training plan

[adamangler]

I have started doing this structured training plan i made to give a variety while riding the bike if any advice to change or improve sessions are welcome.

(If your here to say sh!t and tell me that the plan is sh!t just don't post a reply)


Monday: easy ride 1-2 hrs at a zone 2 hr
Tuesday: interval session 20 secs / 40 secs recovery 7 reps
Wednesday: easy ride 1-2hrs at zone 2 hr
Thursday: intervals session 20 sec /40 secs 7 reps
Friday: easy ride 1-2 hrs at zone 2 hr
Saturday: endurance ride 3+hrs
Sunday: day off

Nothing wrong with this type of plan, i do something similar as i only have 6-10 hours a week to get my cycling in.

Lets say you have somewhere in the region of 10 hours there.

You have 2 easy rides at zone 2 which are both short and not intense, a waste of time imo.
you also have only 1 day off, i would have more days off

rather than have 6 days a week cycling, half of it wasted on doing low intensity stuff have less days cycling and do it more intensely

There also doesnt seem to be any threshold work.

If you only have 10 hours a week you need to ramp up the intensity, no point trying to do long slow miles you havent the training volume

you dont say what the end goal is so it makes it hard to give an exact plan.

My week is more like this

Mon - Rest (total rest) do some upper body gym or core work if you want but nothing on the legs
Tuesday - Sprint intervals or hill reps, 1, 2 or 5 min intervals up to you - Its a V02 max session, just hurt yourself
Wed - Rest (as monday)
Thursday - 20 mins warm up then 20 min threshold intervals/time trial or 2 hours at sweetspot, again make it hard
Friday Rest
Saturday Rest
Sunday - 4 hour ride, make it hard, yes its for endurance but that doesnt mean zone 2 all the time, makes no sense you dont have the volume in your week, i would just go by feel, make it hilly and smash the hills, or make it flat and make the last hour a time trial, throw in some mid ride sprints or v02 efforts, aim to smash a few strava segments along the way just mix it up. You can ride zone 2 for half the ride and the other half your going into zone 4/5 etc.

The rest days dont need to be 4 days a week, but i wouldnt ride (or should i say train) more than 5 days a week, the amount of rest days to ride days will completely depend on how hard you went and your levels of recovery. You can use recovery rides if you like but i cant be arsed going out for an hour at zone 1 just to say i had a recovery ride, they dont seem to be beneficial imo.

I train 3-4 days a week on average, occasionally 5, never more, but i just go on how my body feels, but what i do ensure is every session is hard. That said theres nothing wrong with having an easy ride or a week off occasionally infact you need it,

The other way to train is to do it in blocks, like a 3 month endurance block but you will need more time available if you want to to traditional base miles

 

[MistaDee]

Your training plan has no measurement or testing included as such how will you know that it is working.
Where is the threshold & time trial tests.
I would also want some cadence work as part of a training plan to help improve efficiency on the bike.

 

[S-Express]

I would also want some cadence work as part of a training plan to help improve efficiency on the bike.

I think 'cadence work'happens whenever you go for a ride.

 

[MistaDee]

I think 'cadence work'happens whenever you go for a ride.

Many people typically have a lower cadence than that required for them to be efficient on a bike as such it is often beneficial to work on this.

 

[S-Express]

Maybe, but an 'efficient' cadence will vary depending on an individual's fitness and physiology.

 

[huwsparky]

Many people typically have a lower cadence than that required for them to be efficient on a bike as such it is often beneficial to work on this.

Hmm. Do you have any kind of evidence to back up what your saying? Yes, we see pro's spinning at 95+ but I'd be very, very surprised if this were the same to an average Joe (99.9% of the population of this forum most probably)

 

[ayceejay]

'Cross season is almost upon us, jamma this is a great and fun way to improve bike handling, maintain fitness and get to know the scene.

 

[MistaDee]

Hmm. Do you have any kind of evidence to back up what your saying? Yes, we see pro's spinning at 95+ but I'd be very, very surprised if this were the same to an average Joe (99.9% of the population of this forum most probably)

My own coach who is BC Level 3 certified and trains riders at national level has worked on cadence with me, over time this has resulted in improvements which can be seen in my training peaks data and performances. That's the evidence I personally believe.

I also would be surprised if the average Jo as you put it had a cadence of 90+ rpm however I would put it to you that the average Jo would not be starting threads discussing training plans either. They simply enjoy riding their bike

 

[S-Express]

What specific cadence work has your coach prescribed?

 

[huwsparky]

My own coach who is BC Level 3 certified and trains riders at national level has worked on cadence with me, over time this has resulted in improvements which can be seen in my training peaks data and performances. That's the evidence I personally believe.

I also would be surprised if the average Jo as you put it had a cadence of 90+ rpm however I would put it to you that the average Jo would not be starting threads discussing training plans either. They simply enjoy riding their bike

That's good, so your telling me you can provide evidence that spinning a higher cadence yields improvement for average cyclists in that case?

The OP i believe from other threads can only just get under 30 mins for a 10. I would suggest, that for him at least, that there is little to no benefit to concentrating on maintaining a high cadence. But, I suppose if you think he should then your entitled to give your opinion.

 

[huwsparky]

Also, the one thing I've noticed with cadence is that it naturally increases as fitness improves, well it has at least in my case and I never deliberately ride to any particular cadence. IMO, greater aerobic capacity will usually see cadence rise slightly anyway without wasting time concentrating on it.

 

[MistaDee]

That's good, so your telling me you can provide evidence that spinning a higher cadence yields improvement for average cyclists in that case?

The OP i believe from other threads can only just get under 30 mins for a 10. I would suggest, that for him at least, that there is little to no benefit to concentrating on maintaining a high cadence. But, I suppose if you think he should then your entitled to give your opinion.

I take each thread as its own entity and do not review the entire history of the poster so would not be aware of the goals or objectives. The OP posted a training schedule and stated "any advice to change or improve sessions are welcome." and I gave some advice regarding what seems to be working really well for me along with the need to measure and test because without doing so you have no knowledge of the impact.
I do not believe that one training plan fits all and that everyone faces the same challenges and I alluded to that in my statement "Many people typically have a lower cadence than that required for them to be efficient on a bike as such it is often beneficial to work on this."
As the data of this individual has not been disclosed suggesting that an increase of cadence will have the desired results or biggest impact is similar to suggesting that any other task is the most effective manner to achieve a desired goal.

 

[S-Express]

So, what specific cadence work has your coach prescribed?

 

[Tin Pot]

@jamma

How has your plan gone so far?

Did you make he crit race?

What are your training goals?

 

[MistaDee]

What specific cadence work has your coach prescribed?

I would typically do cadence pyramid type efforts.
Im not going to provide specific details of my training plan on a public forum as costs me money, if you wish to contribute to the costs then we can discuss this further.