Your channel is better than GCN. I swear I'll spent 45 minutes going through their videos and they talk a lot but say very little and just link to other videos and it's a waste of time! your videos are all very informative!
I'm glad you brought up the concepts of training blocks or periodization. Recently, I've been seeing some huge gains with my FTP these past 4 months (I had a 1 year bike sabbatical for all of 2014 so 2015 is a comeback year) and it has been showing in the group rides and Strava segment PR's and overall Top 10s. It makes me feel so good inside seeing this massive progress that I just want to 'keep smashing it, regardless of fatigue.' But starting the next week with recovery and recovery rides are so important physically, mentally, and psychologically to create that adaptation. I believe the recovery aspect is one of the most difficult, if not more than a VO2 max or LT interval session, because putting the brakes on after weeks of flogging can feel like halting this awesome progress. However, it is the opposite. It's a way of creating a stronger engine. Great vid Vegan Cyclist. BTW- even Cycleops gave u props. how cool is that?!
Most people overdo their training. thats what i have seen and also experienced myself. When starting train total different way I gained way more top speed at the end of the season and never had pain.I did on average of 100 km per day during the season (here in denmark from April to October) and stopped eating meat. the reason I stopped eating meat is the long time it takes to digest. If eating meat, be sure to eat low amount as the body uses a lot of energy to get rid of the protein you dont need/cant use.Sunday was resting day with only 40 km easy ride. Monday to Friday around 80 - 120 km per day and saturday 120 - 160. Only Saturday I gave it a bit more power. The other days I never did more than I was able to ride the 80 - 120 km the next day. That made me actually go from 27km/h to 35+km/h on average speed during the 120 or 160 km ride. (riding alone)Before getting into that training I maxed out a little over 32km/h in October.If muscle fiber burst, you should rest completely. Even light ride will just prolong the fibers to heal up. At times it will take even 2-3 days to heal before you are good to go again.So I figured that the training done by most was wrong and I tried to find a system that suited my body and mind. It was really something that made a difference.Another thing many doesnt take into consideration is the muscle type of the persons. Some have mostly long muscle fibers and some have mostly short. the training have to be different for each person in order to be fully effective. You cant set up one training program that will be most effective for all. Thinking that is fooling yourself and others.There are some general guide lines, but to find the most effective for you only, you need to adjust here and there and can only use others advice as a guideline, not as the final solution in order for you to be most effective in your training.Just my opinion
I dont usually comment on videos because of privacy concerns but your channel is just amazing. This video right here is like the secret sauce to being a better cyclist, but most of the BIG channels on youtube dont even talk about it. Some websites would put it behind a paywall. So thanks for sharing the info man. Gotta love the effort you put in these videos. I bet my ass this channel's gonna hit critical mass soon. Cheers from the Philippines!
Just bought a book about MTB training. This totally fits with the same philosophy and training suggestions I've been reading about. I recently over-trained and I literally fell into self-induced illness. I was sick for about two weeks straight, mostly because I couldn't get over the idea of not training. I still hit the indoor trainer four times throughout that week. Gotta stop getting OCD and take a freaking rest! Great video. Easy to understand. Really helpful stuff. Also cool to find another vegan cyclist out there!
This video (and your others) are amazing! I've read the 2 most expected books on training and this ONE SINGLE VIDEO does a better job of explaining a structured training program than most of both books. You are *very* good at explaining complex topics. Thank you!
have become a huge fan of your channel over the last week or so, every vid is packed with such good info and content! you deserve many more subs and views
+Matt press Thanks BRO! I think if i keep making good content, the subs will come. But you subscribed, so thats honestly worth it for me. I never really thought anyone would watch, so I feel pretty successful as of right now. More subs and views would allow me to invest more time into doing better stuff, talking with more people, and traveling to get more perspective. Thanks again for your support bruh!
Having some nostalgic VC vibes pre ride. Still an absolute solid video all these years later. I think you taught me most things about cycling over the years 😄🙌
Great timing for us in the northern hemisphere starting to turn our thoughts to next summer. Awesome that you're planning more similar videos. Suppose you're covering week-scale and month-scale periodisation in a way, but what about how fall/winter/spring/summer training changes? I guess we all know the basics and that this varies depending on what and when your goals are etc.
