The training mega thread

You forgot PLF - Pedal Like F....

I have some book recommendations

The Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel
The Endurance Diet by Matt Fitzgerald

Also:

Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan

And for those of us (cough) of a certain age:

Fast after Fifty by Joe Friel

Beat me to it!

Can I just request that any Zwift/Trainerroad/Sufferfest chat is kept as generic as possible, e.g. don't just refer to workout name if non-subscribers won't know what it is.

I've tried a couple of 20 minute FTP tests and got 263W but never did the fabled third test which is apparently when you get the most accurate result, will try again in a couple of weeks.

Meantime I'm taking it back to basics and alternating between various workouts pinched off GCN and wattkg.com:

3x15 minute sweetspot (still not sure if I'm getting intensity right, it seems harder than I expect and am not sure I'd want to do one the next day!)

3x10 30/15s @ 120% (have only completed a 3x8 but had legs to add an extra repeat at end of last set so can obviously do more)

3x12 minute over-unders - 1 min over @ 110%, 2 min under @95%, repeat 4 times for 1 set, 3 sets. Finished a bit ragged last time and didn't maintain 95% unders all the way till the end but it was close.

4x7 threshold Tried this at 108% last time and failed miserably, will try again at 103% which is the lower end of wattkg's suggested range.

Just need to figure out nutrition as per my other thread, reading some Trianerroad blogs suggests Clif Bloks AND 500ml Torq energy for each workout, surprisingly few calories in that and if it helps me get on with my day afterwards then win-win

Just out of curiousity, is there a medical term for that degree out of breath after working hard, perhaps uphill in the wrong gear for too long... that no matter how hard you try and control your breathing it feels like you are suffocating...

Is it anaerobic capacity/threshold ?

@rickmeister - i'd call that lack of aerobic fitness!

Ooh! Testing, a whole world of pain!

There's five protocols I can think of off-hand. All have their proponents and detractors so in a way it's a case of "choose your poison".

The traditional method to find your FTP was either a 20 minute effort (after a warm up) and you took 95% of the average power of that, or two 8 minute efforts (again after a warm up) and you used 90%. The problem is that unless you've ridden a sustained 8 or 20 minute effort as hard and as evenly as you can, you don't know how hard to do it. Thus ...

The Ramp test. As its name implies this is a straightforward increasing effort, usually one minute steps rather than an actual ramp. At some point you just can't pedal any more. Your FTP is 75% of your highest one minute average power.

The 4DP test. Aims to find not only your FTP but also your 5sec, 1min & 5min power values since not everyone fits the normal power curve assumed when just using FTP for everything. Never done this so no idea how accurate it is.

Kolie-Moore.This is sort of a mixture between the 20min effort and a ramp test. Not done it.

I just want to add that I have attained my best FTP numbers in zwift races. Brings me to that level of caring.

perfect timing.
Im looking for ways to improve the time i can hold my supposed ftp for. is that sweet spot training or a mix of some of those listed above?
also not sure how to improve whilst racing (zwift) - should racing go on hold for a structured training block, or can you race say once a week and fit training round it?

I think any training plan starts with looking at your end goal and what you want to achieve, then work backwards. That way you know how many weeks / months you have to train which allows you to pick a suitable plan and know when to start it.

The traditional method to find your FTP was either a 20 minute effort (after a warm up) and you took 95% of the average power of that, or two 8 minute efforts (again after a warm up) and you used 90%. The problem is that unless you’ve ridden a sustained 8 or 20 minute effort as hard and as evenly as you can, you don’t know how hard to do it. Thus …

I didn't see any harm in 'practising' the tests to find your zone, you're still getting a workout anyway and it's a good way to build a better understanding of your legs and your trainer! First attempt I went easy and finished feeling OK, next attempt I went just a bit too hard and couldn't complete. Stands to reason FTP lies somewhere in between but the margin between the two was relatively fine so I didn't see the merit in trying a third time as it would almost boil down to my ability to maintain a perfectly constant speed/cadence for the whole workout!

Trying to remember which protocol I used, it builds in a 5 minute effort before the full 20 minute effort in order to deplete your anaerobic capacity and stop it contributing too much as FTP should be purely aerobic (I think, that was my understanding anyway).

@simster racing will improve your FTP as you will do threshold efforts that you didn't think possible. Also we aren't (well I am guessing we aren't) professionals - the end goal should be to enjoy what we are doing so putting some races into the mix helps with the enjoyment aspect.

@whitestone @speedstar if you have maxed out for an hour in a race do you use that as your ftp number, as opposed to the ftp test number?

perfect timing.
Im looking for ways to improve the time i can hold my supposed ftp for. is that sweet spot training or a mix of some of those listed above?

By definition, you can only hold FTP for one hour. If you want to hold that power for longer than 1 hour it is no longer your FTP. So e.g. if your FTP is currently 250W and you want to hold 250W for 2 hours, you would need to increase your FTP to something much higher, so that 250W is actually way under your FTP (I've no idea what percentage you should be able to hold for that sort of time though).

