Hello! So I’ve got one more week on my Advanced SS3 Plan and the plan has been hard starting from almost nothing but I feel way way stronger and especially with it being so hot right now, more mentally tough. The advanced plan was great for me as a 20 year old college student doing online classes so I can get out and ride as much as I need to. So I plan on doing SS4 next and would like a suggestion. I would start SS4 in two week ( maybe do an easy week in between though to flush that fatigue?) and could do the advanced option for the first 3/4 weeks but then there is a 50/50 chance I return to my internship which means returning to working 40+ hours a week. The weekend rides wouldn’t be so much a problem but 2 hour rides every other day could be. I’m thinking about just getting the intermediate plan but I wanted to know if starting at high volume and cutting down the zone 2 stuff at the end of the plan would be bad. On a side note I’m not going to be able to do my A race (Big Sugar) whether it gets cancelled or not because I had to make commitments to do something non-cycling related. So I’m not necessarily needing to “peak” this year other than just to get stronger for next year so I don’t know if you think SS4 is even the best route for me anymore. Sorry for the long post but I’ve got a training on my mind and wanted to see what you think, thanks!
Hi Carson,
So first of all sweet spot 4 would be a great plan to go to! You get in some intensity but also aerobic training. Since you will not be racing this year, this plan gives you a great mix of both worlds. Get a bit of intensity while not over doing it. Even though not racing you do want the opportunity get in high intensity training so you don’t go a whole year without it.
As far as whether to do advance or intermediate it is up to you. Sounds like you do have the time to train, recovery and are young so can handle a higher a workload with the advance plan. The advance plan with sweet spot 4 will have some long weekday rides, up to 3 hours long. And these come closer to the end of the plan which sounds like it will be an issue.
I would just suggest going with the intermediate plan. Early on you can add 30 - 60 minutes of zone 2 ride after the rides on Wednesday and Thursday. You want to keep Tuesday short so you can be fresh going into the workout on Wednesday. That is the whole premise of the plan. Going easier so you can go harder!