…more great info from both of you - thanks
Does anyone have experience with any of their other plans - G Fondo, Hill Climbing in particular? Wondering if there is a huge difference between these and TR?
Thanks
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Does anyone have experience with TrainingPeaks Phil Mosley tri plans?
Last year I bought one of his 70.3 plans, but now that I’m a TR subscriber (and so fond of the platform), I’m very undecided wether following the HIM base-build-specialty plan on TR or use the Mosley’s plan.
I am a little in the same ball park then you (I guess). Fondo rider looking to improve my long climbing power (sweetspot?). Did a good year of Z2 with some extra’s but no plan (CTL between 85-95). I want to try the SS plans from fascat and go to the next level (also with some extra training hours). That is why I think I would go advanced. But…i am no pro and not 20 years old :-). (43).
So, intermediate and adding Z2 or advanced and cutting (if necessary?). How much more tackling is the advanced compared to intermediate?
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interesting thing is in the early phases of FC sweetspot vs TR, the TR rides are harder than FC, they just have a little more volume on the weekend. I’m currently doing a mix of TR and FC advanced plans.
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This has been a really helpful thread. I’ve been feeling that the TR plans are starting to bury me a bit - I’m able to follow them fully and have my nutrition and recovery in check but feeling heavy and drained (which typically leads me to injury).
I just completed the coaching intake form for Fascat so looking forward to working with a coach for a block and then will see about continuing with a coach, going with FC programs or continuing with TR (not cancelling my TR subscription).
Interestingly the best FTP gains I’ve made were this past summer when I took a break from structured plans but put in a lot of zone 2 hours outside with the odd shorter intense ride.
well, check me out.
Follow up.
Black friday meant buying the 18 weeks SS from FasCat.
Started 2 weeks ago, and I actually quite like what I’m doing.
More volume, less intensity, and my joints are so thankful about it.
I’m seeing a PT twice a week (loads of issues to address) and I felt like I was just managing to keep things ticking, but not making great progress.
These last 2 weeks havebeen nearly niggle-free!
Now, I’m not counting my 
but I’m optimistic.
(and yes, I do ride 5 times a week as a result 
)
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Lots of great info here!
I’ve spent my summer riding unstructured, and ended with just over a 5% bump in 4 months. Most importantly, I enjoyed riding, met new friends, and joined many group rides.
In November I started a 6 week block I got from EVOQ, primarily focused on endurance and tempo. I’ve noticed an increase in ability to hold power between endurance to just under threshold, and in general an adjustment to ride 10-13hrs weekly.
Once my block is done in January, I’ll be switching to personalized coaching, and will report progress after. I’m hopeful the plan, feedback, and increased accountability will make a difference in my power output. Since coach is local, added benefit will be the ability for in-person rides, and once I get upgraded, racing in the same Cat.
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Awesome. Brenden seems like a cool guy who’s incredibly generous in how he shares his insight. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
I’ve found that getting over 70 is a serious chore on a diet of 8-10 hour weeks. If I hit that number it’s not till late in the season. I’ve sort of resigned to the fact that I’ll likely never get higher given my current life-situation with kids, job, and all.
I’m on week 5/6 and have been happy so far with the plan (this is their Intro to Coaching plan). The associate coach looks over the workouts and comments a couple times a week, and has been very responsive to my queries. I will post my power increase next week after the test on Saturday. I am not sure what test protocol will be done next week - if same as original (8s, 90s, and 3m peak) then it will be easily comparable.
As for Brendan, he is a great guy! He sent a power analysis video and then exchanged a handful of emails without every trying to sell EVOQ services. I’ve watched a bunch of his YouTube videos, and found them helpful to follow.
With that said, I’ve decided to go with a local coach starting in Jan for several reasons:
- Local - I get to ride with the coach, meet him for coffee, and hopefully even race (Covid pending of course)
- Pricing - US and Canadian cycling coaching services seem to generally be priced in the $175-200, however that’s local currency, meaning there is a 30% premium for US-based for us Canadians.