My understanding is that Sweetspot is good when you are building base, and the harder/pointier workouts are better for the top end, so if you already have a lot of hours under your belt you might be best adding in more shorter/higher intensity workouts. That's pretty much exactly what I'm doing at the moment and will add in the longer stuff as I get closer to my event next year (5 days climbing in the Pyrenees).

A thread I like (and tend to agree with "Tapeworm") is:
https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=94503

Hit different energy systems. Extend what you do. Rest well. Be consistent. Measure progress. If you don't progress change what you do and give your body a new challenge.

I think most people over complicate things and are held back by consistency rather than the specifics of what they actually do on a bike.

The 4DP test. Aims to find not only your FTP but also your 5sec, 1min & 5min power values since not everyone fits the normal power curve assumed when just using FTP for everything. Never done this so no idea how accurate it is.

All the info on Sufferfests 4DP test here.

Having done it a few times it's a git. Designed by Neal Henderson of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine/Apex Coaching who has trained a few world champs so I assume he knows his stuff. You do the FTP test after you've done your sprints and your 5 min effort. It uses 100% of the FTP test to gauge your FTP and can tell if you hold back on the 5 minute test. The 1 minute effort comes after. Have a bucket on standby.

If you then commit to a training plan (there are many. e.g. FTP builder, volcano climbing plan, pre-season XC, 200km gravel) in the app the plans are adjusted according to your strengths/weaknesses. It also has yoga (with Abi Carver who has done some for Pinkbike), strength and mental toughness sections too. If you're thinking of indoor training give the 14 day trail a go, you won't be disappointed.

Yes, it doesn't have the social aspect of Zwift but I think it's a better training tool. Plus they have my sense of humour in the videos.

I'll just add from experience of following a long (6 month) plan last year, nutrition is really important - ideally avoiding processed stuff. I can recommend the Race Weight Cookbook, and the Feedzone Portables and Feedzone Cookbook for inspiration. I think I can now accurately chart my FTP against my pancake intake....

More terminology:

CP (eg CP5) = Critical Power (Critical Power for 5 minutes)

Best average power (measured in Watts) that you can produce on the bike in the given time frame. Another way to track improvements.

@simster - fitting other riding around training. I do low volume plans, basically three sessions a week. I do them mid-week so as to leave the weekends free to do what I want, usually outside. Obviously if you are doing Zwift racing then you might want to fit any training around those. Depending on how hard/what type of racing you do, you might want to ease back on the training sessions. The point being it's all got to be manageable long term without you overtraining. Recovery weeks are important.

FTP is just a (useful) number that gets a lot of hype attached to it. For most training programmes it's just a hook around which the relative effort of a workout is based. Without heading into a lab and being hooked up to gas and blood analysers most figures are just reasonable approximations. I tend to adjust my FTP by a percentage point or two in the weeks following a test depending on how I manage workouts but that relies on me knowing how they should feel. I have some "bellwether" workouts that I know how I react to, if I struggle then my FTP is too high, if they are easy then it's too low. I don't change things unnecessarily though.

Sweet Spot is 85-94% of your FTP and is meant to be tough but readily repeatable. Similar to weight training if you want to bump your FTP you need to do some, big unresolved debate as to how much, riding above that level.

@DanW - many of the training data analysis programs give you a power curve which is essentially all those values from 5 seconds to 2 hours. Of course you won't have explicitly gone out for your 2m30s best power so it's the best you have done, not the best you can do.

if you have maxed out for an hour in a race do you use that as your ftp number, as opposed to the ftp test number?

In principle, but it would be an unusual zwift race where you were just maxed steady for an hour - suggests no tactical racing at all. One hour-ish time trial would be spot on, and a 25 mile TT is the benchmark for this figure. Just takes a bit of practice to ride a 25 hard.

I'd caution using a ramp test to set your ftp for training programs.

Both me and my friend seem to perform 'well' on ramp tests compared to 20minute FTP tests. Must be just some predisposition to that sort of effort, but I know we're not alone.

I can't remember the figures ,but the last time I did one (over a year ago) , both a leisure centre one on a spin bike and then one at home on zwift my FTP was at least 40-50w higher than what I know I could manage for hour power. If that was put into zwift or trainer road you'd end up with some very unmanageable and demoralising sessions.

My ftp for zwift is deliberately set conservatively at the moment to help me train consistently without over stressing my dicky ticker

@longdog similar experience here. 269w on the ramp. no way i can hold that for an hour. have knocked it back to 250w.

That's interesting, first FTP test I did (two years and a lower back surgery ago) was a ramp test on someone else's smart trainer. Came out at 289W.

Since injury/recovery and a solid year's riding I was actually a bit disappointed to come in at 263W on the turbo doing a 20 minute test, but perhaps I also tested 'high' on the ramp.

