Volume requires consistency, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve done consistency and saw ok but not great results. Volume responder here.
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Consistency and having a plan and an objective.
Am having good results modifying a standard SSBMV2 type plan to VO2-Tues, SST Thursday and long Z2 Sat/Sun. That is a good year-round approach for me as am getting older and can’t handle the 4 days a week “hard” any more and its not fun.
Am a quick responder to Short Power build so in terms of response, those plans are very effective assuming I have a decent base underneath.
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I’m hoping volume makes a difference for me. Have been on mid volume all year, but was put on leave. Have upped my volume to 10-12 hrs consistently over the past 6+ weeks, compared to mid volume plus an extra hour or 2 perviously so like 7-9hrs generally. In other words…about an extra 3hrs a week.
Have about 3 weeks until next ramp test at start of short power build…would be nice if I see a bump. I’ve been stagnant at 269 for the last 2 ramp tests at start of ssb1 and 2.
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High volume zone 2 seem to give me the best gain.
Tried to do a sweetspot base because stuck on trainer because of the lockdown and I don’t feel it made me fitter, Felt burned down at the end.
Hopefully from tomorrow I can train outside again (end of the lockdown in France) and I will go for huge volume at Z2 with some intensity.
I’ve been doing solo centuries every week for a month now and plan to keep it going for the foreseeable future. My route usually includes 6000 ft of elevation gain, so I’m at or above threshold for a good 45 minutes of the ride. Overall IF ends up right around 0.70. I fuel these rides with about 2,000 calories on the bike.
These have been the game changer for me and have really reduced the amount of fatigue I carry from day to day. I can do VO2max workouts on back to back days that would have destroyed me in the past.
Currently doing Short Power Build Mid Volume, and the last 2 hour sweet spot workout each week is being replaced by the solo century.
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IMO, volume is the most over-looked opportunity to raise fitness levels. But most people don’t have the time needed to really make it work…you need to ride A LOT.
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I think there is some low-hanging fruit from simply doing at least one really long ride a month. Like this:
I’m trying to get back to that point, at least one metric century a month.
Exactly. And I’m getting better at using analytical tools and realizing they have a measurable impact on fitness.
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Oh for sure kids make you prioritize doing the right work when you do get out.
I meant more about the recovery side - with kids you really notice the recovery side of things. Where before if you’d over trained you could get in 8-9 hours of sleep for a few days to recover, with kids you’re lucky to see 7 and there’s not exactly any time to relax so recovery takes that big longer.
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If you want a task done, give it to a busy man (or woman).
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Quite similar in that I like a lot of Z2 work to build the base, don’t do much threshold work other than racing, and still seem to have no problems riding for prolonged efforts at threshold when I need to e.g. in a TT or long climb. Pushing FTP up from underneath with SS work, and pulling it up from above with VO2 max work, seems to be as or more effective (and more enjoyable!) than spending a lot of time actually at threshold. And TT is my strongest suit as well.
I do some VO2 max every week, though during base and offseason this would typically be in group rides or races rather than through structured workouts.
Too much SST burns me out, I try to incorporate a couple of sessions per week during base, and one per week during build and specialty to maintain that muscular endurance. But much more than that and I start seeing both mental and physical signs of overtraining. Tried the SSB HV plans a couple of times and bombed out, but have no problems hitting the same TSS or higher with a more varied training approach.
Not directly physiologically related, but I also need variety, social interaction on the bike, and some less structured riding. Ideal week is 3-4 structured TR rides, 2-3 group rides, and 1-2 solo outdoor rides where I have a rough goal for the session (e.g. 2 hours endurance) but ride mainly by RPE and just enjoy myself without overly worrying about what the PM says.
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Progressive overload.
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Robert - Hope your training is going well.
if you don’t mind a question within your question:
Am wondering if anyone has systematically experimented with recovery periods? Typically we program 2:1, 3:1, 5:1 in terms of work to recovery. I’ve been thinking about trying something like 4:2 or 5:2.
I never really take a full week of recovery as there is always a good weekday ride and some weekend tom foolery to be had. But hitting mid-50s, sometimes it takes a bit longer on the easy side to get things feeling fresh again.
Obviously this could go to infinity with permutations, but think the gist of the query is relatively clear.
-Mark
TR’s recovery weeks are all packed with Z2 fat burners.
Do you mean taking an entire week off the bike?
For sake of discussion, instead of 3:1 in build consider 4:2 with the 4 being TR weeks 1-2-3-5 and the next two being 4-4 (so recovery week x2). Or in base, instead of 5:1, maybe 6:2.
FWIW, I don’t do the TR recovery weeks with a bunch of Z2. But that is me, nothing wrong with that structure.
Hey Mark,
Haven’t systematically played with recovery, but have done my fair share on experimenting by feel. I’ve got bad spring allergies, so things get dicey for me in March, April, and early May. Got a late start this year and here is my first big base build:
There is a 3-3 for ya LOL. Clearly early March was a problem with allergies and so I did what was possible.
Next base building block:
There is a 3-2 for ya, kinda sorta maybe. Started feeling better got a reprieve from allergies. Those two weeks with a 3-day block Tue-Thur + 2-day Sat/Sun block felt great. No problems with allergies, seriously felt great and first week was 533 TSS and second week was 713 TSS.
and most recent block:
have been slammed by allergies, taking this week easy. Summarizing, starting in March my allergies start flaring up and it is hard for me to consistently put down weeks. My goal during later base building is a week with Monday off, a 3-day mid-week block, Friday off, and 2-day weekend block. Was a little lost with my training until February, going to time things better next season so that I’m doing vo2 intervals by early Feb. That worked wonders for me in 2017.
-Brian
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Thanks a Brian,
It’s all interesting. I took a recovery week and didn’t feel particularly recovered so started thinking of adding another week and wondered if anyone was doing that routinely. To sort of force recovery and adaptation. For lack of better phrasing.
My guess though is just work stress. Since things have been good on plan, gonna plow on with my next 3:1 and the FTP and MLSS test at the end. Then think hard about what to do next.
Roberts question fermented thoughts around responding to work and enough recovery.
Mark
Pretty routine for me in the spring, I call it “allergy sick” and it does force me to take more recovery than otherwise needed.
Have also done so much work that I took an entire week off. Then re-ramped and within a couple weeks was hitting new highs.
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I did mid volume last year for an event I was training for, it was also my first year in structured training. I found myself getting sick quite often the further along it all went which would constantly send me backwards.
I’ve swapped to low volume this year, with the allowance of any outdoor rides I’m invited to or feel like doing and I think it’s working out much better for me. I feel less run down than I did before, and the added flexibility takes some of the pressure of having to be on the bike all the time off.
I’ll see how it all pans out going into winter(Australian here), but I’m optimistic after having ramp tested this morning and hitting an all time high.
To answer the question, less hours but more intensity seems to work for me, with added flexibility.
I do MV + (usually end up at approx 600tss)
- Hard on hard days (usually adding 15-30mins of endurance or a run at end of workout or 2nd workout later in the day)
- Easy on easy days, I add nothing even if I feel I can.
- Recovery week easy. Only start to feel OK by end of week.
Update for no good reason…5 minute power PR set today. My FTP is approximately 86% of pVO2max. Or put another way my pVO2max is 116% of FTP…
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