I am thinking I may need to switch to a maintenance plan for a variety of life-related reasons. I just looked at the ones that are available in the Enthusiast section. The workouts are all Endurance, VO2 Max and Anerobic. Is there a reason for that? I have similar time available to what I’ve had before, and for this reason, a maintenance high volume plan is roughly equivalent in terms of time commitment to the mid volume plan I’m on now. But I am reluctant to switch to a plan that only ever seems to have those three levels. I would still appreciate some threshold and sweet spot from time to time. Are there plans that would sill “maintain” my fitness but that include a greater variety of workout types?
Hey there!
The maintenance plans are built as they because they are meant to use high-intensity intervals to maintain the sharper, pointier fitness you’ve already built, not build it (as the name implies, of course).
They aren’t meant to be long-term plans that can be used in preparation for an event.
If you have the same amount of time available to train as you did before, it may be a better idea to consider a Base Phase plan instead – especially if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere as we approach the winter months.
If you do need to reduce the duration of some of your workouts, you could always use Workout Alternates to find a shorter version of a workout that suits your needs. TrainNow could also be worth looking at if you’re currently in between training plans/phases.
Additionally, remember that there are times when you have to let your top-end fitness decline a bit so you can build it back up to a peak again for your A-priority event(s) next season. We can’t be at peak fitness year-round – as much as we wish we could be!
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That is helpful. Thanks! I will investigate.
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