I agree with your statement, but I doubt I’ll ever have enough solid data to know. Last season was my first with TR and I did one structured season on Zwift before that. Lots of ups and downs in there.
I’m also now fueling during the ride better than before, and supplementing my protein intake. Any of these could also be the difference.
But maybe AI can see something across a larger pool…
I want to try the polarized plans next year, but not sure when I should implement them in my season.
I want to do traditional base 1,2,3 and then wondering if polarized base should go after that? Or should polarized base be a replacement for one of the traditional base periods?
Do you have a specific event that you are training for? If so, the timing of this would impact your question.
If you aren’t training for a specific event, then you could do polarized base after doing TB 1 -3, as a replacement for part of TB, prior to doing TB.
I do have some events sprinkled throughout the year, my A race would be in November.
Im was thinking, like you said TB 1-3 then Pol base; TB3 has 5 rides, with 2 sweet spot and 1 threshold. So I was thinking after that Pol base with 2 hard, 3 easy rides it would fit in nicely.
Given you have 10 1/2 - ~11 months to your A race (depending upon when in November it is), you can easily fit in 18 weeks / ~4 1/2 months of base (TB 1 - 3 at 12 weeks, Pol Base at 6 weeks). Go for it and let us know how it goes.
@KBryan416 following up from a couple of months ago. I’ve finished two rounds of Polarized Base LV and just start Polarized Build LV. I’ve boosted all of these with at least 2 additional hours of Z2 per week.
I’ve noticed two positive things. First, I’m not crashing like I did with SSB. Still have to watch my recovery, but all up, it just feels better. Second, I’ve noticed much better endurance outdoors. I’ve been mostly on the trainer for the past couple of months, partly weather related. I’ve done two outdoor rides (same ride, 2X) in the past week and I noticed my speed is up, I’m climbing better and I feel better during and after. I’m also being careful on my fueling, which of course is a factor.
While it’s only a couple of months under Polarized, it’s working very well for me. The missing piece for me was adding more endurance work, to increase volume. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year, as I feel like I’ve cracked a secret code that’s eluded me.
@MrBirchling your experience mirrors mine quite closely, especially that of the benefit of increased z2 riding. I’ve also found in the polarized build phase that I really need to imrove my supra-threshold performance, something I’ve known for a while. Next time around I plan on doing SSB-LV to improve my muscle endurance at relatively high power, then once again pick up LV polarized build to assess / improve my progress. I really like the polarized programs, and will likely stick with them as long as they’re around. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!
For the last two, three seasons (not sure anymore) I have done a polarized block before starting a training plan (that starts with sweet spot base). This has really upped my mental game for 2x16 minutes at threshold is a lot harder than 2x20 minutes at sweet spot. The extra endurance training also helped gaining fitness after the break.
@OreoCookie , that’s my thinking, too: improved endurance before jumping into sweet spot. I’m currently in polarized build, but I’m going to forgo a specialtiy phase to, instead, start SSB 1&2 —> polarized build —> specialty. Thanks for your feedback.
Question for the group. Sorry if this has already been discussed but I missed it.
I’m doing POL LV + extra Z2. I’m getting up to 8+ hours combined while currently doing POL Build.
In the recovery weeks, would you recommend backing off the extra Z2? Maybe not completely but not the full 8+ hours?
I’d appreciate thoughts on what you’ve experienced.
I take full advantage of the rest week and do not add any extra volume. When things pick up the following week, I find I’ve lost nothing, and am mentally fresh for the upcoming work.
In recovery weeks I drop Z2 volume to about 60% of my peak Z2 volume in that block. Been getting good results with that, both in terms of fatigue management and progress.
Thanks both. I appreciate your perspective. I like the mental scrub aspect of my riding, so I’ll probably do some lite extra Z2 to fill in the gaps. Shorter duration too.
The recovery week is quite personal. It is not uncommon to actually feel bad during recovery week. You can search about this on this forum.
I myself enjoy the first three days of really low intensity rides but after that my legs get twitchy. For Friday I will increase the intensity a bit and do couple sprints. On Saturdays I’ll let the AI FTP do its magic and then try some productive level threshold ride with newly decreased PL. After a week like this, it’s easy for me to start a new loading cycle and motivation is high again.
Something like this, except Saturday threshold that varies:
Of course, for you it might be different and may require some experimenting. If in doubt, err on lower intensity side – you do not want to start loading cycle in hole 
I should add that I don’t drop intensity during a recovery week. My hard days I reduce the duration of the intervals to 50% of my peak week in that block. The intensity remains the same.