I want to do a video on a overview of the whole year. I actually had it in this video by had to cut it due to length. Each block I do is slightly different then the last, and they change according to what part of the year it is. I will tackle all things training in time. Thanks for your support
This is a very nice video it deserves more views. I recently got myself a Wahoo Kickr and have been training following Trainerroad's base build Sweet Spot plan phase 1. The first 2 weeks were good as my FTP from tests was not that high. 2nd week I can start to feel fatigue seriously building up. (I started a training plan with Trainerroad the 2nd week after I bought the Wahoo, before I was just toying with its workouts) 3rd week I did another FTP test and adjust it accordingly (17% increase). Then trouble started. If I was just training in sweet spot zone it would be good but Trainerroad incorporates all kinds of drills into their training. First hard day of week 2 (Goddard 60 min), just 5 minutes into warm up, it starts with single leg drill 54%-60% FTP for 9 minutes (HR goes up to zone 4 because single leg at low wattage can turn into anaerobic), then 1 minutes of easy pedaling try to bring down HR (that doesn't work at all). As anaerobic capacity all gone, 10 sets of 30 sec anaerobic capacity intervals follow (and it wants me to achieve the wattage on high cadence like 120rpm+, instead of pushing big gears at normal cadence like 85-90), with 90 sec rest in between. The god damn single leg drills follow immediately, although this time it is 6 minutes not 9. After that I have 60 sec to catch my breathe then two 6 min 94%-90% FTP follows. (These two feels like two walls) The next day my lower body aches, patellar tendon and back of knee hurt. I have no desire to get back on the bike. This is 3rd week since I have the Wahoo, and only 2nd week into Trainerroad's build phase. I am slower on my weekly outdoor ride. Fatigue surpassing fitness is horrible, mental and physical. Also training indoor on a rigid set up with all the drills pack into a short time can hurt your joints, forcing one to ride recovery. I am on recovery with dialed down FTP. I have hurt myself trying to follow the plan diligently with a wrongly estimated FTP and crazy drills and it back fired. Trainerroad is good, but it takes practice to use it properly.
Gotta say, this advice has helped me TREMENDOUSLY as a cyclist. It really explains some of the things I've been going through. The only thing is I wish you would have given a good example for a good recovery week, like how often, how much and how hard to ride on that week. Thanks for what you do!
I should have found this video a long time ago. I had a group ride today, and I ended up getting dropped, because I've been training for few weeks WITHOUT any recovery or off day. So I've decided to take 2 days off now and start a proper training plan. Awesome vid!
Man,great video.Im 16 and been training cycling since last year.I was the kind of person that hated rest days and rest rides,but now i realized watching this,that a lot of times last year I overtrained and lost fitness because of this overload of training.Rest is just as important as training.Great video,GO VEGAN!!!
Thanks for this lesson, it was awesome. Can't wait to start training by this schedule. I've been riding for 2 1/2 years and now kinda hit the plateau. After your video, it makes sense how to train smart and keep increasing your ability to ride stronger. Can you please make a video on how to become more leaner from the bike rides?
+Andriy Hlushchenko Getting lean has a lot to do with your diet. In my area, I see a lot of casual cyclists meander 10 miles to a burger joint, eat like 1,500 calories, then noodle back all while being bummed they dont loose weight. Even if you ride a hard 3 hours and burn 2,500 calories, you cant just go home and eat 7 pizzas LOL. I am working on something BIG to help dudes get training programs, so stay tuned on that one.
As a long time vegan cyclist, I dig this dude, but I can't help to think about Miranda sings when he starts talking. Keep making videos my dude, you rock!
I'm just starting out on a bike to get in shape. Your videos have given me a lot of info to make my training productive! thank you! glad I found your channel.
+Tee Barbarino Nice bro! Follow me on Facebook to stay updated on new videos on other training tips. I really want to focus on training videos like this one, but they take a while to make LOL.
Very good video 👌👌. You go into detail of the first 3 weeks etc but could you explain what the 4th recovery week would be like??? Keep up the good work👍👍
Another outstanding video here, really really like this one. So great to see the information of fatigue vs fitness = form put into a short well explained and chart illustrated video! Nice weekly periodization training example as well...Great job man!
Wow - love your channel. Thanks. I was hit by a truck in Aug breaking a few bones. For two weeks, I needed my wife's help to shower, buckle my seat belt, cut my food, etc. after two week, I started running again - but on average a minute off my regular pace (my course is super hilly and instead of 8:30 it was maybe 9:30 or 9:45). But I took it easy. Maybe 5-6 weeks after I was hit I got back on the bike and to my amazement, I started shredding all my Strava PRs. I mean seriously beating them - so while a PR avg speed may be 22 MPH, my new avg was 25 MPH. I am sure I lost a ton of fitness after this time off, so why do you think I did so good? It is now four months after and I am still doing well but not as good a immediately following my return.
youre videos are great dude. I am a vegan cyclist just getting started racing after a couple years riding with some buddies that race a lot. Best with next season dude. Onwards.
