Can you give me an example of what would lead to this? I’ve never seen a 9.5 Endurance level TR workout! (Edit: I just looked and I see TR has a couple 9.5 level 5 and 6 hour rides. Ouch! My butt would fall off)
The point I was making doesn’t relate to this though. People were saying something is wrong with the plan because their Endurance PL’s aren’t advancing, and I was saying I would not expect a polarized plan to advance my Endurance PL’s. In fact, if it did, I would choose an alternate.
Yeah, your point definitely carries. I just think it’s exceptionally easy to ramp Endurance PL once you push out to an endurance ride.
I think that’s where the real value in Pol lies personally.
Agree completely with your point about not continually ramping PL via increasing IF of a set duration.
Sorry, I edited after looking at the library and we cross posted.
Did TR assign that workout to your Polarized plan?
I’d have to go back and look. I think it assigned Robinson. It started bouncing around adaptations all around that same duration and actually decreasing PL. In this instance I think the issue was the lack of different workouts at that level.
I was definitely missing some sort of Adaptation description at that point.
Just for clarity (since I went off track there), what @mailman and I are saying is that for a polarized plan, we would want to see the Z2 rides getting longer over time, not more intense.
Just for a quick N=1, I am currently at 6.4 Endurance and looking at MV Pol Base, I go from a 6.4 3:45 long in week one up to 7.4 4:15 long in the 5 weeks of loading. Presumably, if that continued into a Build Phase, it would take a similar trend in pushing out duration.
Interesting points raised as to intensity and duration.
I’m just adjusting HV polarised to sit within my 1 hr commute either way. I’m going straight into build which allows 1 Vo2 max and 1 threshold session per week with one rest day and a 3 to 4 hour ride on Sunday morning. As I’m getting older I want to protect my Vo2.
This approach is a step change as the last three winters I’ve solely trained indoors with TrainerRoad.
I’m betting increased volume and consistency of 9-10 hrs per week of zone two , 1 hr of Vo2 and 1.5 hrs of threshold will be a good start point. Time will tell if this is sustainable for my health but I’m looking forward to finding out.
Similarly mine goes +1 PL (from 1.7 to 2.7) over 5 weeks, despite my PL is 2.9 at the moment (due to manually picked longer weekend rides). I had expected the long ride to adapt to the higher level / to be longer, but that hasn’t happened.
I’m probably overthinking what AT will do and continue to use alternates to extend the duration of the weekend ride.
you’re a hero just by doing this workout! 2 hrs and I’m completely done.
Last year I had a turbo burnout I couldn’t even look at it. Stooped riding and change for running outside. This year will be my first TR year, I’ll do a plan builder focusing on a peak in June, starting in early Feb, maybe late Jan. An overview of this plan reveals 2 2hrs SST/Threshold (high volume) and I’m already “afraid”.
Obligatory TR forum question: If it’s your first year using TrainerRoad, why are you jumping in to High Volume Plans?
It’s my first year using TR, not as a cyclist. I’ve been riding for about 8 years.
Point is, I changed country 2 years ago, Brazil to Canada. The former I could ride outside all year, no need for zwift, TR, whatever. The later though, I have to handle with 3/4 months of snow and indoor training, which I’m not a huge fan…
Good history, but my point is why did you pick HV specifically?
If it’s based on hours you typical do outside, that’s frequently a problem for many people who try it. Considering your less than stellar outlook for inside training, I’d think it a safer pick to do Mid Vol (less time overall and sometimes shorter workouts vs HV) and then aim for a more positive mental take on the future.
Perhaps better to nail the MV with some optimism vs dread HV even if it’s attainable?
You’re absolutely right, and I’m seriously considering this.
My ideal/possible volume riding outside would be something around 12/14 weekly. In this case I’m “stuck” in setting the HV and maybe lower it a bit during winter, to then boost it during summer, or, the opposite.
You have a very good point. Maybe starting with the MV, once I see I can handle it, I can do some longer workouts just by replacing for alternatives. When summer arrives I’ll have flexibility to include group rides.
Since you’re new to TR, you may not know that the TR team basically says “almost no one should be doing the HV Plans”. I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the intended message.
Who are HV plans for
We recommend high volume only for athletes who are experienced with interval training and have plateaued with the mid-volume version of the plan. We don’t recommend high volume for cyclists who intend to add additional rides beyond their plan’s scheduled workouts; these athletes are better served by the low- or mid-volume version.
And this blog article:
I wonder if these recommendations fit the HV Pol plans, as they’re effectively LV w/ added endurance rides. Ride 6 days a week, 2 hard workouts a week, the rest easy. It’s very similar to LVSSBase+extra endurance which is they’re typical recommendation.
I swear this has been asked (possibly in this thread but it’s been a long day and my Google Fu is lacking) but are polarised plans worth doing over sweet spot plans when you’re in door sessions are limited to 60 (maybe 75) minutes?
I like the idea of either going hard or gentle and not digging myself into a hole (again).
I don’t think that would be an issue if you’re getting in some LSD on the weekends.
Lots of things aren’t an issue when you can get in some LSD on the weekends.
