid volume base 1 & 2, sustained power mid, and now 40k special mid. I only started TR late last year.
Before I first add the set of workouts sessions I
- go through them and understand what they are trying to do. And the effort required against what i think I can do.
- Then I choose to shuffle the days around to suit my schedule.
- I might decide to drop some depending on racing. I note substitutions using annotations.
- IF I decide to push a day back or go for a long ride instead in the real world, I make a note and adjust that week. And that week only… because I have fixed points (races & group rides)
- IMPORTANT: I DO NOT want to shift the whole programme. I might only want to shift the VO2 max session, back a week, so that I incrementally move up that particular step. (Note, using the incremental TSS for each session). So that Tuesday VO2 session moves to next Tuesday, etc… (Now that might be a useful way to do it - or I could simply adjust them myself.)
- If I am feeling knackered I might drop a session, move it into the rest week, or bring forward an easy day. Or simply skip it (but my preference for incremental steps is shift it back a week).
The pegs for me is (TT) racing at weekends and often in the week. Or out of season, the weekly club run. If everything shifted on a day, so would these, whereas the club run is a Saturday and usually always is. (If you had a race, planned a taper, then shifted everything except the outside races/rides back a day, that too would screw things up…)
Sure this takes time, but I cannot think of a situation where, even following the “Fast after 50” approach of longer weeks with more rest, I would want to shift on a day. I would just use the lower volume plan.
But hey, if that is what others want… I just think it is a rather simplistic way to adjust the training, rather than looking at what you are doing and thinking, how do I feel and what is appropriate. …or even choosing a lower volume plan. It strikes me that if I were constantly shifting my programme back a day, (and its a regular need) then perhaps …I have the wrong FTP, …or it is the wrong plan. …or I have bitten off more than I can chew, all of which could lead to ‘I am not rested & recovering enough’.
Sorry, @Ehrpower, just my 2 penneth worth. …and a suggested, simple, alternative approach.
A second thought. And potentially a better way.
When you choose a training plan, you get the opportunity to change the days of the week on which each workout is scheduled. If you want to move from a 7 day week to a Joe Friel 9/10 day week, one easy way to achieve that would be to say at this point “Actually add 2 days to this “week”, and then choose spread the workouts across these 9 days, in this arrangement…” and Bob’s your uncle you achieve a 8 week plan in 9/7 times 8 weeks, with more rest.
Just a thought.
I have had several weeks in the HIM build plan this year where I was not up to the Saturday ride but was able to do the ride the next day with an extra day of rest. I have also pushed out couple weeks a few times through the base and build phases.
No update right now.
So what is the feature request in the end - adding a day, or creating programs on non-7-day schedules?
(Or a rebate for seniors, of course)
I don’t think anyone is advocating for the “shift plan by one day” option to be the only option available (and subsequently messing up your racing schedule), but rather that a “shift plan by one day” option is available to those of us who would benefit from it. I’m pretty dang compliant with the prescribed TR schedules, but since life happens every now and then, it would be awesome if this functionality was there to insert an extra rest day if I’m feeling a bit scratchy in the throat (for example) before that tough VO2 max workout, since I don’t simply want to skip the workout (it’s my biggest limiter), but also don’t want to diddle around shifting everything manually to accomplish the same goal. An option to “push a day” would solve that problem.
In the short term it seems this is unlikely to receive engineering priority to implement, and like it or not the coaching industry is pretty consistent with TR’s Missed Workout advice article:
Miss 1-3 Days of Training
Don’t stress it! 1-2 missed workouts won’t have a huge effect on your training, so simply “skip” those workouts in your plan, but make sure to prioritize workout quality and get your high-intensity workouts done before any other less intense workouts.
If you miss a key workout (e.g. vo2max), simply swap it for another workout that week (e.g. aerobic endurance) and move on. Try it and you might find conventional coaching wisdom holds true.
I find your comment logical, consistent and well-reasoned…AND ENTIRELY IN CONFLICT WITH MY OCD WHICH WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO SKIP ANY OF THE PRESCRIBED WORKOUTS! 
Seriously though, a fair point. I think I (and perhaps others) am underestimating the engineering burden that would come with implementing a “push day” feature. It seems like such a simple thing, but I’m guessing it’s not.
totally understand LOL, and I felt exactly the same when getting started with structured training!
