I am 40 years old and raced in college before taking a long break to focus on my career and family. Over the past five years I have been back into structured training, taking it seriously for the last three, with 10 to 15 hours per week. I currently weigh around 145 to 150 pounds with an FTP of 308.
This year I started racing again and was able to upgrade from Cat 5 to Cat 3 within six months, landing on the podium in all but one race I entered. I mainly race criteriums and road races, and my goal next season is to consistently compete with the top Cat 3 field and maybe earn my Cat 2 upgrade.
I mostly use TrainerRoadâs High Volume plans with a long endurance ride outside once a week and a single chop ride or race pace ride once a week, but I adjust things a bit based on the season. For the most part I recover well between workouts and enjoy the volume.
That said, my performance seems to have plateaued, and I am wondering if I have reached the ceiling of what TrainerRoad alone can offer. Perhaps I am just being impatient? I want to keep improving and see how far I can go, but I am unsure if hiring a coach would make a meaningful difference.
I am open to investing in a coach if it will truly help me reach the next level, but I also want to understand what kind of guidance and feedback others have found most helpful.
For those who have been in a similar situation, how did you know when it was time to work with a coach? Did it help you reach the next level, or do you think it is possible to continue progressing with TrainerRoad and self-education?
IF you find the right coach (and that is a BIG if, cause a bunch of coaches are not as experienced as their fee leads you to believ)., id say you will progress upward some. Gains will come slower, but a coach will better suit the workouts to exactly what you need. Interview a bunch, pick your best fit and give it a try for a year. Nows the time to do it.
You raced in college so I am assuming you know how to put together a training plan and adjust accordingly. Having a second set of eyes on what you are doing and someone to bounce ideas off of can be useful. And there are other benefits as well⌠real time feedback, accountability, etc.
On the other side of it⌠Hiring a coach can get pretty expensive. Do you need that accountability and will you get value from it? Will you be able to be prescribed a plan and actually follow it?
With your background, a coach that gives you a âplug and playâ training plan and emails you once a month isnât worth it IMO. But someone who checks in with you, monitors your training can have some value.
As for the performance plateaue you can always post your training and get feedback here. And donât know if you are here yet but as a former college athlete myself, it is easy to think that we are the same kid we were 20 years ago. We arenât.
I got a coach. I didnt race, or ride for that matter, in college. I dont have a huge 308 watt ftp and I wonât be racing at your level.
For me, just having someone in my corner who genuinely cares about my training, and my welfare, and my opinions, makes it worthwhile. Its obviously vastly more expensive than doing my own plan, or letting AI generate a plan, but I trust my coach a lot more than either a computer, or myself, to make the right decisions to get me back to doing super long distance rides again. I have failed repeatedly to do this over the last 2 years.
That makes a lot of sense. I hate being âsoldâ and thatâs likely why I have been hesitant to reach out to any coaches for interviews. But the right coach could really make it break the ROI.
I donât feel like I struggle with accountability. I think TR does a great job at prescribing quality sessions. When you mix in racing, it struggles, IMO, to adapt well.
I guess another set of experienced eyes to reassure me would go a long way, as well as someone whoâs able to see the bigger picture of my overall health and training and not simply what is done on the bike alone.
Thatâs awesome that you have a great accountability partner with your coach. I donât feel like thatâs something that I necessarily need. I have a lot of self-motivation and drive and discipline without anyone elseâs input.
I definitely think a coach could look at once overall health and take more into consideration when prescribing training, but Iâm not overly confident that most trainers would do any better than an AI with infinitely more input and accumulative knowledge.
Ahh just to clarify, I dont need a coach for motivation, my problem is that I have too much of it and am completely unable to self moderate my training. The stress of âshould I do this workout/how should I rate this workout/what workout alternatives should I use/where can I stick in zone 2 without overdoing it was just too much for me to manage.
The best thing is, she is happy to support me doing longer adventures and longer rides which the trainerroad system never seemed to adapt in as I would like.
I am much happier out and about, and for the first time in a long time feel really excited about my training and truly supported to increase the volume and the adventures significantly.
TR made me stronger in many ways, but it has also completely knocked my confidence in my ability to go a long way, and has reduced my social riding much to my technical detriment. This is not necessarily a reflection on the program, but on my ability to use it. Working with a coach will hopefully help me find the balance I need. I am grateful I can afford that option
It sounds like youâve reached the limit of what your current training can give you - which is a TR high volume plan, plus some additional rides. To progress further, you might need to change it up, and likely add volume, intensity, or density, or change something else in your life. If you think youâve maxed out TR, then you have to either make those changes yourself, or, if you dknât feel like you know what you should do for that ask someone with experience, ie a coach.
