TSS distribution across compressed training intervals

Training
1

As a new father, husband and PhD student, I’ve found consistent training time a rare occurrence. Time with the family will always come before time on the bike. After a few starts and stops trying to establish a regular training routine, I’ve found I can usually get 3-4 consecutive days of riding in before work or life become a priority for 3-4 days at a time.

Looking at the low volume plans with 3 rides/week what would be the best way to order workouts to reap the most benefit from the induced stress? Front load the TSS so the “hardest” workouts are done fresh and complete the other rides in a slightly fatigued state? Is it dependent on the system being trained?(i.e. break two aerobic endurance rides up with anaerobic work in between regardless of relative TSS ) If I’m riding, I have about 2hrs should I be looking at longer workouts on the medium volume plans instead?

My initial thoughts are to place the hard day in the middle of my “week” giving me a ride to open the legs but still be fresh enough to get quality work from the more intense sessions.

Thanks for the input in advance.

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If you have limited time then it is best to hit the sessions hard. You have 3-4 days of recovery so work hard when you have the chance. I would be looking at VO2 max workouts * 2 and with a long ride in between.

Not sure I would try and fit that into a plan though,
Just fly solo.

3

You’ll probably get more beneficial responses if you indicate what the goals are for the time you spend training. It may seem as though the goal is understood without mentioning it, and we can probably guess that the goal isn’t something like “pick up athletic progress where undergrad club team left off and turn MTB sponsored pro next year,” but really…defining some realistic expectations and goals might better get you from in-the-weeds about scheduling workouts to got-your-plan-and-working-it. Chances are decent that your situation and needs aren’t very different from those that TR’s plans are crafted to support without customization.

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