This video was very helpful for me. Been trying to get this together for months and the examples you've given have shown me exactly what I need to do. Thanks! A couple of questions. 1. How do you figure in off-the-bike training like weights and cross training? 2. Do you ever find that your fatigue is sky rocketing faster than you planned? If so, what to do? Do you just stop or work through it?
fatigue, form and fitness are terrible misnomers. You are fatigued when you are fatigued, not when a number says you are fatigued. The original names popularized by dr coggan were ATL=acute training load or Fatigue in Strava, CTL= Chronic training load = Fitness in Strava and TSB (CTL-ATL)= Training stress balance or Form in Strava. Negative "form" isn't something bad, many athletes have their best results with somewhat negative Form. The way these metrics are supposed to be used is to make predictions based on your own experiences. So if you overcooked it with a certain negative TSB that's an indication not to go that deep next time. For what it's worth it starts getting dicy around -30TSB for most athletes and most athletes and many athletes have their best resutls around -15>TSB
I been just a year on cycling without any structured training program, this video inspired me to make a program that suite my fitness level, Thank you so much, keep it up :)
great vid once again. Showed this video to the gf and you explained it alot better than i could have . She recently got a power meter and with your videos she is making some nice gains . Thanks again and looking foward to meeting you at a race next season perhaps.
+Raul Salazar Well tell your GF "GOOD JOB BRUH...et" or whatever the female version of BRUH is LOL. I am going to race A LOT next year. REALLY want to do Cascade, chico, and VOS stage races. But if you see me, please say hi, I would feel like a fucking superstar LOL
Hi man, this video inspired me to try this program. I am now at the fourth (rest/easy/recovery, what ever is the right thing to call it) week. I´ve done three weeks with a good mix of intervals, climbing, long rides + easy/recovery rides. I was doing like 12hour weeks of training. I really feel good, and def. stronger but I understand and want to take it easier. But it wasn´t clear to me how to ride/train during my rest week. Should I keep at it with about 5-6 rides / week, but just make sure I ride in Zone 1/2, and really always be going easy? That seems like a good thing to me? But let me know if you think I need more rest, or if I should do like one or two with a little effort this rest week, or just keep all slow and easy? Thanks!
I just started watching your vids a couple days ago and really like them! Ive already watched at least half of them, the info your share is great and I really like the vids about your racing experiences and what to and not to do in a race. I can testify it is so much easier to get out and do what your supposed to when you have a set workout.
That's awesome to hear! But yeah, when something is written down it's so much easier to accomplish it. That also applies to just everything in life. Thanks for your support and taking the time to leave an awesome comment
I'm going too plan my form right now for the following season, I allready know what is my most prestigious race, so there I want to have my fittness as high as I can possibaly reach, with my fatigue as low as possible! Thank you man
Great, great video! These information came at the right time for me. I don't race, but I am planning on doing so next year and wanted to start training, but didn't know where to start. I'll continue watching your videos. Great job, very specific. Only thing is that I can't afford a power meter and I know it's extremely important, but I guess a heart rate monitor it's better than nothing.
Awesome, awesome video! I use road cycling to train for the extreme sport of Towerrunning (competitive stair climb racing), and I came across the "Fitness & Freshness" in Strava Training recently! That has been something I have struggled with the last several years is trying not to go into a competitive climbing race being fatigued. Using the data from my power meter, heart rate monitor on Strava has really opened my eyes, and then watching your video just adds to the knowledge base I have been looking for, thanks big time! I have a big race in two weeks at the US Bank Tower in LA, right now I'm ranked 11th overall men's in the USA at Stairsport.com. So this helps me with coming up with a training plan for the coming season! Thanks again from a fellow vegan to you and Coach Tony Wolf for the incite! Didn't mean to be so long winded ;)
That's so cool! Training peaks has an amazing system to analyze the data, and it projects where you will be for upcoming races. Follow me on Facebook and show me some pictures of the stair racing, seems awesome!
Dude your videos crush it! I know this is one of your older videos and wonder if you still adhere to this type of training block with the increased fitness and gains you’ve made. Another question for you.... You mentioned taking a recovery week but didn’t really provide details as to what that active recovery looks like. Any suggestions?