I think the advice to skip a workout only makes sense when it is a rare occurrence. If the issue is that you need a bit more recovery but can still do the prescribed workouts then I think pushing the plan makes more sense. For example, you may be a person that needs 2 days off after a three day block. Implementing that now is a huge pain in the neck. And just skipping one of the three days in almost every block doesn’t make any sense. I think that this would be a valuable feature.
Thanks, Landis. I think it’s a no-brainer, too.
PhilSJones: Pushing a day won’t push your events. If you’ve used the week push or pull, your events stay put. The point isn’t that one would CONSTANTLY push a day. The rider thinks about their condition on this day–the one you’re living. Pushing a day causes the least perturbation of the program. As I said previously, if you’re pushing days or making other mods constantly, then you might have the wrong program. But I don’t–I’m old and I need a day every once in awhile. On my days “off,” I do Taku or Carter or Pettit, etc. In other words, I just inject another active recovery day. Then I push on. The difference between that and skipping a workout is actually pretty significant. If, for instance, I skip a VO2 Max day, I won’t do another one for a week. If, however, I insert a recovery day and do the VO2 Max interval the following day because I’m recovered, then I get my more VO2 Max intervals than the guy who skipped it. Pushing a day would be extremely important to managing a program for ALL of us who might not recover as quickly as we used to. It’s not just about older riders, but we are definitely a solid constituency here. And, your idea of choosing a lower volume program is just like skipping–highly sub-optimal. I have found the intermediate program fantastic for me–I just need a day here or there and many other riders seem to agree. So, sorry, PhilS–logic stands. Thanks!
Right, nickster–that’s a perfect example of where a push day would be fantastic. Way, way less complicated than choosing a plan and manually moving every workout back–that’s not very practical.
Doesn’t happen for me, following the advice in coaching books and TR article posted above.
Skipped vo2max on Monday this week, due to other obligations. Since vo2max workouts are my highest priority, simply swapped Tuesday’s Pettit for Monday’s Baird. Then did Baird on Tuesday. Easy peasy.
I am also an “older rider” (60). I also appreciate the need to recover as that is where the benefits come from. I too have days when i go “oh crap!” not that today.
Glad you say not shifting the races and outside events. However, if you are doing any racing at all, or any regular group rides, pushing the whole workout schedule a day would push high intensity in a week, workouts closer to my races, (which would be fixed) when I have scheduled the days to be rest days.
There is a pattern to the microcycle of a week as @bbarrera says. I buy it. I read the Joe F book (in all its obsessive detail). Sure I can see the point of resting and recovering more, but I can do that by simply doing a lower volume plan.
Look if you think this works for you, fine. I think it would screw up my race schedules and planning for races.
Personally, my preferred solution to a tired day, and trashed legs, is to simply shuffle around that couple of days, that week, or that and the following week, leaving everything else in place.
I like the advice in the “Don’t stress missed workouts” piece. When I look at the incremental TSS from one week to the next across similar targetted workouts, it is not a great step up. And occasionally I have gone, “You know what I can do harder than that” or simply go, “I can do the next one” it will be a morale booster.
And as you point out later, you can always push or copy a week.
I suggest you play with these for a while. Frankly it took me a while to understand how the programmes were organised and incrementally planned. I had to dig into the training plan notes (which are unfortunately a bit hidden) but now I understand them better I feel i can adjust them as I need and feel.
There’s some reason behind the seeming madness of sticking to 7-day training schedules. Most endurance sport training plans include a once-a-cycle longer, endurance workout, and it’s a lot easier for most people to schedule that on a weekend than during the week. Like most people, I’m neither retired nor a professional athlete, so I don’t have time to do 90+ min workouts during the week; but I can do them during the weekend (and walk around like a zombie after a 120 min run with long intervals).
rocourteau: The feature request is to be able to push or pull a day at a time, just as they added the ability to push or pull entire weeks. (Again, pushing or pulling a day wouldn’t disrupt rider-added events such as races.) Adding 8, 9, or 10 day weeks would be too extreme, although might be good for some. Pushing a day is a fine-grained way to modify the program. It would allow you to take stock of yourself precisely when you assess your condition on a particular day, or perhaps stick in an extra day of recovery prior to a race. Skipping a workout is OK for those who are driven by the weekly schedule. For those who are not, inserting a day is a superior, subtle, “just-in-time” way to modify the program.