Dear Fascat community,
I will shortly start my base training phase with the 16 weeks of SS training plan. I want to incorporate 2 days of strength training at the gym ( I found the 10 weeks resistance plan too gym-heavy for my taste). My schedule would allow me 4-5 days of training per week. How would you recommend implementing the two gym days into the training plan?
Many thanks for your help!
Jacob
Hey @JacobVetter,
There are two approaches you could take with strength training. You might have to experiment and see which one feels best to you, or decided based on how you know your body.
Option 1- Do your first strength training day on Wednesday, at least 4 hours after cycling, or separated by morning/evening. Waiting until Wednesday after riding allows you to get your high intensity and quality cycling sessions done without being hindered by fatigue from strength, and allows you to recover on your Zone 2 ride the following day. The second day can then be done on Sunday, since you’ll have ridden hard on Saturday you may not have the time or energy. And Monday is a recovery day, so get your weekend rides done, then do your second strength workout, and take Monday’s recovery day seriously with high quality recovery time!
Option 2- If you feel like you don’t have the energy to do a good gym session after riding on Wednesday, you could do strength on the same days as your zone 2 rides. The downside to this is that you may not feel like you get the recovery you need from the Tues/Wed rides because you’re taxing your legs again on Thursday, which would otherwise be pretty easy on the legs. And as Z2 rides get longer on Sundays, it will get tougher to do both.
In either case, see what feels best to you and remember to take your recovery days seriously and do your best to help yourself recover so that you get the most out of the hard work you put in on your training days.