Thanks for sharing. To reinforce that point, here is an interesting comparison between my first full season (322 hours) on a road bike and last full season (310 hours), using a HR view:
One confounding factor for me is that I am capable of pushing to much higher HRs in outside rides than I am inside. Particularly, in races when I am fully motivated I see heart rates I am incapable of touching elsewhere. This may confuse some of the max HR algorithms.
That said - I’ve been doing a significant amount of time at 55% of FTP in recent weeks and my HR there is remarkably consistent - I can chill at 200 watts and 104 BPM for hours and hours apparently.
Here is some of the data from last year (no racing)
All that base resulted in some pretty dramatic increases in my power:HR relationship compared to prior years, but you can see that things got a little wobbly at the higher end since I didn’t collect a ton of data there and didn’t spend a lot of time working on that
Honestly, I’m amazed at how hard so many people are working in a ton of these posts. So much intensity. It’s amazing they aren’t burning out faster and more often
I definitely have a lower HR on inside z2 workouts than on outside z2 workouts.
What has been most surprising is how the shift to doing more z2 work has improved my 2-20 minute power bests. Here is a custom chart I made in WKO, showing all my power bests since starting structured training with TR in December 2017:
In Fall 2019 I did TR traditional base (MV), experimented briefly with polarized Nov/Dec 2019, and then Feb 2020 got frustrated with SSB and switched to FasCat SSB (more z2, less intervals). Then hired one of their coaches in August. I haven’t done any real interval work (sweet spot / threshold) since June - my off-season is June-August. The training distribution shows pyramidal and not polarized, averaging something around 8 hours/week.
Well! It’s amazing, I see plenty of Master here doing during the winter 3x zwift A races per week and then doing 2x Vo2 intervals training per week. During the summer its not better, and they do all out group rides one after the others. They doesn’t to crack but they have the same level year over year.
I cant yet ride as frequently as you do. I find I need 2 days off the bike each week. Age 60 and riding for last 5 years.
In my recovery weeks I often drop a day or two of riding as I find I just feel fresher. I had 203 days of riding which translates into 250 fewer hours of riding then you did. My time in zones Z3 to Z7 totaled 110 to your 130 hours so most of your extra time compared to me is in the Z1 and Z2 riding. I dont race so this is just me out pushing myself most of the time. I dont ride with others very often. Total rides with others would of be likely 15% of my rides. Most of those would be in the Z2/Z3 areas.
Interesting to look at and see how others ride. I will increase time on the bike again this year. Likely better to push more Z2…
Some people want to be strong enough to hang with the fast group and once there just want to ride with the fast group. Seems fine. Everyone doesn’t have to ‘progress’ constantly. Doing off seasons and rest weeks when everyone else is still getting to hammer is boring.
Well, it depends! There’s a lot of new Masters who start cycling a few years ago. I am talking about my age group 35-45… so still some potential to improve if you start cycling 3yr ago…
I’m very curious on when they will re-introduce intensity into your training - even assuming no real racing, or at least limited racing, in 2021 I’m starting to feel like a heavier loading block will be appropriate for me sometime in late Q1, early Q2 of this year, and then back to some combination of base/polarized (depending on your definition of polarized)
I’m fairly convinced this is the new version of the always fatigued, never faster, group rider. As others have said - this is fine, not everyone is focused on improving performance. It is all they know.
Honestly having legitimate ride discipline and riding truly easy on easy days is incredibly hard for most people - took me years to learn it
Volume is incredibly personal and will change as you age and as you increase your years of cycling experience. I did 750 hours last year, but was pretty disciplined about 2:1 ratio on hard:easy weeks (zero intensity on easy weeks for me) and, while I was riding 6 days most weeks, I also was two hard days/week, and nearly everything else was Seiler Z1
I also find I benefit from a week entirely off the bike in the middle of the season as well as at least two weeks entirely off at the end.
Will be different for everyone, but it was a real game changer for me to switch from 3 to 2 intense days/week. My performance improved with the decrease
Yes, but I don’t think the never fast thing holds true. Its more faster most for half / three quarters of the year when it doesn’t matter but nowhere to be seen in the middle of summer when normally everyone’s out group riding and IMO when it does matter, longer rides or comps etc. i.e fosters Winter / Early Spring Group Heros… Summer Zeros.
i agree… had commented on the video but i’ll comment again,
I think that pyramidal is the long term sustainable approach… Polarized has a place for use during vO2 max blocks when you need to really push hard a few times a week and balance it out with plenty of easy volume for maximal recovery…
for example:
4x8’ seiler seems like a vO2 workout to me… shrugs
Yaaasss! All ditto for me. Pre-2019 I never did any real aerobic development rides; full send only. Started doing long Z2s in 2019…ugly. And now, esp after my last big slow-n-low block…brings a tear to eye.
Very agree. Maybe part of it might be that a lot of TR users are new to cycling/structured training so the first couple of years of THRS+VO2 heavy plans will be well received. After that…? As well, perhaps not all users do a full 3-part plan. Many reasons for lack of burn-out, but just as many reasons for burn-out.
:
Totes. Once I stopped following the TR “SS” Smashfest and doing more easy volume and less “entertaining” intervals, I could do much higher quality intensity sessions when they came around (vs slogging through 4x week). I too also saw better performance on less intensity/more recovery. I’m probably kinda sorta a Couzen Quick Responder.
Wondering for how many TR users that 4th “hard day” is more detrimental than beneficial?
and I think some solid intervals are in my near future.
Started doing long Z2s in 2019…ugly. And now, esp after my last big slow-n-low block…brings a tear to eye.
