Interesting quirk of Adaptive Training and Progression Levels

The General Build block has a ramp test in the middle, after a rest week. The ramp test takes the place of a VO2 Max workout. So this means that after the ramp test, you’ve had two weeks since the last VO2 workout and it drops your PLs (in my case from 6.0 to 4.8!). I chose to refuse the adaptation (we’ll see…), but something doesn’t seem right with that.

I don’t see a quirk there, that’s just the way it is. PLs are relative to your FTP and they adjust post test. If they didn’t at a higher FTP you may struggle to do a work out. There’s lots of threads on it on the forum.

TR’s plans have always been like this - the impact is just now obvious with PL’s. That’s also why some people (myself included) took the ramp test earlier in the rest week and manually added a VO2 workout. As of Thursday, according to @ambermalika on the podcast, TR will now give you a custom workout in lieu of the ramp test if you use FTP Detection. :+1:

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I think you’re missing the point. It’s not adjusting post test or changing because of the ramp test, it’s because the way the plan is laid out it’s giving him nearly 3 weeks between vo2 max workouts, and combine that with the way AT works, it’s naturally building in a drop in PL’s on vo2 max work if one’s not completed in X number of days, compared to whatever else exists in the plan (sweet spot, threshold…etc). In the case of the typical general build low volume, you’d have a vo2 max on tuesday, your next week would be a rest/endurance week, your next tuesday would be a ramp test, and your following tuesday would be a v02 max day. So you’d have 20 days between scheduled vo2 max workouts, that’s a lot! In a typical general build it would go from 4.7 vo2 max (clouds rest +3) to a 5.2 (sleeping deer)…but with AT it’s always going to downgrade you, probably back to a 4.0 or something, because it’s been so long between vo2 max workouts.

If he didn’t have to do a ramp test (which, with FTP estimator, you don’t), then another vo2 workout would exist in place of the ramp test, which would theoretically be at or higher than his current PL, which would lead to more progressive gains through the following 3 weeks of the plan.

It sounds like a bit of a flaw that may need some kind of solution. My first thought would be what kind of credit do you get from doing a ramp test? If you do one that exactly matches your previous FTP, or is within watts of it, do you get some kind of vo2 max ‘credit’ to remain at your current vo2 max PL, since it’s such a high intensity effort? If you test 10 watts higher and accept that new FTP, than your vo2 max progression will get dropped by AT, but will it then drop again because it’s been so long since a vo2 max workout? I’m not sure.

Sorry if I mis-read, I am terrible for that when I have have got the contacts in and focusing on a race on the bigger screen the phone is a bit of a blur (The Omloop and Camino were great btw). Rest weeks in plans are nothing new though, PL degradation just highlight it, its not a quirk. IMO you’ll get slower without them. TR are working on though substituting the default ramp alternative VO2max workout (Goddard -4) for something appropriate to a riders PLs. In the past and pre AT I just manually substituted the ramp for what I felt was right for me (and kept a stable FTP) and now AT is in its even easier to do that and see no PL degrade. IMHO folk worry too much about metrics and not the bigger picture (ie how much faster etc they are getting).