Either way, it's just a number to pin the rest of your workouts on, my basis for progression will be partly based on being able to complete a workout at a given intensity before increasing, so now I've found the intensities I can "almost" complete, it feels like FTP is irrelevant, I just need to work at those intensities until they get easy, then increase.

Yeh sure mine came back at like 300/310w where as I was realistically 270 max.

I think it's important to be realistic and shelve the ego for these things. My current ftp with a new, definitely more accurate smart trainer and various health issues in that last year is only about 240w. I just have to suck it up work with what I have.

Was that your max minute power or the calculated FTP, i.e. 75% of max? Were the bikes using calibrated power meters? Ten percent overtesting does seem odd - a few percent seems more normal either way.

I undertest by about 3% on the ramp test, others overtest. As stated earlier not every test suits every individual. However if I'd a dodgy heart there's no way I'd even undertake one! The ramp test is actually a Maximum Aerobic Power test and the 75% of max minute power has been taken from comparing that with riders' actual FTP.

I've never tried to hold my ramp test derived FTP for anywhere near an hour, fifteen to twenty minute max, but it would take some specific training to extend that and it's not my short or long term focus.

Edit: it doesn't actually matter what the figure is, so long as you use the same kit in the same manner everything will be scaled correctly. As an example virtually everyone has different indoor FTP to outdoor even on the same bike so you need to test outdoors as well as indoors so working outside is properly aligned. There's a difference between normal road bikes and TT bikes as well.

@whitestone I'd certainly question the calibration on my old turbo and the spin bikes, but my friend had a power tap wheel and his FTP also came out higher than expected for him. The figures for my discrepancy are from memory, but in the ball park.

No I'm not doing a ramp or even ftp test anytime soon 😁

Interesting, will read/follow.

One request - anyone with info or experience in relating Power/W tests and plans to those using only HRMs? Would be useful to have an overview of the basics there. I know Heart Rate isn't related to Power, not as a constant anyway.
Still, plenty of us start out in training with simpler tools and ime you can get some good results with just a basic HRM.

Lactate Threshold Heart Rate, LTHR - The test for FTP is to get your max output over 20 mins, your FTP is that level less 5%. That FTP effort level is pretty much at your LTHR. As you get fitter your power output at your LTHR will go up (it'll go up for any HR level).

I'm currently doing a sport psychology degree & have a couple of friends that are letting me use them as guinea pigs using WKO5. Along with myself I focus on aims & objectives first then uses the metrics on the software depending on the physical attributes and motivations.
Also incorporating HRV, sleep tracking, mitochondria health (zone 2) and as much as possible - mindfulness/self reflection & breathing technique's. The idea being to incorporate life longevity overall wellbeing and mental health into cycling as much as the 'fitness' aspect.

@longdog - there's always likely to be a discrepancy between kit and again the only genuine way you'll know your FTP is via a lab test.

The true aim is consistency not accuracy, ideally we'd have both, my FTP is currently 272W as determined by the Trainerroad ramp test. Is it accurate? No idea! It will be in the right ball park but since I'm just using that figure for Trainerroad workouts using the same kit as for the test it's neither here nor there.

I've actually got a ramp test scheduled for next week, will be interesting to see how I do though it's not changed much in the last few months anyway so unless it's significantly improved (I occasionally bail really early on it) I'll probably be just as likely to keep my existing figure.

Timely thread this as I'm just about to start some sort of structured training in preparation for a SDW ride this summer (hopefully!). Done it before so know what to expect this time but want to come in under 12hrs, was 13.40 last time as I blew up on the last two hills due to pacing it wrong (too slow for the first 1/3, too fast after the halfway mark trying to make up time) so want to give myself the best chance of getting it done without collapsing in a heap at the end!

I'm on Zwift so primarily looking at their structured plans but on a general note what would be the best area for me to target? Normally I can ride for 4-6 hours relatively easily, trails like Afan's W2 and usually the Blue Scar combined in ~4hrs, but have always been low on power for the climbs. I can get up them fine but it can be a struggle towards the end of the ride. Ideally I'd like to improve my FTP, currently at 230w, but also bump up my endurance too. I'm guessing having a higher FTP means I can go for longer at a low power so should see endurance benefits just from that but would like to get a really good base heading into the warmer weather. Deciding between three options (all Zwift plans):

FTP Builder to raise my overall power
Fondo to improve my endurance with a bit of extra overall
Dirt Destroyer which is aimed at MTBers but I don't think it'll give me any real endurance benefits

Anyone have any thoughts? Even if it's just on what areas to target rather than those specific plans it'll be helpful.

Is anyone here lifting weights at the moment to build the legs? And how do you do it given lack of access to gyms?

The 4DP test on Sufferfest has now been supplemented by their own version of a ramp test - ramp with 20W gains every minute, ride until you can't.  Then ride within a set heart rate range for 20 minutes.  The ramp part determines your aerobic power (max power over 5 minutes) and the constrained heart rate section confirms your FTP.

