I know there seems to be a ton of similar threads already, but my perspective is somewhat different. Simply because I ride gravity MTB, so I spent large parts of spring, summer and autumn in the alps and bike parks. After joining TR 1,5 years ago I peaked in terms of FTP at 291W and 72kg somewhere around February this year.
Some summer rides involve long uphills, but I never push too hard uphill. Simply because I want to ride Enduro 4-6 days a week when I’m not at home and don’t get too fatigued so that I can enjoy the descents. My friends are also not that fit, so that I spent most rides in HR zone 1/2. Weekly TSS is oftentimes around 800-1000.
In between my trips I want to add some structure in the form of two indoor sessions per week on top of my regular strength training 2-3 times per week.
What type of training sessions do you suggest? I know that there are maintenance plans with 2x VO2Max + 1x Anaerobic. Should I cut out the Anaerobic session due to strength training and simply do 2x VO2Max, or replace 1x VO2Max session with SS/Threshold work?
Reading your thread, if I were in your shoes, I would do one VO2 max workout and one threshold workout. You said you get your Z2 with buddies doing the enduro thing, and you probably also get some anaerobic work in there.
Seems like would be pretty balanced with VO2 and threshold.
Edit: This is what I would do for myself, for all around cycling fitness but I also ride a lot of gravel, road, and XC. Not too much gravity. So someone else might suggest something different.
In any case, I am sure adding those two types of workouts will make you stronger all around.
Can you say more about this? How many hours is this? One hour of Z1/2 is about 30-40 TSS. Are you getting in 20+ hours of riding a week already? PLUS 2-3 strength sessions?
If so, you’re in a very small subset of people, so may not get a lot of replies.
Remote work allows me to spend 3-5 weeks each in spring and autumn in Italy, where we ride 12-18 hours per week. Around half of climbing is assisted by shuttles and then there are the descents, which are also pretty taxing. So yes, according to TR those weeks are usually within the 800-1000 TSS range.
In that period I only do strength for upper body, but usually skip legs or low volume focussing on glutes.
Yes, sure adding that on top of 1000 TSS week is almost impossible - at least for me
So in between my trips, I will add two session. May I ask why Threshold and not SS? So that higher end of energy systems is better covered? But if following this logic, 2x VO2Max would be possible, or just too taxing?
Keep in mind that I’m not at all qualified to coach. I only know what has worked for me in the past and I have developed my own ideas and opinions!
Yes, I think your Z2 work covers a lot so if I was only doing two structured workouts per week they would be above sweet spot.
I think if you space them apart, two VO2 max workouts are fine. They are for me, as long as I fuel properly and recovery properly. The reason I like to add threshold intervals isn’t necessary because it will make you physically stronger than a mix of VO2 and Z2, but because I think threshold training has a huge mental aspect. Being in that pain zone for 10-20 mins makes me better able to deal with the pain when in real world events.
I also look at which workouts I dread the most, and they are threshold. So, I think there’s value in doing something you dread. To a point, of course.