- Personal - I know the local guy, like his personality, and appreciate his cycling values, which are very similar to mine
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Are you still using Xert George? I think it tracks well but I am not sure many follow the prescribed workouts regularly.
The one thig I dont like is that not much changes when doing base work - which is as expected. However that does bely the argument that you dont need to do FTP tests anymore.
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I have tried the advanced plans and I just cannot face the long weekend workouts. They are a struggle to fit in and frankly a lot of the sessions are quite boring. I ended up skipping or doing a shorter version of the workout or doing unstructured rides.
This is how I generally do TR plans. It’s not nearly as tough as it sounds. The Wednesday Petit (or whatever) is not a recovery ride so still adding fatigue before the Thurs hard workout anyway. Sometimes I feel a little sluggish going into the first interval on the second day, but the watts are still there. It’s nice to know I can be more flexible to fit in the key workouts around other life responsibilities when necessary.
I also really enjoy the feeling of being super fatigued for the following Z2 ride — makes me feel like I’m working hard, and therefore being more productive.
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Hi John,
Yes I’m still using and enjoying xert. I follow the prescribed workout suggestions on focus. There are quite a few new smart workouts that have been added so theres plenty to choose from now. I find it tracks spot on for me.
The ongoing maintenance work (Foundation>Revo>YogaGLO) is pretty potent. Chronologically I’m an old dude, and I refuse to let my body decline. This cycling and gym-strength is my fountain of youth. So my coach is humoring me on the weights, at my insistence, as it is not what FasCat recommends. Regarding the plans, mine looks different and I’m responding well. My biggest issues (my point-of-view) are consistency and long-term development of aerobic capacity. The adjustments my coach has made, relative to stock plans, has done a LOT to address those issues. And of course humoring my aims to achieve a fountain of youth (with nods to Ponce de León). My coach is awesome.
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I’m curious if anyone has subscribed to Fast talk Labs Library membership. Is the content great? Is there a lot there?
They are offering 50% off now.
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I got it, its decent, If youve seen the free videos they open up to listener members once a month, it a bunch of that, then a bunch of articles, then seiler stuff (that you can find on youtube), and a bunch of articles. I have hopes the future pathways will be pretty good, especially since the analysis 101 is now out of the way and hopefully there will be a 201 pathway that will be beyond the basics….although i certainly did learn some stuff?
it’s probably worth the half off price, not sure id pay the full cost, unless i was interested in doing an insyd test and wanted the reduce cost.
FasCat offers coaching deals from time-to-time, right now there is a deal involving three FasCat coaches:
I’ve been really happy with Coach Isaiah - he is not available in current deal.
Also, there was some discussion on another thread about Basecamp organized by WKO product leader and Velocious Cycling’s head coach Tim Cusick. More info here:
Save $50 if you have a USAC membership.
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Has anyone done Tim Cusick’s stock Trainingpeaks plans? I like his WKO seminar and general content and already have been following a similar approach. Just wondering if there is anything worth the 159 dollars in his full season 26 week plans or just more of the same for people not familiar with the basics?
I bought the full season intermediate masters plan partly to leave a tip in the jar for his WKO webinars. Great stuff. No real experience using it because I also bought the FasCat 18 week SSB plan and preferred it because of the workout notes. Just looking at the two plans, I’d use either. FWIW the WKO webinar on fatigue resistance ‘go long’ is not in the full season masters iLevels plan.
The fundamentals of training aren’t rocket science which is one reason the Full Season and FasCat plans are more similar than different, where it gets interesting is adapting it to yourself.
I’ve been using the Time Challenged - Undulating Periodization Plan. Really enjoyed the variation of training that isn’t focused around an ‘A’ event. I like the way it had me interacting with WKO and regularly testing my power curve. Nice to see improvements along the way. You need to write your own workouts. Others that get individual wko data have workouts pre-designed and just require adjustments to time and power targets.