Probably the simplest and yet most comprehensive training plan Ive heard so far. Easily within reach of us working joes as far time investment goes. Cheers guys!😊
Thanks Greg! Glad you enjoyed. The 28-day video is coming soon, for those with a touch more time and desire to add a little more intensity to their training.
@@tristantakevideogreat stuff. I’m a 52 yr old working guy, family guy who’s trying to get better. I’m gonna watch more of your stuff. I didn’t read all the comments (I will) but the lack of Z2 volume will show up I’m sure. THANK YOU for sharing!!!!!
01:13 🚴♂️ *Day 1: Activation Ride* - Day 1: 1-hour activation ride with 3x 15-sec neuromuscular sprints. - Emphasis on staying in gear during sprints without shifting. - Easy spinning for the remainder of the hour. 02:52 🚴♂️ *Day 2: Threshold Training* - Day 2: 1.5-hour session featuring 3x 10-minute threshold sets. - Explanation of threshold intensity (95-105% of FTP or Zone 4). - Importance of warm-up, recovery, and cooldown during the session. 04:03 🚴♂️ *Day 3: Full Recovery* - Day 3: 1.5-hour recovery ride (Zone 1) following the intense threshold session. - Recommended intensity between 0-4 out of 10, focusing on complete recovery. - Emphasis on taking it very easy for effective recovery. 04:43 🚴♂️ *Day 4: Rest Day* - Day 4: Complete rest day, emphasizing relaxation and recovery. - Suggested activities include stretching, massage, and light chores. - No cycling or intense physical activity on this day. 05:27 🚴♂️ *Day 5: Anaerobic Training* - Day 5: 1.5-hour session with anaerobic intervals (5x 2 minutes or 8-10x 1 minute). - Intensity recommendations for the 2-minute and 1-minute intervals. - Advice on pacing and adjusting intensity for beginners. 07:46 🚴♂️ *Day 6: Endurance Ride* - Day 6: 3-hour endurance ride or 1-hour recovery if fatigued. - Flexibility in making it a hard or easy ride based on individual feel. - Guidance to control intensity during group rides for better recovery. 08:55 🚴♂️ *Day 7: Recovery or Endurance* - Day 7: Option for a 1-hour recovery ride or continuation of the 3-hour endurance ride. - Flexibility based on individual preferences and weekly engagements. - Reiteration of the importance of easy days and being mindful of recovery.
Morale of the story: 2 hard interval sessions per week, spaced out so you’re fresh for the hard work. If you have the time, make sure you get a few endurance/recovery rides in to continue building your aerobic engine.
Well this is amazing! I just finished a threshold workout on Zwift, spending a lot of time thinking about what the heck I'm doing. I hope to be in better shape next season than this past one, so this info is just what I needed! Cheers!
Now this is a training plan that really makes sense! The two days of higher-intensity work and one of long low-intensity with emphasis on recovery between those actual training sessions. Bravo!
Most of it is just zone 1 riding with 3 actual work sessions (threshold, vo2 max, endurance). You dont need a 1.5hr recovery ride the day after a 3x10 mins @ 95-100% with 10 min rest periods and a rest day after the recovery ride lol. You can condense this into 6 hrs tbh.
Great video Tristan and John. Really informative. Looking forward to the monthly training plan. Also, it would be helpful if you guys could do something around event-specific training plans. Like if I have an event 3 months down the line, how to build up, taper, recover, etc. Amazing work by you both; helps save a lot of money on paid training plans 😜
2 cool video ideas maybe. 1) would be a training program with 15 or 20hrs a week. This one was fantastic for 10hrs but if an individual has more time I'd be curious what that plan would look like. 2) would be video on all things nutrition. So calculating base calories plus your ride, how much protein fats and carbs to eat. Fasted vs non fasted. That would be cool and real good topic
The 15h/week video is coming soon. It involves more intensity, more intervals and more adaptations, plus a discussion on fasted riding. Keep an eye out for it. 👀
@tristantakevideo he's already got the standard 2 hard days a week so if you have more time you should increase the long zone 2 rides but avoid drifting to zone 3. Increasing hours AND intensity simply cannot be sustained and would lead to overtraining.
Fantastic content and usual. Even for those of us who put quite a few mikes, awesome to get a reminder on the importance of good training practices. Looking forward to that one month video.
Very nice and helpful. I’m someone due to limit od time able to ride one 1.5h and one long weekend ride. Each time I get on the bike I need to maximize the effort I spent on it for max gains.
If you’re limited for time but still want to enjoy riding and get the maximum gains for your time, I’d recommend making your 1.5 hour ride an interval session and the long weekend ride your “have fun” endurance ride. That way you get the best of both worlds and will have plenty of recovery time in between.
@@tristantakevideo i got tbh w you man, i follow the structure from your previos vids w that bora guys, and the results amazed me, went from 2.3w/kg to 3.7w/kg from my latest FTP test about a month ago, diversified my pattern/phase of training, when to build a base, and when to prep for an event, once again, cheers mate 🤝🍻
@@fidelisprayudha okay, thanks for answer. I am on like 4-5 hours a week and on 3w/kg. Going up to 3.7w/kg sounds like hard work, so makes sense you do many hours.
I build a 4-week plan off your video with John where you discussed 3 workouts to improve your FTP. Started with 10.5 hours in week one and ended with about 11.5 hours in week 3 and 4. TSS steadily increasing from week to week with Monday and Thursday usually being rest days. This week I am going down to maybe 7-8 hours riding and then testing FTP again next week to see whether there was improvement. I would be interested in a maintenance plan, like I won't start a new 4-week plan over the holidays due to travel, so maybe mid-January would be a time to start again. But would you just follow the 80/20 mantra until then, i.e. 80ish % work in Z1/Z2, some 10-15% Z3 and 2 higher intensity (Threshold/VO2) workouts per week?
