I follow the plans as prescribed but always wonder whether adding a week or two to some blocks (ssb mid/high vol for instance) would drive more adaption in the recovery week afterwards. Can more experienced riders train more than 5 weeks before deloading? What’s the max in your opinion/experience?
I’m going into my recovery week now and definitely need it, I was just wondering whether having more structured training history under your belt would allow you to add a bit more volume (without digging a hole) Or is it all relative to a ftp and intensity?
I don’t think many people mess with the general structure of the plan, most of the time if you’re going into your recovery week with a lot of life left in your legs then you’re probably due to add more TSS either in more intensity or volume during the weeks prior.
You could probably mess with extending blocks if you wanted, but then you’re really at a point where you’re crafting your own plan. Usually if you want more intensity you can do a +1, or more volume add 20-30 minutes of endurance (60%) at the end of workouts.
It’s not for myself, I definitely need the recovery after 5 weeks.
Just wondering what the reasoning behind max 5 weeks is. Are there any studies on this matter etc.
You get faster when you rest and recover. Training is about stimulus and response. The response comes when you take a break. If you do too much you create a lot of autonomic stress on the body and it takes even longer to recover.
I was listening to an interview with the sports scientist Jan Olbrecht (coached athletes to over 600 medals). He was talking about 1:1 or 2:1 rest for weekend warrior athletes. 3:1 or 4:1 for elites. It also depends on what the training block consists of - for example, you can do long slow base miles for many weeks without needing too much rest.
I have done as much as 8-9 weeks of high volume training where you can see that the stress slowly ramps up. Going from a Tss of 750 to 1100 with the average of the block being around 920 or so.
It was a mainly Sweet Spot and endurance work
You took about a week off after that, was that enough recovery? Thank you for your reply. This is why I created this thread.
Curious to see if other people go beyond 5 weeks (with success).
I kinda took 2 weeks of with a lower volume of 12 hrs respectively coming from around 18-20hrs a week. The dip looks so dramatic because I didn’t bother to much with HR and Power and went out on the MTB more instead of the road bike.
you could do it, but not sure it’s going to be effective. 4 weeks is one thing, 5 is a big hole if you’re truly training and racing the entire 5 weeks without a rest or taper in there.
TSB can get REALLY negative if you’re going hard 2x during the week and then 2x big rides on the weekend.
After 3 weeks, a break is usually desired!
To increase load, rolling 3 days blocks are effective for pro’s since they are constrained by M-F work schedules. I talk about that here if interested.
ftp and intensity?
