If possible, I prefer to keep things simple, which is what I do when it comes to my training. In general, I follow two main training principles:
- 4-week training schedule
- Polarized approach
The 4-week training plan
I try to maintain the same rhythm of 3 weeks of training at high volume with intensity sprinkled in, and one recovery-week. During the 3 weeks block, I’m aiming for a volume of 20 to 30 hours, whereas most of the time riding is spent in Zone 1 and 2, preferably low Zone 2 – in a 7 Zone model. Depending on how fatigued I am, I’ll do intervals on either one or two days during these 3 weeks. If I’m too fatigued – physically or mentally – I will skip the intervals and go for ride at mid to high Zone 2 including some punchy efforts, which is basically the style of riding I like the most. The idea behind this is to still get a good training under the belt as doing something I like is less mentally taxing as doing something I know is going to have me in pieces the day after.
In the case of the intervals, it depends on what strength I’d like to develop. But more about that is going to follow in the next part of this article as this concerns the polarized training approach. Each week contains one recovery day, which means I’m training on six days. The duration of the individual training units on weekdays is usually 3 hours while on Saturdays and Sundays I prefer to go for longer base rides, which usually take 4 to 6 hours but every once in a while, it can also be a long day in the saddle with 8 hours of riding or even more. My typical rest day is Monday but depending on my schedule I do shift it around, although I really try to avoid that. I’m aiming for an average training load of 1000 TSS per “intensity-week” and around about 500 TSS per “recovery-week”. In the past two weeks this has worked out pretty well for me, not leading to overtraining or training depression in any shape or form. I found that whenever I bumped the weekly TSS up to 1200 or even more I end up extremely tired during my rest days as well as the recovery week, which is a typical sign of overtraining. But most often it’s not just about how much training load I can tolerate, there are also other factors such as saddle sores or other kind of injuries that, occur when one spends 20+ hours per week on a bicycle. Currently I’m considering writing up another piece on the positive and negative effects of my training, talking about the physical and mental side of things.
The polarized training approach
Currently, research seems to agree that it makes sense to spend most of the training – approximately 80% – doing base training, generally speaking Zone 1 or Zone 2 in the 7 Zone model. About 20% should be spent at Zone 4 (Threshold) or above. As I have a focus on a high training volume, which comes as a consequence of training for ultra-long distances, the split is even more extreme towards low-intensity training. Personally, I spend 90% or even more of the time on the bike in Zone 1 and Zone 2 and a maximum of 10% in Zone 4 or above, or in other words, those 10% of the time on the bike are reserved for intervals. As I’ve mentioned before what kind of intervals, I’m doing depends on what strength I’d like to develop. Apparently, the main strength I’m developing is making my fat metabolism as efficient as possible and while doing so pushing the ceiling of my Zone 2 as high as possible, since 90% of my training is about that. During the 10% at intensity, I usually work on my VO2max and/or my sprint. In the case of VO2max it’s a set of 4min intervals with 4min of rest in between and for sprinting it’s between 4 and 8 times 15sec all out and 5min of recovery. If there were any long climbs close to where I live, I’d be doing more threshold training, but since this is not the case, VO2max training will have to get the job done.
This pretty much sums up what I do for training. Apparently, when there is an event ahead, I will do a taper beforehand, which is yet another thing I’m going to explain in a later article.
If you have any questions or feedback, I’d be more than happy to read them or it in the comments, no matter whether it’s about your personal training, my training or things you think/know I’m doing wrong. Please feel free to share your opinion here, it will always be valued!