Thank you for this video, good advice into a structure trainning from somenone so knowledgeable in cycling performance. I will try do implement this into to my routine since I never do structured training
Great video Tristan and John, My interest would be how to incorporate strength work to this plan since i am aging and i am relatively new to cycling and i feel my legs are weak.
Love the video! Not sure if you plan on going into details, but should this plan avoid hills and gravel trails? Also, could you share your bike setup? Oh, and Girona looks sweet!!
Thanks Greg 🙏🏼 Hills and gravel are no problem, but it’s important to remember they will naturally cause you to push more watts unconsciously due the added resistance. So keep a close eye on your power meter or heart rate if you’re riding in the hills or on the gravel for the easy sessions. For the key sessions you’ll find the intervals easier to achieve on a climb, so no issues there. I’ve got a couple of videos on my bike setup from a little while back if you’re interested..I posted one recently about my lightweight bikepacking setup using this bike, where I go into detail in the first few minutes about the bike. You can watch it here: ua-cam.com/video/ITiiWAV2z1M/v-deo.htmlsi=mrwco-oZO0adkajn
Great video Tristan! I'm going to be in Girona for a month next Spring, do you have any recommended routes that you like to do these sessions on? Specifically the higher intensity intervals and the recovery rides. Thanks!
Thanks mate! I spend a lot of time riding around the roads behind Els Angels, which is the first climb closest to town. The non-Girona side of Els is perfect for the 10' and the 1-2' efforts, and then the roads around that area are all smooth and undulating, great for recovery days and shorter rides. Towards the coast is always good for longer rides. If you jump on my Strava and check out the last couple of weeks of rides i've done you'll see where i'm talking about. Thanks again!
Been riding for about 10 years. How does anyone stay focused and disciplined enough to actually follow training programs? When I go out, I either go out to go fast and hard the whole time only back off the intensity when I need a slight recovery or I go out for a low intensity recovery ride. The idea of doing intervals just seems to get in the way of enjoying the sport.
Different people have different aims; some train specifically for events, to keep up with groups or to just feel a sense of improvement. Some people ride purely for the enjoyment of it. Intervals offer the best fitness gains for the time spent riding, so if you’re time crunched they’re a good option.
I’m finding 2 x gym sessions per week too much (that could be me getting old).. but I believe there is some science to back up 1 x gym session being sufficient.. RCA or Dylan Johnson did the video.. can’t remember which one
Love these one on one with the pros and their coaches. Keep them coming! 👊🏽…I’ve been on a certain “popular” program for about 2 years now, this year kinda lost it with time and I think I burned out last year.. but I’d like to see how you build a program to suit your adaptations. ie do you use just tss or increase volume like would you go from 8hrs to 9hr to 10 and so on, or go from 400 tss to 450 to 500 each week? Or is there something else that you’d use? Strava relative effort / CTL? Very curious.
Thanks for such a clearly explanation of a very useful trainingprogram! But please, put both microphones you use into mono instead of stereo mode of your recorder. A little annoying listening to 1 voice in the left ear and the other in the right ear. 😊
Excellent! You know I'm older now & not racing but find all of this still very interesting. But...what is amazing to me is that according to this in my younger days I was sooo over training no wonder I was always pooped 😂 Thanks! EDIT: I just came back to re-watch & take notes...can't believe I forgot to like main video 🙄 Ok I told you I was older hahaha But I did correct that & watched twice 😉Thanks again!
Thanks mate! You definitely aren't the only one...I think many cyclists believe "if some is good, more must be better" (me included to begin with), but the truth is there are a lot of gains to be had from training hard, and resting harder. Appreciate the comment and glad you liked the video! 🙏
Great video, guys! Would it be right or wrong to say that you should probably have some good base work down before hitting a week like this? I've been doing base and technique work on the bike since maybe early October, and am just now getting into some threshold and higher workouts, surrounded by the recovery and endurance rides, as your week lays out. Should we have that 6-8 weeks of base training in before this? I would assume we should.
I’d definitely recommend having a reasonable base before starting these kinds of intervals. They can be done without, but a few weeks of riding prior will have your body working smoothly for the higher intensities.
Seems like volume and intensity for these would be great for someone in their first/second year of cycling. I wonder how you’d adjust workouts within this structure for a well trained age grouper.
Hi Tristan, thanks for another great video. Being a little bit tight on schedule, do you reckon it would be a good idea to remove the "activation day" and make it a 5 day training week?
Thanks mate. You could drop that ride if you like. However you might like to start off your week with the activation and instead take out one of the recovery rides. It's always a juggle with work/life commitments but personally i'd always choose to have an activation day, two key sessions, and the endurance ride as my weekly structure if I was tight on time. Hope that helps. 🙏
Best training plan for me. I just didn't understand what Intensity you should do the intervals at the 2nd intensity day. Is it 110-120% or it should be above that?
For the 1 or 2 minute intervals, aim for 115% of FTP. The first couple will feel “easy” but by the last couple you’ll be working hard. The recovery period between each interval should kept short for these (1-1.5 minutes). After you’ve done the session a couple of times you’ll begin to understand what you can do and what’s too much. A lot of people start out thinking “115% or FTP for 1 minute is easy” but then can’t get through all 8 of them. The purpose of these intervals is to maintain a consistent power output on the first one and be able to do the same on the last one. Rather than starting out with huge numbers but not being able to sustain that after a few of them. Hope that helps.
Love to get John’s thoughts on tempo sessions and how often one should do them. Also, does he prescribes to LT1 sessions and their usefulness when it comes to raising your FTP.
