Coach Tim Cusick has posted about when to use polarized and the article is here: Polarized Training Simplified
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I bought Cusickās iLevels plan and FasCat plan. Both are similar in using sweet spot base, and similar 8-12 hour weeks with plenty of zone 2 / aerobic endurance work. Ended up using the FasCat 18 week plan because I prefer the workout instructions. Iāve also dredged up the CTS/Strava Gran Fondo Intermediate plan, saved all the daily emails. Again it is similar to the plans above.
Iāve got the 4.4 Masters Full Season - Coggan WKO iLevels - 8-12 hours/wk / 26 Weeks plan.
FasCat Iāve got the 10 weeks strength training (includes cycling) and 18 weeks sweet spot. The āmastersā version is Intermediate which takes you to about 80 CTL (ābaseā). The advanced plans will build a higher base. They also have affordable coaching options. Definitely worth a look, Iāve been impressed with both the plan and results.
Iām also a big fan of TrainerRoad, but if you are looking for more of traditional pyramidal base building with a lot of aerobic development then you need to use the (full distance) triathlon plans. Or perhaps do something like traditional base 1 and 2, maybe 3, and then followed by sweet spot base.
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After 4 months of Sweetspot, seeing good gains, Iām going to move to Polarised training for a bit (no racing, so may as well experiment!).
1st week is:
M - 1h active recovery;
T - Seilerās 4 x 8 + 1h Z1
W - 30/15s + 1h Z1
T - 2h Z1
F - 2h Z1
S - 30/15s + 2h Z1
S - 3h Z1
According to Tim Cusick, best to have Tue/Wed/Sat hard workouts - thoughts/experiences? Or best to evenly space? (Polarized Training Simplified)
Background: used to training 15h per week (700-800 TSS), 39 y.o, 70, kg, around 10 years riding ).
EDIT: Also, regarding progression week to week. Assuming this is adding more 30/15s and 8min intervals in a session, rather than adding powerā¦?
That honestly looks brutal. The Tuesday/Wednesday hard days back to back with endurance rides would of destroyed me. Then throwing in more 30/15 on Saturday would certainly make me want to sell the bike. Iām 41 and can tell recovery time isnāt what it used to be. I found my biggest gains came from the 3 hr rides in Z1 and not the increase in Z3 work. At about 2.75 - 3 Hrs into a ride my legs experienced this noticeable fatigue and the weeks that followed I saw improvement. Maybe you can make it work?
I performed the same workouts and added 1-2% intensity to each week and that worked great. Also added some volume as well.
Still tying to get the āpopā back, but that might be a result of focusing more on 4x8 than 30/15 at higher levels. (I started the week with 4 x 8 and would drop the 30/15ās later in the week if I could the wheels were coming off the train.)
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Thanks @lancestrum - Thinking I may start the 1st week 4x4min on the Tues (adding a little to each interval each week), followed by 30/15s on Wed and Sat. As there are no events, happy to scale it back if I blow up (monitoring HRV, which tracks pretty well).
If I feel itās too much, Iāll do the longer sessions on a Tue, but replace the Wed 30/15s for a Z1 ride.
I made a spreadsheet for low volume Olympic and half distances.
I made them to compare doing half plan or the Olympic with extra endurance rides/runs.
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@bfrostieone Great piece of work.
Yep, Z1 in the three zone model.
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I have recently started to work more in the polarized-ish-world. Thinking about not adding too much time i Z1 (7-zone model) like @brendanhousler wrote and Iāve seen my HR drop significantly. Not while doing hard efforts but doing 2hrs of Z2/Z3-work has me around 65% MaxHR. Which is way lower than Iāve ever been. I think stepping up to 10+hrs on the bike has made the biggest difference tbh. I had a shitty winter where TR-plans burned me out completely. I combined cycling with training Ice hockey so that might have contributed but man all that intensity really took itās toll. I went through 3 SSBMV.
