I am new to TrainerRoad. I’ve converted over from that other suffering app and I’m here to get faster! My biggest question is… are the trainer road training plans structured to start on a specific day? I plan on either doing the Mid or High Volume plan and wanted to know if there was a day of the week to best start the plan so that the longer workouts fall on the weekends (SAT/SUN). Also, I am a CAT4 Crit racer, doing some road racing but my focus is crits. Since the off season basically starts now I’m signing up for the Sweet Spot base plan with Mid to High volume as mentioned earlier. Does this sound like the best plan for me? Also, I know… I’ve got a lot of questions :), Say, if the best day to start a plan is on a Monday so that the longer rides are on the weekends, then should I do the RAMP TEST on Sunday so that I can start the plan on Monday or is the RAMP TEST part of the training block.
Thanks in advance for the help! Hope to get faster with everyone here!
When you are setting up a training plan in your calendar you will get the below screen which allows you to setup the plan days to suit you. You just drag and drop the various workouts to fit your schedule.
You could pick any day of the week to start your training. First pick the week you’d like to start, then go to your TR Calendar and move/drag and drop the work out to whichever day of the week you want to start your training plan. Adjust all the weeks accordingly.
If you have any question in your mind whatsoever, I’d start with the Mid Volume plan. The plans do not incorporate your outside riding if they are done IN ADDITION TO the plan you choose. Thus, you could end up quite fatigued, and thus limiting the desired affects of the plan.
Secondly, it is very easy to take [almost] any workout and find the +1, +2, +3 version OR a similar workout with higher volume of the desired workout type in the workout library if you are not getting the level of work load you desire. Similarly, WorkoutCreator allows you to modify a workout from the workout library to achieve the same effect (or create your own).
FWIW: I entered TR one year ago this week with a training load substantially above High Volume. However, I chose SSB MV 1 over HV1. Most of my workouts were 1.25, 1.50 or 2.0x the workouts in MV. However, in contrast to the HV plan, I had more recovery days between hard sessions allowing me to train harder. [and the results, particularly fatigue resistance, really showed that]. Perhaps, needless to say, it’s the same approach I will be embarking on again.
However, the downside of “my approach” is that it requires more time per training session. If you are “time crunched”, as TR plans are oriented towards, then HV becomes a viable option for one that can handle the training loads described earlier.
Thanks for the response. That sounds easy but this is my concern. It seems like your saying to just move the training days around to suit my schedule so does that mean if I move DAY 1 of my block to suit the longer rides for the weekends then the entire block shuffles to suit that need or are you saying that the calendar allows me to move each workout separately to a day that suits my schedule. If I start moving individual workouts around won’t I be affecting the adaptation that is designed between hard days and easier days?
You can move the days around in the calendar but say for example Tuesday and Thursday are hard and Wednesday is easy, you could make Monday and Wednesday hard but Tuesday easy, if for example you couldn’t ride on certain days of the week / weekend. Generally and it does depend on the sessions and what you’re trying to achieve you don’t want two hard days in a row…I hope that makes sense.
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For TR plans, Tuesday is the day! Seriously, they are set up to start on a Tuesday so unless you need to move the longer weekend rides off of Saturday and Sunday, start on a Tuesday.
and I’m here to get faster! My biggest question is… are the trainer road training plans structured to start on a specific day? I plan on either doing the Mid or High Volume plan and wanted to know if there was a day of the week to best start the plan so that the longer workouts fall on the weekends (SAT/SUN). Also, I am a CAT4 Crit racer, doing some road racing but my focus is crits. Since the off season basically starts now I’m signing up for the Sweet Spot base plan with Mid to High volume as mentioned earlier. Does this sound like the best plan for me? Also, I know… I’ve got a lot of questions :), Say, if the best day to start a plan is on a Monday so that the longer rides are on the weekends, then should I do the RAMP TEST on Sunday so that I can start the plan on Monday or is the RAMP TEST part of the training block.