Tristan I've been on this training plan for just over 3 weeks. Just wondering if I need to progress my day 5 VO2 max intervals. Previously I had been doing VO2 max session of 4mins on 4 mins off and I would this for 4 sets once per week( I would be too knackered to do a 5th set) and for rest of the week I would be doing Zone 2 . On this program on VO2 max day I've done 5 x 2mins for a couple of weeks and today I did 10 X 1mins. Should I progress this to 4 x 4 mins ? I like the structure of this program with nominated recovery and hard days.
what's the science on day 2 'recovery' being 1.5 hours long? To me recevoery should be be 45mins max 90 minutes is simply endurance / z2 which is also fine on day 2 IMO but call it as such maybe?
Also to talk about what bikes you should take on what rides. Like of your a tt rider saying that 2 days a week is plenty or no you need like 5 or something as an example like that.
Nicely laid out week of training! Good variety to keep it fun and hit all the energy systems. I am curious about one thing though, 10 minute recovery between the threshold efforts seems quite long for that intensity. I typically do one minute spin for each five minutes of work at threshold (stolen from Daniel's Running Formula) which would be 2 minutes rather than 10 minutes. Is the recovery time less important on threshold day?
Over the long-term, two interval sessions per week will burn you out with the cumulative stress alongside work/family/general western life stressors. From personal experience, knocking it back to 1 interval per week for long-term well-being would be ideal.
Hi Tristan! I'd love to hear the science behind recovery rides. From an outsider, (of the cycling world) looking in, it would appear a great opportunity to use that time for recovery resistance training. To grease the movements, at a low intensity, that cycling cannot give you. Thinking of hip hinge and unilateral upper body movements. What's John's take on this?
Strength is not recovery and recovery is not strength, even at a low intensity. You do not proscribe strength work on a recovery or off day. Yes, some mobility would and can be worthwhile on a recovery day. However for some cyclists even greasing the movements would cause some fatigue which is what you want to avoid on a rest or recovery day.
Strength training, even at a low intensity in some riders would still cause fatigue so best done on other days to allow for either full rest days or really easier recovery spin style days to have their effect
Yep, interesting, I an see how that would make sense. If you haven't previously trained using resistance, any RPE level of training could cause muscle soreness. But that's a short lived thing right. By that I mean, after X number of training sessions, soreness at low intensity training doesn't happen. Feels like the long term benefits outweigh the short term discomfort. @@combinedathleticperformance
@@jasonbridgeman1677 You then need to understand the purpose of why you would prescribe S&C to a rider and what you’re trying to achieve. With time off the bike being precious, a low stim session might not be worth the time invested. That being said there’s always a greater context to everything that can’t be explained through text
I'm doing the Tour of Flanders the 30th of march and was wondering if this type of training plan would be good for that type of ride. Currently I'm doing strength training (gym), endurance rides, low cadence and once a week some intervals on the bike. I got exams coming up so (starting in 2 weeks) won't be able to train really till begin February. During exams I will try to do min. 1 Z2 ride a week and probably strength training and some running/swimming. After the exams, I've got around 6 weeks till the Tour of Flanders so the plan would be to follow this training week for around 6 weeks. Opinion?
Sounds like you’ve got a pretty good idea of everything in terms of training. I’ll be releasing a second video with more hours and intensity in it soon, which is what I’d recommend you try follow in the lead up to Flanders. Low cadence is great for that event, with the cobbles.
Really great video, and thanks to John for sharing his expert insights. Would this programme be more suited to someone who is racing, and if so, how would you adapt it for a rider focused on gran fondos? Substitute the HIIT session for another threshold session for example? Thanks in advance for any help and insight you can offer.
For a triathlete, with 3 trainings on the bike per week, should I do 2 key sessions + endurance ride or 1 key session, 1 recovery and 1 endurance (with maybe some few intervals in it)?
Thanks for video.I am 61 years old. I have been cycling intermittently for 4 years to stay healthy and lose weight. I train on flat 40-kilometer tracks at least 4 days a week. But I have a really serious problem. Unfortunately, I cannot go uphill. I have 2 bikes. One is a road bike and the other is a hybrid-touring bike. On the same route, the average speed of the road bike is 22 km/h, and the touring bike is 15-17 km/h. But in both cases, my legs hurt a lot on the hill and I have to rest. What would you recommend to increase my hill performance? I wish you good luck. video.
Intresting video i would like to see a video about 3 day stage road race that is 100km long each stage , how will be the structure? Back to back training days? Thanks great work 🙌🙌
Hey mate, you can, but you may like to increase the duration or intensity of the intervals as you progress. If you’re not looking to peak at any time but are just looking to improve, adding a few minutes to the Z3-Z4 efforts and 1-2 minutes to the low cadence efforts after a couple of months will definitely keep your fitness trending upwards. Thank you 🙏🏼
It keeps your body moving. Once you’re into a rhythm of training, you’ll find it more comfortable to keep riding at low intensities on easy days rather than doing absolutely nothing and then banging out intervals on hard days.
It depends what you’ve done the day before. If you’ve had a longer or harder ride, activations are less essential, but if you’ve had a day off or easy day the day before, you might find they help “wake” your legs up a little.
Would you still follow this structure during the winter off season? Or is this more towards the race season? Is key session important during early winter training? Zone 2 training seems to be everyone’s focus… so what would a ‘base’ training week look like?
Can you do your intervals during the week as runs (especially if you don’t have time to get on your bike)? I think this is the reality of many working people. Weekend endurance ride is fine, but can it be mixed with tempo runs during the week to get the same effect?
That’s a difficult one. Running will help with the cardio fitness but not the specific cycling muscle adaptation. Running also helps with general bone, muscle and ligament strengthening, but that doesn’t always translate exactly to riding. It’s worth giving a try if you’re limited on time, then doing the same sessions again on the bike when you do to see what you find out.
