Hello everyone! I am looking for advice on my future training plan. I am new (started using it 4 months ago) to TR. In the beginning I started standard plan for somebody who does not have any event to prepate for. TR made me a plan for whole year but I would like to change it in April. So far I did BASE 1, BASE 2 and im going to finish BUILD phase (it finishes in April). So far this is all indoor. From April I would like to start cycling with local cycling club. This would be every Sunday about 60 miles (5-6 hours I suppose). My question is how to make a plan. My first thought was: Sunday (club run), Mon off, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri indoor, Sat off. But what kind of indoor training would be the best on my indoor days (Tue-Fri)? I would like to add that my main goal is developing (ie. generally get stronger and faster, I am not preparing to any event).
Hi
That’s 5 training sessions a week, So this MV Plan, You just delete the Planned MV sunday of the plan and use a Garmin ( or equivalent) to record your ride, better if you have a power meter, but you can just record the ride anyway and select what type of ride, Tempo or Endurance … As to getting stronger/faster select a Century Plan Gran Fondo.and that will get what you are looking for.
If your Sunday 60 mile club rides take 5-6 hours I would focus the rest of the week on intensity. I think you may find the opposite though, our hilly club rides are usually in the 19-20mph range and plenty intense so if I was focusing my remaining time inside I would
Work on endurance since a 60 miler with 3000-4000ft typically takes us ~3hrs
That said, don’t be so locked into a summer plan right now. Finish out your plan before April and spend more time outside when weather allows it. You will still gain lots of fitness riding outdoors, and riding with more groups will help push you further and also keep you moving in the right direction mentally (when you see how fast some people can be, you’ll be humbled and motivated to get to their level)
Yes you may gain more fitness if you stay on the trainer all the time, but what’s the fun in that?! If you’re newer to training, you’re in luck, because riding outside is like having your cake and eating it too. FWIW my first year of TR I saw a bump from 268 to 290w after my plan, and after a summer of outdoor riding, supplementing with indoor only on days when weather did not allow me to get out, I still gained an additional 10w over that summer.
Thank you very much for your answer. What is MB plan?
Thank you very much. Very helpful.
Not MB but MV. MV = Mid Volume.
Sorry for that but Medium Volume which one exactly? As I wrote at the beginning I already finished BASE 1,BASE 2 and am planning to finish BUILD phase. I know it may be silly question for you so sorry for that. I may need step by step explanation.
Hi
You are finishing your build phase in April, so you actually go back to mid-volume version of Sweet Spot Base II. This will look like a backward step, But you have to go back a little to build that fitness,.
I know you are targeting fitness, One thing that will crop up at some point is motivation, it might be worth while having some Goal event, either an Audax (non-competitive) or a Sportif (Race by any other name). You can then put that into the Plan Builder as the A event and it will give Speciality phase and rest into that event.
So I will (if I understand it properly) be basically constantly getting into BASE 2 and BUILD phase again and again. That should work fine I think in order to raise my FTP and get fritter. Generally I am expecting to get where I want to be in 3 years. That is why I do not have any events planned. My plan for 2021 is to get fitter and faster, top-up FTP, lose weight and master group rides. In 2022 I will think about speciality.
Yes
That’s correct base. Build, then even base-base - build. Depending what time of year it is.
Your goals may require more than trainer time. You also have quite a long time horizon for achieving your goals. Don’t be afraid to go outside for “fear of losing gains”, my example may be purely anecdotal gaining 10w in a summer of outdoor riding, but I then picked up 6w again the summer after. The gains will taper over time as you pick off the low hanging fruit
My first year I did SSB1 and 2 and general build all in the low volume format with some added endurance rides from January to April and then rode outside. Second year, same SSB and General Build format but mid volume.
As far as the volume goes, better to start low and add easy rides. My mistake initially was looking at mid volume thinking “yea I can swing 6 hours a week” but not realizing that those 6 hours a week would wear my amateur ass down and lead me to start failing workouts towards the end of SSB1. That’s why my first year I did low volume and added Pettit ever my Wednesday and Perkins -1 every Sunday those 3 hours kept me moving and focused without adding a ton of fatigue every week.
Thank you for your reply. I am definitely not going to skip any opportunity to ride outside because I love it and this is the reason I ride. I just need to complement it with the indoor cycling because due to family responsibilities I can only go outside once a week. Secondly I live in Ireland so no every Sunday gives you a chance to cycle outside. For me going outside is what I am looking forward to whole week. My indoor cycling is like just a.preparation for Sunday. I am using TR and structured training because if do something I like to do it properly.
PS. What are the shortcuts SSB1