Hey all, curious as to what effect consistently skipping an Endurance workout, i.e. Pettit, that is usually scheduled on day 2 of the week. and simply resting instead, will have on your fitness, both short and long term. (Currently in SSB II, but my weekly TSS has been down due to life.)
Thanks in advance!
They cover these types of workouts in depth here:
The short answer is that something like Petit is likely the least important workout of the week but it is not without value. Along with burning additional calories it will help to foster your aerobic base.
One option you might consider is adding something like Taku (30 min) to the end of a couple of your other workouts that week. That would offset the TSS loss, help you burn some additional calories, and also get some additional aerobic benefit.
Great summary @Kuttermax.
For reference, here is the thread that lead to the question on the podcast. It contains plenty of discussion as well.
Just sharing my experience in SSB II Mid last year. Mostly followed the plan and then cut out the Wednesday ride each week. Went from 249 to 259 in that block. And that was with a 1 month old at home at the time. So no question you can still get faster over a block if you’re skipping those.
Though looking back, I do think there were some end-of-race aspects of my fitness that suffered because I wasn’t putting in some of that endurance time in my base phase. As I moved into build after that, I’d feel strong during my longer MTB races in the first 75% but as I got towards the end I was more susceptible to cramps, which I had never had a problem with before.
6 months later as I’ve added those back into my routine I’ve anecdotally seen a decline in that end-of-race cramping.
My $0.02.
Can you make up that Z2 and then some on some other day?
Interesting. Thanks for the cents!
I mean, sure. I could also do what I really need to to fit in the workout. Not sure I really want to move it as I would be coming into the two highest TSS workouts with more fatigue or be starting the following week off with the same. I’m more interested in the importance of these workouts and the effects.
Thanks for the comments and post, all! I figured it had been discussed before and appreciate the links!