A while back (over a year ago) some comments were made on the podcast about training plans tailored for older riders. If I remember correctly it wasn’t so much training plans, but ways to modify the current workouts to address the needs of older riders. Whatever happened to those plans? Is this still part of the development of TrainerRoad?

Agree…I already modify a lot of the workouts now to fit into something more manageable because high end sweetspot intervals get very close to my high area of heartrate.

Good questions! My experience (58 year old) is that I have to dial back VO2max interval generally with 3 to 4% and the real mean ones with even more. Endurance, threshold and even over-unders are pretty much manageable with my tested FTP. Another experience is that I prefer the 20 minutes FTP test over the Ramp test. I get constantly lower values for the Ramp test to the point that it might even become a mental issue. Cheers.

I’m 63 and VO2max are also my hardest workouts. I don’t dial back the intensity. I backspin between many of the efforts.

They was an earlier thread modifying plans to include more recovery time. [image] Splitting SSB 1 into 2x3-week blocks Training So I’m finishing Week 3 of SSB 1, and I’ve got a rest week planned for next week. This is for 2 reasons - first, I’m on the road for work all week and wouldn’t be able to train if I wanted to, and second, I find that I’m better at sticking with my training when I go for a 3 on, 1 off cycle. Does anyone else do this during SSB 1? Am I totally blowing any improvements I might get out of the water by breaking SSB 1 (and when i get there, SSB 2) into two 3 week blocks? Thoughts?

My question is will the modifications we all seem to be making be incorporated into the app for older riders?

they are dropping hints about making the plans more personal, so I hope as there are times during the year I need to go to 2 weeks on and 1 week recovery. You can do that in the calendar today, however it would be nice if the app asked/suggested.

Here is my more detailed post that is based upon that other post. [image] Alternate Sweet Spot Base, Work : Recovery Week Layout Training The following are some possible adjustments that can be made to the Sweet Spot Base plans. The goal is to shorten the number of “Work Weeks” between “Recovery Weeks”. It can be helpful for those who find the default 5 Work to 1 Recovery schedule too taxing. This may include Masters riders and anyone else looking to reduce the fatigue between recovery weeks. It adds one total week to the typical cycle and makes the full Sweet Spot Base a total of 13 weeks (instead of the default 12 weeks). …

There was talk of a “masters” type of plan, but that was abandoned before it came out. The posts about earlier recovery weeks are good and helpful so hopefully you can gain some insight from those. My advice would be to pay attention to your fatigue, fueling, and recovery. I’m going through SSB MV again and feel pretty good so far (week 5 of phase one) due to applying changes in fuel and recovery. Good luck. :four_leaf_clover:

As if on cue . . . this just popped into my inbox today. [image] You're Never Too Old to Train at Intensity Take 66-year-old UCI Track Masters World Championships rider Gary Hoffman, who is almost as fast as he was at age 20—when he competed to race in the Olympics

I am 62 and have asked the same questions. The articles I was sent seem to suggest that most plans can be changed to add more recovery time during the 6-8 week sessions. Coach Chad had written an article that suggested doing 3 weeks of the plans and then adding a recovery week rather than trying to do a full 5 weeks of intensity. I am going to try that in the future.

TrainerRoad

Training Plans for Older Riders

Training

mcneese.chad February 27, 2019, 3:34pm 8

Here is my more detailed post that is based upon that other post.

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