Based on your history, I think you paid your dues as a self coached athlete. Youâve got a lot going for you and youâre still young enough to see some good gains with some individual support. If you can afford a coach, whether itâs for six months or a year, I would say go for it. Right now it seems like you have a supportive partner and the time and willingness to handover the rains to somebody who can guide you.
If you keep doing the same thing, a plateau is inevitable. You canât just keep ticking the watts up forever without increasing volume and/or changing the training approach. Itâs very doubtful you are anywhere near your genetic potential on 10-15 hours per week even if all those hours are âperfectâ training. To keep progressing, you might just need to do more of what you are already doing or you might need to change the approach. Most people can probably benefit from both. And a human coach (and/or different training system) are good options to help mix things up if you arenât sure where to start on your own.
@JMGant the correct coach can for sure help you target training to address specific portions of your power curve IN A FASHION that suits your racing style. The type of nuance that itâs hard for even the most intelligently designed automated coaching platform to achieve. A coach can also impart a lot of tribal knowledge/wisdom regarding race prep and race execution. For sure there can be some value there.
But if you are looking for a coach to add 40W to your FTP, thatâs going to be a big ask. So it all depends on your expectations.
I was in your almost exact same scenario about 2 months ago. Cat 3. Waiting to move up. I decided to pull the plug and get a coach. So far, I have liked it. I havenât done a fitness test to truly tell what gains I am making. But simply the ability to ask him questions and get exact workouts for winter cross-training has been great. I think most of it right now is just someone to hold you back. If I didnât have a coach, I would already be back at 15 hours a week. But my coach has me focusing on off-season stuff.
I use ignition, which seems to be a great value for money. Only 220 for the normal coaching. Gets you unlimited contact, which is my favorite part, but I have also heard that Elite coaching is good.
I am also a new client, so things like communication and openness on my end will probably come with time as I get more familiar with him.
I took a look at your training history, and it has been pretty solid! For the past 2 years, there has been a steady increase in FTP, which indicates you have been progressing.
A few things to consider when talking about plateaus:
FTP: In your case, I donât think you have plateaued. Instead, you may be hitting your FTP ceiling. So the closer you get to it, the smaller the gains.
Recovery: Since the beginning of this year (just this year), youâve been at it non-stop, training and racing. Which is great! But you may be due for some time off the bike. Without adequate recovery, your body cannot repair, rebuild, and adapt to the stress of training, which can cause a plateau.
And I do agree with @Jolyzara , as a former pro cross racer, I also think I am the same I was 6 years ago, but the truth is I am not. Having the muscle memory does work to our advantage, though! Making it easy to see fitness gains faster than others, but there comes a point where not only age plays a role, our life circumstances do like being parents, full time jobs, etcâŚ
As far as getting a coach goes, itâs a great option if you can afford it and donât lose anything by trying it. However, if you decide to stick with TR or do both, you can always reach out to support@trainerroad.com with any questions you may have about your training! Most of our support staff is built of very successful athletes, so itâs a great tool to leverage if you havenât done so!
Iâm personally not a fan of absolute statements like that. Itâs totally dependent on how you use TR, how good the coach is, and the individual athlete and how they are wired. There are a lot of terrible human coaches that are decades behind the learning curve. And there are some really good ones as well. And a good coach for one athlete can be a terrible fit for another. There are plenty of fast and slow folks who use coaches and plenty of fast and slow folks who use TR and similar self-coaching tools. The fastest are more likely to have a human coach than the slowest, but those are also the folks who are most serious about their racing. At the amateur level, there are lots of national-level athletes who are self coached and/or use tools like TR. For someone who doesnât have a lot of experience racing, a good human coach can definitely accelerate the curve to learn race tactics, help with equipment choice, etc., but you still have to find a good fit for the discipline. Again, there are no absolutes and no single âperfectâ approach for everyone.
I have considered increasing volume, which I may still do. That said, I think I would need to dial back the intensity if I was to increase volume. Iâd be happy with hitting 15 hour on bike routinely, but would need to decrease the duration of my intensity days.
Honestly, thatâs kind of where my thoughts are. Give it a try for 3-6 months, to see what I think and then go from there. Like otherâs have said, the quality of the coaching often comes down to the coach themselves, so finding the right person would likely be key.
, as a former pro cross racer, I also think I am the same I was 6 years ago, but the truth is I am not. Having the muscle memory does work to our advantage, though! Making it easy to see fitness gains faster than others, but there comes a point where not only age plays a role, our life circumstances do like being parents, full time jobs, etcâŚ