I did them within a couple of weeks of each other last month and there's only 3 watts difference in the results.  Only difference was my LTHR was 10bpm higher on the 4DP test.

That's my 5th go at the 4DP test in 18 months, and the first one that felt like it went well - there is a learning curve to hitting 2 x 7s sprints, 5min max, 20min max, then 1min max at a sustainable pace and feeling spent at the end.

It feels accurate - workouts based on these numbers are hard, really hard, and some are just unachievable.  I've had consistent gains, and can see that reflected in average speed increases out on the road.

I have gone back to weight training in the first lockdown, i have kept it simple just doing the big compound exercises.

Bench press/ squat/ deadlift (alternating normal and romanian)/ pull ups, shoulder press and some Good Mornings.

I have found it has made a much bigger difference, not only to my riding, but i have actually lost some weight, which i struggled to do just riding), i have stopped suffering occasional back and neck pain too.

In between the lifts, i do sets of planks, leg raises, crunches etc so i get the core work-in and it keeps heart rate up between sets.

Coupled with 4 turbo sessions a week and a long ride at weekends.

Turbo sessions i stole from having done the MTB Fitness program a few times.

Twice a week i do a Sweet Spot session, built up from 2 X 15 mins, to 2 x 20 mins, now on 3 x 20 mins with 10 mins rest between.

And once or twice a week, 10 mins warm up, 2 mins @ 100rpm cadence, 3 mins at 60rpm, started at 6 lots of this and built up to 9x, at a gear i am in Zone 5 for the whole of the second minute

@wonnyj - I wondered about this in the past and was suggested low cadence high force intervals might be just as good if not better... good training for cx mud plugging too!

As some point I'm going to start training again.. but each week I seem to put it off!

edit. I have really struggled with the ramp test beacuse on a dumb trainer with a 9sp bike the changes in cadence throws me off as i try to keep matching power. However I think I under test using it because I mentally quit way before my legs do

@reluctantjumper do you use a power meter to train ?

On a Kickr Core and use a HR monitor so have wattage and HR to play with.

my first suggestion would be to buy a PM you can use in the real world. If not then from what you're looking to achieve endurance is primary as well as good fuelling system. I wouldn't get hung up on low power in fact for ultra endurance keeping power relatively low is a good thing. FTP is a denominator to base training on raising it is good as long as it periodised and also used correctly. Zone 2 is a great place for ultra endurance its a zone easily done with a HRM and it builds the amount of mitochondria in your system which allows you to reuse lactic quickly and efficiently. Keeping lactate blood levels low is critical for ultra endurance - its the classic go slower to go quicker.

Not going to buy a PM for all my bikes, too expensive!

So best to go with the Fondo plan that's aimed at endurance then? Couple that with the STW races and a bit of real-life riding and it should cover all the bases. Just want to build a solid block to build upon with some longer rides outdoors when we are allowed to travel further. As that's probably a long way away, guessing April or longer, plenty of time to tweak things as I need to. Want to start training next week.

@ rickmeister

"Just out of curiousity, is there a medical term for that degree out of breath after working hard, perhaps uphill in the wrong gear for too long… that no matter how hard you try and control your breathing it feels like you are suffocating…

Is it anaerobic capacity/threshold ?"

Exercising at that intensity will be VO2 max or pretty damn close to it. Efforts in that region build oxygen debt, which is what your heavy breathing afterwards is trying to settle.

@reluctantjumper 👍 make best use of the resources you have.

@davemonty the term that probably best sums up what you are saying is called ventilatory threshold

Ventilatory threshold - between 50-75% of your VO2 max.

Now back on a (static) bike. COVID FTP 200W. Race FTP 300W. COVID weight 73 kg. Race weight 69 kg. Quite a long way to go!. My goal is to get back to 200W at 140 bpm for 12hr. That means that should fitness return and my lungs stop hurting. It's basically time on bike at 200W. All of the fancy workouts to raise FTP... I'm familiar with the theory (Level 3 BC Road coach), but my routine is really based around time in Zone 2/3. At the moment, unfortunately, it's time AT FTP. I hope that changes.

All of the fancy workouts to raise FTP… my routine is really based around time in Zone 2/3.

I managed to get a lot of Z2/Z3 miles in over summer and felt all the better for it (although in reality was only averaging 7-8hrs/week, must try harder!).

At the moment though I'm limited to 4-5hrs a week, so am relying on all those fancy workouts to make up for it!

263W and 84kg, would love to get down to 80kg for the Pyrenees but it has been slow going so far, 89kg this time last year.

Phew, early morning over-unders this AM, still not very tidy for the final two reps but out of curiosity I checked my pace/power and think I was 'overing' at about 112% FTP and 'undering' at about... 100% FTP.