Love this content, I will try this out. Also curious if longer threshold sessions are good. Like 45-60min in Z3/upperZ3 to increase capacity. Or maybe 3x10min at FTP is better? Would be nice to hear your thoughts about that!
Longer Z3 sessions are great, once you have a good understanding of how your body handles training. These efforts produce a lot of fatigue, so it's important to have built a substantial base before starting on them, as well as being able to eat while riding at this intensity due to the amount of calories being burnt riding in this zone. Then having the correct amount of time off afterwards too. For a well trained cyclist, John usually prescribes 2x30' in Z3 for a number of weeks, before increasing that to 2x40' or 3x40' in very well trained riders after a couple of months, depending on their riding goals and only if there is a need to be able to sustain this kind of power for this sort of duration (for most cyclists, this isn't a necessary requisite). One of the other difficulties with such long efforts is that many people don't have the terrain to do it on (flat or slightly undulating roads with no traffic lights), so these efforts are often reserved for indoors. As John always says though, it depends on your goals and aims. For most people this is usually "getting fit with limited time", rather than sustaining big amounts of power for long periods of time, so 3x10' @ FTP makes more sense and that's why he prescribed it for this video.
You can start this any week or month of the year, but testing your FTP before you start is important so you can set your zones correctly. Testing again after a month or two so you can then re-set your FTP and zones is then important as well, to keep the intensity correct and the adaptations going.
I was going to ask the same question.. I’m guessing on the same day (after) the first ‘key’ threshold session on day 2. This should allow for enough recovery time prior to the second ‘key’ session on day 5.
Always on the harder days, either key sessions or endurance days, and always after the ride rather than before. Keep the rest and recovery days to rest and recovery so you can be back to 100% for those key sessions.
Start in a medium gear, about halfway down the cassette, sprint without shifting gears until you can’t spin any faster, and try to hold that cadence for the remaining time (up to 15s).
Is this training plan tailored more towards beginner cyclists? 3x10s seems a little too easy for those who've done structured training before, but I'm not gonna argue with a WT coach if he says this plan works for cyclists of all levels who have under 10 hours a week to train
It’s definitely on the ‘beginner’ end of training, though many cyclists who’ve been riding for years will have never done any kind of structure so it’s meant to help get people started, or give a little structure to people who aren’t sure how to improve. While 3x10’ sounds easy, if your FTP is set correctly you’ll still get a benefit from it. It’s also important to remember training and improvement isn’t about any one session, it’s about the culmination of multiple sessions and multiple weeks of focussed riding. Having said this, if you’ve plenty done structured training before, the next video (coming on Tuesday) will be of more benefit to you. 🤝🏼
Probably the simplest and yet most comprehensive training plan Ive heard so far. Easily within reach of us working joes as far time investment goes. Cheers guys!😊
Thanks Greg! Glad you enjoyed. The 28-day video is coming soon, for those with a touch more time and desire to add a little more intensity to their training.
@@tristantakevideogreat stuff. I’m a 52 yr old working guy, family guy who’s trying to get better. I’m gonna watch more of your stuff. I didn’t read all the comments (I will) but the lack of Z2 volume will show up I’m sure. THANK YOU for sharing!!!!!
01:13 🚴♂️ *Day 1: Activation Ride*
- Day 1: 1-hour activation ride with 3x 15-sec neuromuscular sprints.
- Emphasis on staying in gear during sprints without shifting.
- Easy spinning for the remainder of the hour.
02:52 🚴♂️ *Day 2: Threshold Training*
- Day 2: 1.5-hour session featuring 3x 10-minute threshold sets.
- Explanation of threshold intensity (95-105% of FTP or Zone 4).
- Importance of warm-up, recovery, and cooldown during the session.
04:03 🚴♂️ *Day 3: Full Recovery*
- Day 3: 1.5-hour recovery ride (Zone 1) following the intense threshold session.
- Recommended intensity between 0-4 out of 10, focusing on complete recovery.
- Emphasis on taking it very easy for effective recovery.
04:43 🚴♂️ *Day 4: Rest Day*
- Day 4: Complete rest day, emphasizing relaxation and recovery.
- Suggested activities include stretching, massage, and light chores.
- No cycling or intense physical activity on this day.
05:27 🚴♂️ *Day 5: Anaerobic Training*
- Day 5: 1.5-hour session with anaerobic intervals (5x 2 minutes or 8-10x 1 minute).
- Intensity recommendations for the 2-minute and 1-minute intervals.
- Advice on pacing and adjusting intensity for beginners.
07:46 🚴♂️ *Day 6: Endurance Ride*
- Day 6: 3-hour endurance ride or 1-hour recovery if fatigued.
- Flexibility in making it a hard or easy ride based on individual feel.
- Guidance to control intensity during group rides for better recovery.
08:55 🚴♂️ *Day 7: Recovery or Endurance*
- Day 7: Option for a 1-hour recovery ride or continuation of the 3-hour endurance ride.
- Flexibility based on individual preferences and weekly engagements.
- Reiteration of the importance of easy days and being mindful of recovery.
Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you (or Chat GPT)
@@richardhamwi you can make those yourself with HArpa AI addon
❤
@@xKillYourTVx😊
Thank you ❤
Don’t miss key sessions
Go easy on easy days
Gotcha!
Smashed PR on local climb by 2 and a half minutes on easy day
xD
Morale of the story: 2 hard interval sessions per week, spaced out so you’re fresh for the hard work. If you have the time, make sure you get a few endurance/recovery rides in to continue building your aerobic engine.
Spot on 🤝🏼
Well this is amazing! I just finished a threshold workout on Zwift, spending a lot of time thinking about what the heck I'm doing. I hope to be in better shape next season than this past one, so this info is just what I needed! Cheers!