Now Iāll focus on doing Z1/Z2-rides and doing about 5-8% Z5+ every ride except for the LSD-ride. Also Iāll be doing 1 or 2 outside MTB race-pace workouts every week. Iām a MTB XCO:er so that needs to be done. My lower intensity workouts are done either on the MTB, at the trainer or on the road bike.
Itās not so much the mitochondrial activation, but think of it more as using 100% of your muscle groups activates them to the point that afterwards, they are consuming O2. The sprint work activates all types of fibers afterwards.
There are several ways to skin this cat though, Iām thinking the technique used by many pros of throwing intervals in to longer rides has a similar adaptations. Just riding below LT1 doesnāt get full muscle activation until late in the ride, but doing them earlier in the workout gets more activation earlier in the workout. There have been several other coaches who have suggested similar tactics. Even the mid/high volume plans do some of this by simply adding on easy aerobic work after the intervals instead of adding on more intervals.
Can you give me a little detail on the volume of the 30/15 workouts and recovery between set etc.
Sure - would be using Brasted for the first couple of weeks, progressing by adding sets (i.e., +1 and +2 versions later on - probably 2 weeks each).
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Just starting my POL schedule this week, edited as above. Wondering if it is worth combining my aerobic rides on Wed and Thursday for one 3hr ride (Iād aim to do as much as I could near to my LT1 estimate).
In my experience with POL, Iād say yes combining the Wed & Thursday ride to one 3hr ride would provide a greater benefit. Again this is just meā¦ I can tell the 3 hr rides at LT1 have really helped pick up my FTP. In a perfect world youād be able to use Wednesday as a rest day and get a little extra sleep. I know this isnāt always a reality though.
Something else to considerā¦Donāt be surprised if your body starts to adapt to the 3hr ride once youāve performed several sessions. As my fitness climbs I need to extend the duration(assuming effort is constant) even longer. 3 hrs becomes 3.5 hrs to elicit a similar response. This could become a time limiter, or you could bump up the intensity a little( 1-3%) on the sessions later in the block. This seems to be most noticeable right before an assessment period and then the next block is revised up anyway to reflect a higher FTP.
Again this is all personal experience with the polarized approach. I really enjoy it but need to refine my punch. That is the one thing that seems to be lacking as I donāt specifically training it as much. Just need to figure this part outā¦
Best of luck!!
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Thanks for the reply! [quote=ālancestrum, post:180, topic:17275ā]
In my experience with POL, Iād say yes
[/quote]
Iāll talk with the wife to see how a 3hr ride would fit - but youāre right the extra day recovery and normal sleep time is a big plus.
Good to know about the progression, its early days so far but hopefully Iāll avoid stagnation.
Do you mind me asking what your training plan is?
How does everyone measure their LT1 if you cant get a proper test done. Do you just work out your max HR and take .65 or .70 of that? Appreciate the advice.
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Rough and ready would be to assess breathing pattern - with LT1 falling when breathing rate become noticeably increased and spoken sentences would be a little broken/disrupted (very subjective).
Or, as you wrote, <70% HRM. Remember itās a zone and not a binary crossover point - if it feels easy, then youāre probably in the right spot.
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I was thinking about your question a little more regarding two shorter rides versus one longer ride. Because consistency is such a crucial component in improving fitness the best option is really the one that will allow you to be consistent. Iām by no means an expert at any of this. There are so many very knowledgeable folks on here so just speaking from my personal experience. Iām a father of three and have a pretty intense job in the summer months(concrete contractor). A polarized approach doesnāt burn me out and the endurance rides early in the morning on the trainer actually allow me to read or turn the stress knob down a little where as threshold training just punished me mentally and physically.
Hereās a screen shot of a two week block of training. The 2 VO2 max sessions were made with workout creator but I know others have used similar workouts from the TR catalog.
Hope this helps and best wishes in your training!!
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Youāre right, I had my plan laid out like that originally to maximise compliance because I usually always get up early to complete the rides - I have an 18month old so aim to get them done before the family get up, thats not realistic on rides >2hrs.
Thanks for the screenshot, looks like youāre doing similar sort of weekly hrs as me, Iām looking forward to getting into this training block