Am so close to seeing it through I'm almost tempted to stick with those intensities, but it's generally the 'unders' that suffer and they make up the bulk of the workout, so I'd rather maintain a sustainable pace for each one rather than suffer lots of mini-dropouts between 'overs'.

Here's another geeky one - what's the verdict on 'turbo drift' (sounds so much cooler than it is). I warm up for 20 minutes so the fluid in my Kinetics/tyre/roller should all be up to temperature, and Kinetics maintain that their fluid is 'thermodynamically stable' or wording to that effect, so should I be trying to increase my pace throughout to account for a drop in resistance?

Obvious answer is to try a workout and see what happens to heart rate if I keep the pace exactly the same throughout, would expect it to still trend upwards gradually as the workout progresses.

From the screen "help" text in TR's over-under workouts the first 30-60 second of the unders is meant to be hard as you feel like you should be able to relax a bit but your body is still trying to get rid of all the build-up from the overs. Certainly been my experience.

Over-under refers to crossing a boundary - there are over-under workouts at the tempo/threshold boundary for instance - so I'd look at dropping the intensity of the unders by a couple of percent to give you that little chance of recovery. Of course if your intent is to be riding at FTP with slight surges then crack on!

I can't remember from any of the other threads, do you have a power meter or are you working to virtual power? I'm on a dumb trainer and I notice a definite upward drift in cadence to keep at the same power as things warm up, enough that I have to change gear to compensate otherwise I'm pedalling at 100+rpm. The problem with using heart rate as pacing is that also drifts over time, in fact one metric used for longer intervals is aerobic drift which is the difference, as a percentage, between the power/HR ratio for the first and second half of the interval.

the first 30-60 second of the unders is meant to be hard as you feel like you should be able to relax a bit but your body is still trying to get rid of all the build-up from the overs

That's spot on, by the end of each 2 minute 'under' I was back and cruising (relatively speaking) at the intensity I was trying to achieve, it was just the recovery 30-60 seconds at the start where I was struggling. Will still drop intensity a tiny bit, the last two 'unders' required a proper dead stop for a few seconds then out of the saddle to get it back up to speed, not elegant!

I can’t remember from any of the other threads, do you have a power meter or are you working to virtual power?

Virtual power, It gives me lots to tinker with (I have the power curve formula in my training spreadsheet) but it does leave me vulnerable to any sort of drift. I think in general it's accurate enough, I can see my heartrate typically rises gradually throughout a workout which hopefully shows I'm still working and it's not getting easier with time. The fact that I'm never finishing a workout with gas in the tank is hopefully indication enough as well!

My old magnetic trainer used to drift quite a bit - think I checked once I got a PM and it was quite significant, maybe 10% over an interval. Prior to that was knocking out some heroic intervals late in a session!

It varies a lot with the trainer design, some are pretty stable - using the PM on mine it was very apparent with the cadence, it would drift up to maintain power (not changing gear). I guess without a PM using virtual power it would go the other way if the turbo was drifting? You'd need to pedal slightly less hard across the interval to maintain the same wheel speed.

Generally the idea with the workouts with higher intensity intervals is that you should finish the last set wondering if you can complete another one even though you know you can't. The last set should be almost but not totally exhausting, if you overdo it you risk much longer recovery times.

When I look at all my interval based workouts there's typically a 10-15bpm drift in my HR between the first and last interval. That's pretty consistent, here's one from a few weeks ago - https://www.trainerroad.com/app/career/bobw/rides/96535968-kaweah - drag your cursor around to see values at specific times.

Oh, here's a couple of over-under workouts. These intervals are 3 x 2min under, 1min over: https://www.trainerroad.com/app/career/bobw/rides/94574452-warlow , this is 3 x 1min under, 2min over: https://www.trainerroad.com/app/career/bobw/rides/95170859-palisade

I guess without a PM using virtual power it would go the other way if the turbo was drifting? You’d need to pedal slightly less hard across the interval to maintain the same wheel speed.

Actually looking at my past two or three workouts, I'm actually maintaining pretty much the same speed throughout whilst my heartrates trend upwards but only with a 2-3BPM drift. Wonder if the cold temperatures have anything to do with that, I'm sweating but still cold in the garage and can see my breath for most of the workout!

Generally the idea with the workouts with higher intensity intervals is that you should finish the last set wondering if you can complete another one even though you know you can’t. The last set should be almost but not totally exhausting

I like this logic, I'd rather make gains more slowly and not risk overdoing it. Most workouts I'm barely just hanging on by the end and no more but that could just be the couple of extra percent intensity I've been letting myself work to.

Edit:

Oh, here’s a couple of over-under workouts.

