How many training load weeks before recovery week

How many weeks of training load do you take before a recovery week? 3,4,5,6,12?

I am following a program that suggests a recovery week after every 3 weeks. Too soon? I am finishing my third week tomorrow.

Current phase (Muscular Endurance/Stength phase)…excluding warm.up/warm down.

Mon: Hill Sprints
…30 seconds max effort repeats up a 6% gradient with 5 minute easy cycling between 6-8 sets.

Tues: Body weight circuits and abs with jogging inbetween, then High spin 130 rpm for 20 mins

Weds: Muscular tension
Lowest gear on bike,3x10 min efforts at 20-30 minute all out pace (10 minutes easy cycling inbetween)

Thurs: Muscular Endurance
60rpm Lowest gear on bike for 3 hours…close to done by the end.

Friday: Off or high spin recovery ride

Saturday: Muscular Endurance (as above)

Sunday: Time trial around local mountain some sections LONG and STEEP. 42-43 minutes.

Opionions and expertise appreciated. Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

Hi.
Normal training adaption takes 6 week blocks. Recovery week. Then New FTP test to see the improvement. TR does an excellent job in training plan. Base phase, Build phase then Specialized Phase. You Use can even build in your races.
I would ask the time trial every week are you racing them, what is your goal, if its a specific TT in the year, the TT every week may not be the best training scenario.

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That’s a lot of training per week with only one rest day. However without knowing your training history, age, lifestyle, etc it’s difficult to answer your question.

If what your plan recommends is a 3-1 work to rest then I would start there and see how you feel after several weeks.

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Thank you C10oky and Russell for your replies. I am 40. I have been cycling for only 3 years, but previously had a high level of fitness from other sports (rowing, sprinting, running, rugby), . I trained with an ex-Cat 1 friend last year (he’s fitter than me)

I do not have access to an FTP test, but as an example of my current level of fitness, I can ride at 34-35 km/h for 3 hours in training and hit 46km/h sprinting up a 6% hill.

I have lots of time and ability to train and rest right now, but to be honest, I started to feel tired over the last couple of days.

I am staying near the High Van Pass in Vietnam. It’s a 44km climb (as fearured before on Top Gear)…Doing that before my next training block was going to be my personal test of improvement, before taking a recovery week.

I would add that I have a weird heart rate…Resting pulse is 40, max is only 165 (not related but freaks me out as my max should be a lot higher compared to other my age).

HRV/RHR are good indicators. Specific numbers and changes vary per person but for myself initial ~3 loading weeks are usually stable. During 4-5th week HRV starts showing more frequently higher and lower values compared to average and RHR keeps growing (from usual 48-50 → 55-56bpm). Haven’t done any higher intensity phases yet but I imagine it starts even earlier there.

In addition to physical fatigue consider also mental side. I’m in final 5th loading week of custom SSBHV2 (with 2x SS days and 4x 2-6hr Z2 rides). Physically still fine, recovering ok for each workout but not feeling motivated anymore, only discipline keeps going. Really waiting for recovery week.

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Update: Yesterday, I went out and just quit my ride halfway in because I felt awful. Annoyed at myself, I got good rest and miraculously felt much better today. I decided to swap my workout for the hill TT today, as I went out late and it saves time…Then a miracle!

Previous attempt: 42 minutes 35 seconds
This week: 40 minutes 45 seconds!

Something must be going right. The plan actually did not include hills, but I, swapped the Tempo drill for this hill, just becaise I enjoy it.

ANOTHER CONSIDERATION:

I am stuck. I need to get back to where I work in China. I do not know when I will be allowed to enter. It could be a week, could be months. I face 16 days quatantined inside a hotel, probably doing circuits and jogging around a room. I am thinking that it would be best to be deliberately pushing the edge of being overtrained, so that the downtime stuck in a room without cycling won’t be so detrimental.

Thank you for your replues and knowledge.
To be specific about the recovery weeks, all are prescribed the same… four rides of 60 minutes, with three in zone 1 and one one in zone 2

The plan follows 3:1 work/recovery weeks

I will post the next 2 messocycles…

The next block is Anaerobic threshold…Cadence up to 90
Weeks One-Three.
Theshold intervals of 15 minutes for all major rides. Treat as time trials with 10 minutes easy cycling inbetwen. Aim for steady rate of power and for it not to drop off by the end.

Monday: off or easy (bottom of zone 1) recovery ride
Tuesday: Threshold intervals. Start with two and build up to three.
Wednesday: Threshold intervals
Thursday: endurance
Friday: recovery with 20 minutes of High spins. Add 10 minutes every time you do a High spin interval till the end of the program so that your end total is a full hour.
Saturday: endurance ride
Sunday: Theshold intervals Never do more than three. If you could do a fourth, you are not going hard enough.

Then recovery week and…

Phase 3
VO2 Max/Lactate threshold 3 minute efforts, 3 minute easy cycling rest. Start with 2 intervals add 1 each session until doing 6. Cadence starts at 100, builds to 130 by last session of the phase.

Monday: off or easy (bottom of zone 1) recovery ride
Tuesday: VO2 max;
Wednesday: VO2 max; even though these are high intensity, you can do them back to back because you are using a high cadence.
Thursday: endurance
Friday: recovery with 10 minutes of H.S.
Saturday: endurance ride.
Sunday: VO2 Max