I am looking for some really good resources on how to structure/periodise a season-long training plan.
I have read quite a few articles, and listened to Kolie Moore intently, however, I haven’t found an article or podcast where he talks about structuring a training plan. I am talking about learning how to structure the base, build and peak phases, what workouts to do in each, how many days of intensity per week, what primary areas to target in each phase, etc.
I have a good understanding of what workouts to do to improve specific aspects of fitness, but I would love some insight into when/how to use them. For example, should I combine threshold and VO2 in the build phase, or just focus on threshold.
Go watch the wko5 webinars, annual training process. They will give you a very solid outline but you should also not be afraid to adjust to better suit your needs/goals.
What is your background?
Here is what I would recommend:
Start with a good training plan. That will serve as a baseline and is likely based on thousands of hours of work. You should not try to reinvent the wheel when you don’t know what a car looks like.
Your goal should be to learn the basic principles of structured training such as periodization, progressive overload, specificity and individualization.
Come into it knowing that there are different and very often equivalently good ways to put these principles into practice. Don’t become an acolyte of person X’s or company Y’s training strategy.
Add in complexity bit by bit.
Try out different training approaches and see how they work for you.
In my experience, the three most important factors are consistency, good sleep (8 hours, ideally) and leaving something in the tank as far as training goes.
Once you have a handle on it, make some deliberate modifications. Be deliberate. I would again avoid “Person X is recommending it and I like what they say on podcast Y.” Instead ask “Why?” and “What for?” If you are a crit racer, extending your TTE a threshold from 50 to 70 minutes is likely not a goal that will make you faster in races.
The other useful thing to do is to use TR Plan Builder.
Have it create different plans for different events that are scheduled for different times in the future and consider the structure of those different plans. You can learn a lot by looking at those outputs.
The other useful thing to do is to use TR Plan Builder.
Have it create different plans for different events that are scheduled for different times in the future and consider the structure of those different plans. You can learn a lot by looking at those outputs.