Ug, those are both 9 minutes longer than I'm doing right now, although I wonder what difference starting with the under makes, rather than starting with the over? It means you aren't recovering from an 'over' for your first 'under' (these descriptions are getting farcical, it's like the pilots in Airplane! 😀 )

Just skimmed through TR's workout library for over-under workouts, there's 189! All but a couple start the interval with the under part. Those that don't have just a couple of intervals that go "over-under" for one pair, i.e. rest, 95%, 105%, rest, 105%, 95%, rest. Nothing jumps out from the descriptive text as to why all the others start with the under part, here's a typical one:

The primary objective of over-unders is to increase your ability to tolerate and utilize the byproducts that accompany riding above your FTP, all while maintaining a reasonably high power output.

In doing so, you'll develop the ability to handle changes in pace while doing quite a lot of work.

The over-segments or 'surges' flood the muscle with metabolic byproducts bringing with them the desire to ease up--don't.

Hold that burn, then back off only slightly during the under-segments or 'valleys' in order to work through the burn and effectively train your muscles to process the lactic buildup while still going pretty hard.

These intervals can increase how long you can work above FTP as well as how quickly you can dispense the acidic buildup that can limit your capabilities.

Just remembered one of the "nasty" TR workouts: 2mins @ 95%, 2mins @ FTP, 2mins @ 105%, 2mins @ FTP, 2mins @9 5%. One minute(!) rest then repeat. Five minutes rest then do that double block twice again !!!! So hard they swapped it out of the plans for one at 92% & 102%.

By that wording, you would think they would start them all with 'overs' in order to flood the muscles prior to the first 'under', otherwise the first 2 min is just glorified warm-up?

Feels like they're letting you off easy doing under-overs 😉

Here is some of the science behind it...

I really should subscribe to Trainerroad, the resources are great but I just can't really take advantage of the videos as much as I would like due to creaky old laptop etc.

He still fudges the over-under vs. under-over question, if the whole point is to learn to utilise/clear lactate from the muscles, why not start by generating some lactate first?

I can see myself doing doing a lot more of these in preparation for CX season 2021/22 if it ever happens...

I have gone back to weight training in the first lockdown, i have kept it simple just doing the big compound exercises.

Bench press/ squat/ deadlift (alternating normal and romanian)/ pull ups, shoulder press and some Good Mornings.

I have found it has made a much bigger difference, not only to my riding, but i have actually lost some weight, which i struggled to do just riding), i have stopped suffering occasional back and neck pain too.

Yeah I've been doing similar to good effect.

Have been watching a lot of the Dylan Jawnson youtube training channel as well and he swears by lifting in the offseason (as does Joe Friel) so that's good enough for me. Certainly helped with my training (for nothing) in 2020.

How to plan your 2021 season

Can any point me in the direction of a good training plan for endurance races. I've entered a 300km non stop event in June (if it goes ahead!). I've never done anything like this before but I'm fairly fit. I just seem to be losing my way a bit structure wise. I have a dumb trainer in the shed (no wifi connection), I use an HR strap but don't have a power meter or anything like that. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

anyone want a Trainerroad referral code? I've got 3 I think

300km non stop event in June

yorkshire beast? if so I have experience

yorkshire beast? if so I have experience

Frontier 300. It’s a C2C across the Scottish border. Before I’d started training for this I think the furthest I’d cycled was probably about 30km 😂😬

@jodafett

GCN have published a book by Mark Beaumont & Laura Penhaul about long distance cycling - https://shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com/endurance-how-to-cycle-further-book

Neil Beltchenko has these tips for long distance bikepacking rides/races

(Asking who Neil Beltchenko is would be a bit like me asking who Gee Atherton is!)

Unless you are aiming for a podium the best form of training is: "just ride". You need to become accustomed to long days in the saddle. These will highlight issues like bike fit and fuelling strategies. I used to have problems with nerve damage in small and ring fingers on long rides, I'd be fine up to eight hours or so but twelve hour rides would make everything numb. Sorting out the bike fit fixed that.

Allied with that, I'd do one interval session a week just to give your top end something to do. It will also bring up your FTP a bit. Actually if you've not trained before then any training will show an improvement but you might as well follow some principles! I did a couple of seasons using HR and a dumb trainer with TR's virtual power settings so the bar is pretty low going that route. (The TR referral codes give you a month's free trial BTW but maybe better following that up on the TR specific thread.)

Work out your HR zones (several ways to do this but don't use the "age - ..." type formulae) then keep your HR in zone 1 or 2. On Garmin Edge units at least you can set alarms for HR limits so you don't have to keep monitoring the unit. It will feel mind numbingly slow at times but that sort of pace is what gets you through long distance.

Might be a bit late to do a full weight training plan but consider doing some exercises like Squats and deadlifts. If you look at Dylan Johnson's YouTube channel he's a couple of videos about it and there's plenty of other cycling specific weights content around, again Trainerroad have covered this in their podcasts.

Thanks @whitstone I'll have a look at all that. Much appreciated.