Now this is a training plan that really makes sense! The two days of higher-intensity work and one of long low-intensity with emphasis on recovery between those actual training sessions. Bravo!
Great video,,,,simple yet well explained training plan , key takeaways: don’t over complicate things and be consistent; results will come
Exactly right. Thanks a bunch!
More training videos please. 🙏🏽 learnt so much from your videos.
More being filmed this week🤝🏼
@@tristantakevideo can’t wait. Just wanted you to know you’re the only UA-camr I watch with a notepad and actually take notes 🙂
Brilliant, Tristan and John!
Thnaks guys - looks like a great program for people with limited time. Cheers
Most of it is just zone 1 riding with 3 actual work sessions (threshold, vo2 max, endurance). You dont need a 1.5hr recovery ride the day after a 3x10 mins @ 95-100% with 10 min rest periods and a rest day after the recovery ride lol. You can condense this into 6 hrs tbh.
Great video Tristan and John. Really informative. Looking forward to the monthly training plan. Also, it would be helpful if you guys could do something around event-specific training plans. Like if I have an event 3 months down the line, how to build up, taper, recover, etc. Amazing work by you both; helps save a lot of money on paid training plans 😜
2 cool video ideas maybe. 1) would be a training program with 15 or 20hrs a week. This one was fantastic for 10hrs but if an individual has more time I'd be curious what that plan would look like. 2) would be video on all things nutrition. So calculating base calories plus your ride, how much protein fats and carbs to eat. Fasted vs non fasted. That would be cool and real good topic
The 15h/week video is coming soon. It involves more intensity, more intervals and more adaptations, plus a discussion on fasted riding. Keep an eye out for it. 👀
@@tristantakevideo
cool ! cant wait :)
@tristantakevideo he's already got the standard 2 hard days a week so if you have more time you should increase the long zone 2 rides but avoid drifting to zone 3. Increasing hours AND intensity simply cannot be sustained and would lead to overtraining.
Fantastic content and usual. Even for those of us who put quite a few mikes, awesome to get a reminder on the importance of good training practices. Looking forward to that one month video.
Very nice and helpful. I’m someone due to limit od time able to ride one 1.5h and one long weekend ride. Each time I get on the bike I need to maximize the effort I spent on it for max gains.
If you’re limited for time but still want to enjoy riding and get the maximum gains for your time, I’d recommend making your 1.5 hour ride an interval session and the long weekend ride your “have fun” endurance ride. That way you get the best of both worlds and will have plenty of recovery time in between.
A huge thanks 👍 I can finally put some structure around my unstructured training
It would be great if you were a guest on the Nero Nero Show on UA-cam.
Maybe some day I’ll get an invite…👀
any chance to hear how to mix that with gym sessions? I'm not a pro cyclicts so I still want to have upper body...
Thank you 🙏 great guide to what I can do starting immediately 👊🏽👍🏽
No worries, good luck and enjoy!
Tristan, awesome content. In the future please drop a video where you guys present an in-season training plans when you race every weekend
Saying adéu at the end! Lovely! Nice video Tristan
Superb, thanks! Great advice, easy to implement. So helpful 👍🏼
Thanks so much! Stoked to hear you got something out of it 🙏🏼
Thank you for this comprehensive training video... Extremely benificial
pretty much how i do my weeks so great to have that confirmation! thanks guys
Amazing video Tristan. Always looking forward to your videos, very informative. Thank you.
Mate, we need monthly and yearly training plan as an average joe who wants to be a better cyclist, love to see this content brotha! 🍻
Monthly coming very soon man 👌🏼 Yearly might take a little more time..haha.
@@tristantakevideo i got tbh w you man, i follow the structure from your previos vids w that bora guys, and the results amazed me, went from 2.3w/kg to 3.7w/kg from my latest FTP test about a month ago, diversified my pattern/phase of training, when to build a base, and when to prep for an event, once again, cheers mate 🤝🍻
@@fidelisprayudha may I ask how often you bike a week or perhaps how many hours?
@@narakdk 14hrs on easy week, 21-23hrs on high vol week
@@fidelisprayudha okay, thanks for answer. I am on like 4-5 hours a week and on 3w/kg. Going up to 3.7w/kg sounds like hard work, so makes sense you do many hours.
I build a 4-week plan off your video with John where you discussed 3 workouts to improve your FTP. Started with 10.5 hours in week one and ended with about 11.5 hours in week 3 and 4. TSS steadily increasing from week to week with Monday and Thursday usually being rest days. This week I am going down to maybe 7-8 hours riding and then testing FTP again next week to see whether there was improvement. I would be interested in a maintenance plan, like I won't start a new 4-week plan over the holidays due to travel, so maybe mid-January would be a time to start again. But would you just follow the 80/20 mantra until then, i.e. 80ish % work in Z1/Z2, some 10-15% Z3 and 2 higher intensity (Threshold/VO2) workouts per week?
Great video but I couldn’t help but keep thinking where to do strength training during this schedule?
I think that is when a more advanced 365-day periodized training program comes in.
This is great. Can't wait for the month plan. Thanks so much !!
Thank you! 🙏🏼
Finally someone said what and how to do it! Thanks!
Great video, thanks Tristan and John
Thanks mate 🙏🏼
Please make a video for cyclists that want to ride 20 hours a week. Thanks for the great videos keep it up for us people that coach ourselves.
Thanks for this free and amazing information.
Thank you for this video, good advice into a structure trainning from somenone so knowledgeable in cycling performance. I will try do implement this into to my routine since I never do structured training
Let me know if you notice some improvement 👌🏼
That would be helpful for me, thanks :)
Great video Tristan and John, My interest would be how to incorporate strength work to this plan since i am aging and i am relatively new to cycling and i feel my legs are weak.
