Planning for Long-Term Improvement - (12 - 18 month plan cycles)
I’m trying to figure out the best approach to structure training for overall improvement rather than peaking for specific events.
Background: I’ve been cycling seriously for about 16 months and doing structured training for 12 months (with some interruptions from a crash and life events). I do group rides here and there, plan to race occasionally in the next year but mainly to develop race craft and comfort in the pack rather than care about winning. My priority is steady, well-rounded growth as a cyclist rather than peaking for specific events.
Main question: What’s the optimal way to structure plans over the next 12-18 months to maximize overall development?
Specifically, I’m wondering:
Should I continuously stack 3-month plans, rotating the goal and composition of build and specialty phases to hit different systems (VO2max, sweet spot, threshold, anaerobic)?
Would a longer base phase followed by extended or stacked build/specialty phases work better?
How do I maintain fitness across different areas? For example, if I focus on sprint training for a few months down the road, what’s the best way to avoid losing threshold or VO2max gains?
I’ve searched the forum and podcast but haven’t found exactly what I’m looking for, if there’s a relevant thread or episode, I’d appreciate being pointed in that direction.
First thing - If you truly want optimal, you’re going to need a coach.
That said, start off by putting all your planned holidays and/or mandatory time off on to your calendar, so your training will fit around your life. It makes sense, where possible, to align your breaks from training with your time off.
You may find, having done this, that the broad structure of your plan becomes a little clearer. If not, I’m sure other people waaaay more qualified than me will be along to assist
For long-term, well-rounded improvement, I would pick a goal like Increasing FTP, Getting Faster for Group Rides, or General Fitness, and set a it as a longer plan rather than stacking multiple 3-month plans. TrainerRoad will handle Base, Build, and Specialty Phases automatically while keeping all energy systems developing so you don’t need to worry about losing fitness in other areas.
If you want more or less stress, you can use the Training Approach feature instead of rebuilding plans. Group rides and occasional races are factored into your training, and TrainerRoad will adjust upcoming workouts as needed. Since this is not an Event based plan, just be conscious the week of a race so you don’t do into it fatigued.
The key here is consistency over time with a long term plan and letting TrainerRoad build you one plan instead of manually adding individual ones.