Unless you are aiming for a podium the best form of training is: “just ride”. You need to become accustomed to long days in the saddle. These will highlight issues like bike fit and fuelling strategies. I used to have problems with nerve damage in small and ring fingers on long rides, I’d be fine up to eight hours or so but twelve hour rides would make everything numb. Sorting out the bike fit fixed that.

I've done similar sort of endurance events, and as @whitestone points out if your only aim is to finish without suffering too much there's not much science to it. If you can ride a steady 100km without problem, the other 200 are a matter of willpower, nutrition and kit.

I'd be aiming for a long ride on Saturday, then another couple of hours on Sunday to get used to moving when tired. Ideally get in a proper all dayer at least once, with a bit of night riding when you're knackered, but TBH if the event's a one-off you could probably get away with not doing one if you're prepared to put up with unexpected chafing etc. Given the event's in Scotland I'm guessing there's a fair chance of crap weather, so make use of at least one of your longer rides to test out rain kit - a lot of wet weather clothing is fine for a couple of hours but rubs / soaks through after that.

Biggest improvements I've made in my long distance performances (all non-competitive right enough) is pacing (as above, steady steady throughout) and nutrition, A top-tube fuel cell bag is a godsend, cram it with snacks and eat every twenty minutes if possible.

I mix gels, Clif Bloks, mini-Soreen, those wee mini protein balls that Aldi do, whatever I can pick up en route, etc. etc. I tried using energy drink too but it just made me pee too much, got a bit ridiculous!

And also practice where you're going to carry stuff, e.g. on the first morning of my last big trip I was stopping every twenty minutes to sort out where kit went, I'd started with my raincoat in one of my bags but in the end I carried it in a back jersey pocket, you don't want to be stopping and footering with zips and bags every time you want to put your raincoat on.

I've built up to 100km so far and felt good but this was all on road so Im going to try some long rides over the hills to see the difference. Wet weather training's a good shout (unfortunately!), cheers for suggesting it (I think!).

I remembered (16mins after posting that last post 😒) - a decent way to gauge your pace is to ride such that you can hold a conversation. Obviously if there's a short steep hill then you are going to get out of breath but the principle holds.

Practicing with layout of kit is worth it: no point in having your toolkit on top of your food for example. The stuff you need regularly is what should be to hand.

One point about eating: you need to drink at the same time otherwise it just sits in your stomach as an ever increasing blob. Also work out what suits you, I get on with some bars but not others. The last time I had a gel (it was a brand I've used before) I got an upset stomach and I very rarely get those. Don't know what was going on but I hadn't taken a gel for maybe four or five years before that.

Break the route down into smaller bits, I'll choose thirds, fifths, sevenths and the like because you go: "Two fifths, ... three fifths, that's over half-way!" Also gives you something to focus on mentally.

I've done a few longer rides in Zone 2 HR but they're blooming boring! Sitting on the turbo at zone 2 I can fairly zip along but as soon as I'm out on the road I have to go quite slowly! Is this usually the case or am I a lot less fitter than I thought I was?

I’ve done a few longer rides in Zone 2 HR but they’re blooming boring! Sitting on the turbo at zone 2 I can fairly zip along but as soon as I’m out on the road I have to go quite slowly! Is this usually the case or am I a lot less fitter than I thought I was?

My experience too, Zone 2 seems sloooooooow but it's all in the head, once you can accept you're still 'training' and that there is a benefit to it, it's almost a good thing, you can over-dress knowing you won't be working too hard, so you can stay warm and dry, and you just need to set new objectives like finding new roads or using the ride to get comfortable on the bike (keep allen keys handy for saddle adjustments in particular).

The only danger is under-eating because you think it's an easy ride, I've returned from some long, slow Z2 rides an absolute cranky mess because I haven't eaten and am seriously hangry!

Yeah, Z2 riding is pretty slow, certainly at first, but it's sustainable which is the point. Remember that on the turbo you aren't having to deal with wind resistance or drag from the road surface. On the flat I can sit in the 25-30 kmh range whilst in Z2, quite a bit different once I get to hills.

The Z2/Z3 boundary equates to the aerobic threshold, sometimes called Lactate Threshold 1 or LT1, this is the point at which your blood lactate starts to increase at a greater rate than at easier levels of exertion.

Better to stay away from hills during Z2 or tackle them very slowly? I think I'd fall off staying in Z2 up a hill!!

@dirtyrider - trainer road referral code would be great if you still have one going spare please

I’ve built up to 100km so far and felt good but this was all on road

Hours at Zone 2/3 boundary on your HR monitor will be the best predictor. Forget all those HIIT workouts everyone likes for time-crunched whatever. Sorry there are no shortcuts here (from a 12hr TT specialist).

I've also entered the Frontier 300. I'm going to train for it even though I have a feeling it won't be going ahead. There's also a local sportive the weekend before the Frontier 300 which I want to tick off my list (129km, 2200m climbing). I've kicked off 2021 by aiming to ride every day and so far I have stuck to it, minimum of 35km daily. All done on Zwift.