Super video. Thank you.
Love the video! Not sure if you plan on going into details, but should this plan avoid hills and gravel trails? Also, could you share your bike setup? Oh, and Girona looks sweet!!
Thanks Greg 🙏🏼 Hills and gravel are no problem, but it’s important to remember they will naturally cause you to push more watts unconsciously due the added resistance. So keep a close eye on your power meter or heart rate if you’re riding in the hills or on the gravel for the easy sessions. For the key sessions you’ll find the intervals easier to achieve on a climb, so no issues there.
I’ve got a couple of videos on my bike setup from a little while back if you’re interested..I posted one recently about my lightweight bikepacking setup using this bike, where I go into detail in the first few minutes about the bike. You can watch it here: ua-cam.com/video/ITiiWAV2z1M/v-deo.htmlsi=mrwco-oZO0adkajn
Brilliant vid. Well done
Great video Tristan! I'm going to be in Girona for a month next Spring, do you have any recommended routes that you like to do these sessions on? Specifically the higher intensity intervals and the recovery rides. Thanks!
Thanks mate! I spend a lot of time riding around the roads behind Els Angels, which is the first climb closest to town. The non-Girona side of Els is perfect for the 10' and the 1-2' efforts, and then the roads around that area are all smooth and undulating, great for recovery days and shorter rides. Towards the coast is always good for longer rides. If you jump on my Strava and check out the last couple of weeks of rides i've done you'll see where i'm talking about. Thanks again!
@@tristantakevideo Awesome! Thanks for the info!!
Awesome video, thx! Maybe you know how to combine that schedule with a gym in a pre-season work?
Been riding for about 10 years. How does anyone stay focused and disciplined enough to actually follow training programs? When I go out, I either go out to go fast and hard the whole time only back off the intensity when I need a slight recovery or I go out for a low intensity recovery ride. The idea of doing intervals just seems to get in the way of enjoying the sport.
Different people have different aims; some train specifically for events, to keep up with groups or to just feel a sense of improvement. Some people ride purely for the enjoyment of it. Intervals offer the best fitness gains for the time spent riding, so if you’re time crunched they’re a good option.
I'm 63 and from August this year I will be racing a crit most weekends. It would be great to know what training to do around that.
Very informative content ❤.
Which day would be ideal to add some weight training? I really enjoy to do some gym work also. Thanks!
@RipperSK1 see the comments under @jasonbridgeman1677. Do your weight training on the hard days. Keep the easy days and recovery days for recovery.
Tristan, this should be done after a solid base block right?
Fantastic channel!
It would be interesting to hear what would be hes recommend week structure with between 8-12 hour riding in a week + 2 gym sessions.
Yes, few tips how to fit 1 or 2 gym sessions into training week would be usefull.
I’m finding 2 x gym sessions per week too much (that could be me getting old).. but I believe there is some science to back up 1 x gym session being sufficient.. RCA or Dylan Johnson did the video.. can’t remember which one
Love these one on one with the pros and their coaches. Keep them coming! 👊🏽…I’ve been on a certain “popular” program for about 2 years now, this year kinda lost it with time and I think I burned out last year.. but I’d like to see how you build a program to suit your adaptations. ie do you use just tss or increase volume like would you go from 8hrs to 9hr to 10 and so on, or go from 400 tss to 450 to 500 each week? Or is there something else that you’d use? Strava relative effort / CTL? Very curious.
Thanks for such a clearly explanation of a very useful trainingprogram! But please, put both microphones you use into mono instead of stereo mode of your recorder. A little annoying listening to 1 voice in the left ear and the other in the right ear. 😊
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll do my best for future videos. 🙏🏼
Awesome Bru!!
Excellent! You know I'm older now & not racing but find all of this still very interesting. But...what is amazing to me is that according to this in my younger days I was sooo over training no wonder I was always pooped 😂 Thanks! EDIT: I just came back to re-watch & take notes...can't believe I forgot to like main video 🙄 Ok I told you I was older hahaha But I did correct that & watched twice 😉Thanks again!
Thanks mate! You definitely aren't the only one...I think many cyclists believe "if some is good, more must be better" (me included to begin with), but the truth is there are a lot of gains to be had from training hard, and resting harder. Appreciate the comment and glad you liked the video! 🙏
Very good insights! Can we have a 15 hr training week video and an offseason training plan video?
Take it easy, mate...
15 hrs is nothing dude. That's bare minimum to be a solid cyclist@@DR_1_1
Great video, guys! Would it be right or wrong to say that you should probably have some good base work down before hitting a week like this? I've been doing base and technique work on the bike since maybe early October, and am just now getting into some threshold and higher workouts, surrounded by the recovery and endurance rides, as your week lays out. Should we have that 6-8 weeks of base training in before this? I would assume we should.
I’d definitely recommend having a reasonable base before starting these kinds of intervals. They can be done without, but a few weeks of riding prior will have your body working smoothly for the higher intensities.
Seems like volume and intensity for these would be great for someone in their first/second year of cycling. I wonder how you’d adjust workouts within this structure for a well trained age grouper.
LOVE this kind of videos mate - keep them coming!
you can yes build in workout builder and simply import to the head unit and follow
Hi Tristan, thanks for another great video. Being a little bit tight on schedule, do you reckon it would be a good idea to remove the "activation day" and make it a 5 day training week?
Thanks mate. You could drop that ride if you like. However you might like to start off your week with the activation and instead take out one of the recovery rides. It's always a juggle with work/life commitments but personally i'd always choose to have an activation day, two key sessions, and the endurance ride as my weekly structure if I was tight on time. Hope that helps. 🙏
@@tristantakevideo it definitely helps Tristan, thank you for taking the time. All the best.
