Picking next TR plan transitioning into the off-season

Training
1

well the off-season has just come for me. no more races till next year.

I’ve spent this year on a very small deficit losing 0.5 lbs per week and I’ve been successful with it since
April 24th going from 234 to 226 which is exactly on target… I’ve also had some mild success in building FTP and reducing body fat % as well as putting up some of my best numbers so far in racing.

my plans thus far…
I did SSBI and SSBII all mid vol…
2-3 weeks of less structured training
then sustain power build mid vol…
then half of rolling road race specialty mid vol leading into my A race.
basically a typical season progression… not awesome consistency but my consistency grew over time. did lots of plan adjustments to fit my life, schedule, and TSS needs.

SOO basically i’d say I’m doing everything right for myself so far… but now i’m at an impasse… what to do next? This is my first year truly trying to plan my fitness.

I’ve been doing lots of reading on the website. I’m not going to be doing cross racing… I’m still a PhD student starting yet another semester as a TA which is a source of stress in a “sit-at-desk sort of way”…

I liked @chad 's option where he discussed taking the off-season to go through another build/specialty phase to work on a limiter.
I wonder what my limiter would be? I’m good at time trialing but want to get better at rolling road races and crits… so i’d probably do general build and criterium specialty.

But I also liked the idea of just doing a maintenance plan. the HIT maintenance plans look interesting.

I’ve heard before that HIIT can be good for body fat reduction and I want to continue gently losing weight through food tracking/calorie counting/vegetables… so maybe the HIT maintenance plan would be a better way to shave body fat and weight…

the final option that many seem to recommend is going to a endurance plan like back to Sweet spot base or traditional base but I really don’t agree with this and I’ve heard @chad recommend against this too… even for those trying to lose weight…

even after writing all this, I still don’t know which to go with… the build/specialty off-season or the HIT maintenance plan?

2

Think it depends partly on how you feel about structured cycling right now and whether you need a bit of a break to freshen up mentally and physically before starting the season. Following a training plan all year round can get a bit stale, and you don’t want to be losing motivation halfway through Building for an A race.

Maintenance plan seems great if you want to put cycling on the back burner for a bit (e.g. To spend time doing other sports) without losing too much fitness. Personally I think repeating a Build/Specialty cycle would be too much intensity for me, so if it was me and I wanted to carry on with structured training I would be more inclined to do Base/Build. My normal approach is to carry on cycling but with no plan, no structure, and little to no indoor riding. Still end up riding most days but just do whatever I’m going to enjoy most, which normally ends up being rides with groups and friends where I go with the flow.

3

thanks for your reply…
I guess In general I take the TR plans as a guideline… I replace outdoor rides any time i want… so if i end up going out to ride with friends lots of times i’ll just let them replace the structured workouts whenever…

but I value having the plan in place so that I can at least measure my dedication to the sport against that… see if i’m meeting my TSS goals or not… substituting rides appropriately… etc…