A lazy 2020 with reduced riding and poor diet has seen a drop in fitness (FTP went from 250w to 223w in a recent test). I completed a 100km ride as part of the Festive500 2020 (done in 2hrs 54m but mostly at Z3) and a 100 mile ride in December 2019 (5hr 52m in Z2 I had been building up and doing a lot of Z2 endurance rides at this point, probably would have been quicker had a picked a flat route on Zwift).

Looking to improve my FTP and build up my endurance at the same time. I'm guessing its a case of pick one or the other?

I think it's important to remember there's no direct switch in your biological system when you move from one zone to another. Its more of a curve & zones also have ranges eg FTP can be high, low or duration. Also depending on who you speak to there are there many zones depending on what training program they use.
Endurance and FTP are two parts of fitness you can work on at the same time - Zone 2 will lead to a better ability to push your FTP but building this takes time & patience. I do all my Z2 on a turbo between 60-90mins 3/4 a week over Nov Dec & a bit in Jan sitting exactly in the range -its hard because of the focus needed to not get bored and your FTP will fall and this can lead to a bit of 'ego panic' but thats ok as you start to build it up from Jan onwards peaking in Jun/July/Aug - this is obviously all dependant on your aims, lifestyle, age and access to training tools etc and what works for one doesn't work another.
FWIW my 'endurance' rides aren't Z2 - they are a mixture of intensity but staying away for anything in my zone 5/6 and limiting any time over 400w. My Z2 sessions are mainly around mitochondrial health - I might be taking this thread down a rabbit hole but riding bikes has become more than racing and fun etc as I've learnt more about how Z2 work leads to life longevity in terms of mitochondrial health.

@Creg You can push both at the same time, as in during the same overall plan, but most individual workouts should really target one or the other.

Training zones are one of those things where individuals try to make a name for themselves coming up with new ones. Physiologically there's really just three: below LT1, between LT1 & LT2, above LT2. Most seem to follow Andrew Coggan's 7 zone model which doesn't map exactly onto the three zone model as Coggan's Z4 straddles LT2.

As polarised training seems to be making an appearance in the thread, with the three zone model being mentioned, how many of you looking to do ultra/endurance rides or races use that for training?

If you do, what sort of overall weekly volume do you think you need at lt1/z2 for it to be effective (over SS for time crunched) and is there a minimum dose per session in your experience i.e. 45, 60, 90 mins?

It seems TR love SS sessions, or at least they seem rarely to go unmentioned.

As regards z2 on the road. I too find it very difficult be strict with it due to both terrain and the fact that I'm a big bear, so even with a good gear range a I'll struggle to get up hills here in z2.

Ive also noticed cadence has a big affect on my hr from turbo work, from a cadence of 60rpm to 100rpm at the same power I'll get a 15bpm hr difference. So spinning up hill isn't necessarily the answer either, obviously there is a mid way between grinding and spinning too much. I only have a hrm outside, no power meter.

Anyway I'm off to the shed as I have a 2hr Z2 ride due in my evil zwift plan 🤪

Forgot to mention that Coggan's 7 zone model are training zones not physiological.

@longdog - polarised training seems to fixate on the 80/20 mix but whether that just happens to be what the pro riders do or is actually the optimum I'm not sure. The pro riders are somewhat surprisingly time limited, there's only so much training they can do and still get adequate recovery so it might be that they can't do 90/10. ISTR that Dylan Johnson reckons 10hrs/wk is about as low as you can go with a polarised approach.

I do three sessions on the turbo which gives me the weekends free to do long outdoor rides at the weekend so it's sort of a polarised approach.

TR do major on Sweet Spot for the early parts of their overall plans but there's more VO2max work as you progress, just looking at what I've got coming up and it's one VO2max workout and two threshold workouts per week. I might swap one of the threshold workouts for a VO2max one, still debating this with myself, and then I'd definitely be on a polarised approach.

Cadence: I've done two endurance workouts recently, one at an average cadence of 84, the other at 90. The power/HR ratio is slightly lower for the latter. High cadence moves the strain from your legs to your cardiovascular system so it's to be expected.

Thanks @whitestone for starting this thread and for posting those Over-under Traineroad workouts. I borrowed the Warlow one and did it tonight. It's pretty hard but repeatable - as it should be and I can see me using it regularly. I will say that whilst I had TR and moved to Zwift because of the social aspect (rather than looking at blue bars for hours on end), the combination of TR's plans and the Zwift ecosystem is a winner. My only gripe: building your own workouts in Zwift is a royal pain in the backside. Very sensitive and no ability to copy and past interval sets for example. Took far too long to 'design' it compared to what a good UI should allow.

You can use this to build Zwift workouts. I don’t find it any easier than Zwift to be honest but at least you don’t have to load up Zwift to do it.

https://www.zwiftworkout.com/

Thanks @robbo1234biking. I'll take a look at that.