Gracias, se ve muy bueno el entreno
Best training plan for me. I just didn't understand what Intensity you should do the intervals at the 2nd intensity day. Is it 110-120% or it should be above that?
For the 1 or 2 minute intervals, aim for 115% of FTP. The first couple will feel “easy” but by the last couple you’ll be working hard. The recovery period between each interval should kept short for these (1-1.5 minutes).
After you’ve done the session a couple of times you’ll begin to understand what you can do and what’s too much. A lot of people start out thinking “115% or FTP for 1 minute is easy” but then can’t get through all 8 of them. The purpose of these intervals is to maintain a consistent power output on the first one and be able to do the same on the last one. Rather than starting out with huge numbers but not being able to sustain that after a few of them. Hope that helps.
Love to get John’s thoughts on tempo sessions and how often one should do them. Also, does he prescribes to LT1 sessions and their usefulness when it comes to raising your FTP.
great video, thank you so much
Tristan I've been on this training plan for just over 3 weeks. Just wondering if I need to progress my day 5 VO2 max intervals. Previously I had been doing VO2 max session of 4mins on 4 mins off and I would this for 4 sets once per week( I would be too knackered to do a 5th set) and for rest of the week I would be doing Zone 2 . On this program on VO2 max day I've done 5 x 2mins for a couple of weeks and today I did 10 X 1mins. Should I progress this to 4 x 4 mins ? I like the structure of this program with nominated recovery and hard days.
what's the science on day 2 'recovery' being 1.5 hours long? To me recevoery should be be 45mins max 90 minutes is simply endurance / z2 which is also fine on day 2 IMO but call it as such maybe?
Also to talk about what bikes you should take on what rides. Like of your a tt rider saying that 2 days a week is plenty or no you need like 5 or something as an example like that.
Clear and realistic 😮❤
The intensity seems really easy for me, I could do that % of ftp and feel fresh after the intervals still
Make sure to subscribe then because the next training video with John will have you needing a wheelchair by the end of it…😉
Nicely laid out week of training! Good variety to keep it fun and hit all the energy systems. I am curious about one thing though, 10 minute recovery between the threshold efforts seems quite long for that intensity. I typically do one minute spin for each five minutes of work at threshold (stolen from Daniel's Running Formula) which would be 2 minutes rather than 10 minutes. Is the recovery time less important on threshold day?
Over the long-term, two interval sessions per week will burn you out with the cumulative stress alongside work/family/general western life stressors. From personal experience, knocking it back to 1 interval per week for long-term well-being would be ideal.
briliant ! thanks !
what would 7 day plan look like if someone has 12-15hr/week to train?
Hi Tristan! I'd love to hear the science behind recovery rides. From an outsider, (of the cycling world) looking in, it would appear a great opportunity to use that time for recovery resistance training. To grease the movements, at a low intensity, that cycling cannot give you. Thinking of hip hinge and unilateral upper body movements. What's John's take on this?
Strength is not recovery and recovery is not strength, even at a low intensity. You do not proscribe strength work on a recovery or off day.
Yes, some mobility would and can be worthwhile on a recovery day. However for some cyclists even greasing the movements would cause some fatigue which is what you want to avoid on a rest or recovery day.
Strength training, even at a low intensity in some riders would still cause fatigue so best done on other days to allow for either full rest days or really easier recovery spin style days to have their effect
I'd disagree with you a little ther. You can use the RPE scale for resistance training in the same way you can use it for cycling. @@johnwakefield7942
Yep, interesting, I an see how that would make sense. If you haven't previously trained using resistance, any RPE level of training could cause muscle soreness. But that's a short lived thing right. By that I mean, after X number of training sessions, soreness at low intensity training doesn't happen. Feels like the long term benefits outweigh the short term discomfort. @@combinedathleticperformance
@@jasonbridgeman1677 You then need to understand the purpose of why you would prescribe S&C to a rider and what you’re trying to achieve. With time off the bike being precious, a low stim session might not be worth the time invested. That being said there’s always a greater context to everything that can’t be explained through text
I'm doing the Tour of Flanders the 30th of march and was wondering if this type of training plan would be good for that type of ride. Currently I'm doing strength training (gym), endurance rides, low cadence and once a week some intervals on the bike. I got exams coming up so (starting in 2 weeks) won't be able to train really till begin February. During exams I will try to do min. 1 Z2 ride a week and probably strength training and some running/swimming. After the exams, I've got around 6 weeks till the Tour of Flanders so the plan would be to follow this training week for around 6 weeks. Opinion?
Sounds like you’ve got a pretty good idea of everything in terms of training. I’ll be releasing a second video with more hours and intensity in it soon, which is what I’d recommend you try follow in the lead up to Flanders. Low cadence is great for that event, with the cobbles.
@@tristantakevideo okay thanks!! Looking forward to it
I would like to know how to implement strength training into this routine? Thx
Really great video, and thanks to John for sharing his expert insights. Would this programme be more suited to someone who is racing, and if so, how would you adapt it for a rider focused on gran fondos? Substitute the HIIT session for another threshold session for example? Thanks in advance for any help and insight you can offer.
There is any file of the program?
What is Theshold Training? I don't understand it
Really a great video and waiting for the plan for an month. 😅
For a triathlete, with 3 trainings on the bike per week, should I do 2 key sessions + endurance ride or 1 key session, 1 recovery and 1 endurance (with maybe some few intervals in it)?
Thanks for video.I am 61 years old. I have been cycling intermittently for 4 years to stay healthy and lose weight. I train on flat 40-kilometer tracks at least 4 days a week. But I have a really serious problem. Unfortunately, I cannot go uphill. I have 2 bikes. One is a road bike and the other is a hybrid-touring bike. On the same route, the average speed of the road bike is 22 km/h, and the touring bike is 15-17 km/h. But in both cases, my legs hurt a lot on the hill and I have to rest. What would you recommend to increase my hill performance? I wish you good luck. video.
Intresting video i would like to see a video about 3 day stage road race that is 100km long each stage , how will be the structure? Back to back training days? Thanks great work 🙌🙌
What would the progression be for week 2.. longer durations or more reps?
Would love to see some input into diet advice as well.
What about the work In the Gym? Don’t fit In this plan? Should’ve been done in a month plan?
Thanks! Can this program or the other 28 program be used all year?
Hey mate, you can, but you may like to increase the duration or intensity of the intervals as you progress. If you’re not looking to peak at any time but are just looking to improve, adding a few minutes to the Z3-Z4 efforts and 1-2 minutes to the low cadence efforts after a couple of months will definitely keep your fitness trending upwards. Thank you 🙏🏼
This is a training plan that’ll pair well with my ADHD 👏🏻👍
Hi. What are the benefits of doing a recovery ride instead of taking a rest day?
It keeps your body moving. Once you’re into a rhythm of training, you’ll find it more comfortable to keep riding at low intensities on easy days rather than doing absolutely nothing and then banging out intervals on hard days.
How important is the muscle activation day?
It depends what you’ve done the day before. If you’ve had a longer or harder ride, activations are less essential, but if you’ve had a day off or easy day the day before, you might find they help “wake” your legs up a little.
Would you still follow this structure during the winter off season? Or is this more towards the race season? Is key session important during early winter training? Zone 2 training seems to be everyone’s focus… so what would a ‘base’ training week look like?
Nice one!
Thank you! Cheers!
Is that program do of junior cyclist world champion and elites?
Can you do your intervals during the week as runs (especially if you don’t have time to get on your bike)? I think this is the reality of many working people. Weekend endurance ride is fine, but can it be mixed with tempo runs during the week to get the same effect?
That’s a difficult one. Running will help with the cardio fitness but not the specific cycling muscle adaptation. Running also helps with general bone, muscle and ligament strengthening, but that doesn’t always translate exactly to riding. It’s worth giving a try if you’re limited on time, then doing the same sessions again on the bike when you do to see what you find out.
Thanks Tristan. Love your content and videos.
Thanks man, and no problem at all 🙏🏼
Love this content, I will try this out. Also curious if longer threshold sessions are good. Like 45-60min in Z3/upperZ3 to increase capacity. Or maybe 3x10min at FTP is better? Would be nice to hear your thoughts about that!
Longer Z3 sessions are great, once you have a good understanding of how your body handles training. These efforts produce a lot of fatigue, so it's important to have built a substantial base before starting on them, as well as being able to eat while riding at this intensity due to the amount of calories being burnt riding in this zone. Then having the correct amount of time off afterwards too.
For a well trained cyclist, John usually prescribes 2x30' in Z3 for a number of weeks, before increasing that to 2x40' or 3x40' in very well trained riders after a couple of months, depending on their riding goals and only if there is a need to be able to sustain this kind of power for this sort of duration (for most cyclists, this isn't a necessary requisite).
One of the other difficulties with such long efforts is that many people don't have the terrain to do it on (flat or slightly undulating roads with no traffic lights), so these efforts are often reserved for indoors. As John always says though, it depends on your goals and aims. For most people this is usually "getting fit with limited time", rather than sustaining big amounts of power for long periods of time, so 3x10' @ FTP makes more sense and that's why he prescribed it for this video.
Is this for any month of the year,would you need to change it around to keep adaption going
You can start this any week or month of the year, but testing your FTP before you start is important so you can set your zones correctly. Testing again after a month or two so you can then re-set your FTP and zones is then important as well, to keep the intensity correct and the adaptations going.
What percentages should be used for the heart rate zones? And is it based on max heart rate?
It's a 5 zone model based off max HR, so Z1=50-60%, Z2=60-75%, Z3=80-87%, Z4=88-94%, Z5=94-98%.
What if I want to go to gym to get swole also, how can I fit that in or is that just a waste of time.
can i follow this on an indoor trainer when limited via work or other commitments ?
For sure, no problem at all
Anyone mix strength training in? If so, what does that look like for you ?
How would adding strength training at the gym fit into this 7 day plan?
I was going to ask the same question.. I’m guessing on the same day (after) the first ‘key’ threshold session on day 2. This should allow for enough recovery time prior to the second ‘key’ session on day 5.
Are there differences in your plan, when a person start biking just some month ago?
Think in length of trainings?
What days would be best for gym in here??
Always on the harder days, either key sessions or endurance days, and always after the ride rather than before. Keep the rest and recovery days to rest and recovery so you can be back to 100% for those key sessions.
Can these be done on a indoor trainer?
For sure.
What does sprint (no shifting) means for day 1? Sprint without heavy gear? Just cadance? Just leg rotation?
Start in a medium gear, about halfway down the cassette, sprint without shifting gears until you can’t spin any faster, and try to hold that cadence for the remaining time (up to 15s).
@@tristantakevideo thanks champ
Is this training plan tailored more towards beginner cyclists? 3x10s seems a little too easy for those who've done structured training before, but I'm not gonna argue with a WT coach if he says this plan works for cyclists of all levels who have under 10 hours a week to train
It’s definitely on the ‘beginner’ end of training, though many cyclists who’ve been riding for years will have never done any kind of structure so it’s meant to help get people started, or give a little structure to people who aren’t sure how to improve. While 3x10’ sounds easy, if your FTP is set correctly you’ll still get a benefit from it. It’s also important to remember training and improvement isn’t about any one session, it’s about the culmination of multiple sessions and multiple weeks of focussed riding. Having said this, if you’ve plenty done structured training before, the next video (coming on Tuesday) will be of more benefit to you. 🤝🏼