Man, you are making really awesome videos. I just love them. Discovered your channel two days ago and since then I learned some new stuff, thanks to you! In this video, there are such a good points. Maybe I already know what went wrong with my season. In july I had important race, so my coach set up a training plan for it, but it was like 5 weeks full gas, mostly with racing every weekend. After that race (which I screwed up.. :D ) my body said no and I was ill for a month and half, completely without cycling. This 3 weeks hard 1 week recovery seems like a much better plan :) P.S.: Already subscribed your channel to not miss any of your new videos. Keep it up! Great work, cheers!
+Jan Blažek Awesome to hear BRO! No matter your level, 5 weeks full gas is going to rip you up for sure. Try for more quality then quantity, and listen to your body. Thanks a million for the sub.
+The Vegan Cyclist Thanks for advice, yea now I'm doing some cross training (sadly we don't have weather like you in California). I will listen more to my body and not just mindlessly follow training plans from my (ex)coach :)
killer video thanks for the tip, if i dont have time to go out and use a indoor trainer instead would you change the workout or it can be done the same way
Excellent video. Put into words things I've been trying to understand for a long time. I'm not a "racer" anymore but I would love to see a video for us that only ride about 3 times a week and have to use a spinning bike/turbotrainer in winter because of our adverse conditions. Thanks :)
Brilliant video mate remember watching this 2 years ago but I had no power meter at that time,I have one now so I'm going to give this a shot just a quick question regarding rest week after week 3 which you said on rest week you should keep riding to maintain your fitness I'm wondering when you ride on rest week what zone would you ride at and how often would you ride that week or how many miles love your videos liked and subscribed 👍
This is a great video contains heaps of helpful information and ideas…but……does not show the most important part….how to recover. Can you please advise / show what the recovery week look like (e.g.: Monday 1-2 hrs zone 2/3, Tuesday Recovery Ride 1 hr zone 1/2, Wednesday Intervals 5 * 3 mins zone 3/4 with 5 minutes recovery etc etc Thursday off, Friday 1-2 hours zone 2/3 Saturday off, Sunday off)
I am with a professional coach for only three weeks now and it felt a little weird at first, because I stopped riding my weekly 450km and started training! But I guess that was the best decision of my cycling 'career'! :) Great video!
+Mango Mama Could you share how your training looks like? I'm a beginner and have no idea what actually to do, because there's no coaches in my city...
Magahaka My training plan is highly personalised and according to my current level of fitness and also working towards the goals I have this year. But in general, it is a mixture of interval training, fondos, and rest days. I also incorporate muscle strengthening exercises after training. What is important is to follow every training as exactly as possible as every day relies on the training from the day before. What are you trying to achieve?
+Mango Mama I'm trying to prepare for the race on June and on August. I'm afraid that I will get dropped... I want to finish in TOP 10, that would be a miracle for me.
+the vegan cyclist I eat clean, organic food for the last six months. I was limiting my calories to under 2k calories and no help, same fat levels. Then I started eating more around 3k calories and my weight went up but fat levels the same, so it must be new muscle. I'm 6'2'' and weight 199 right now, I would love to lose 10 lbs of my stubborn fat I can't get rid of. I was also told that I need to add strength training and it will help, but I don't want to add more weight because than I get slower on hills. So, I'm very confused and I wish I could be lean as you are. Thanks for your videos, they are awesome.
Very good Video I hope you do more :) One Question: Are you sure that the Fitness in the Recoveryweek realy going a liddle bit down? I don't think so because in the Recoverytime your bodyfunctions adopt so the Fitness increases if you don't recover to long ;) Greetings from Münster the Cycling Town
+Clemens Hartmann I read that you can loose upto 20% of your vo2 max after 10 days of no riding, and 40% after 14 days. What I tried to say in this video is that on your recovery week, you still want to be somewhat active, dont just lay on the couch.
Great video and makes sense since i started looking at the Strava freshness and fitness. my concern is my fatigue is way up on my fitness so will look from next week to bring it down whilst keeping the fitness steady. If i did a 4 week training block (inc recovery week) would it make sense to have a big ride/race at the end of your second training week in the block? i am going to start training for Liege-Bastonge-Liege and want to make sure i am as fresh for it as possible but not lacking the fitness after a recovery week. any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
Hey Tyler, I know that your 3 week block is good for you because you've already developed a large aerobic base, but what about somebody without a big base like you? I'm pretty athletic, but was always an explosive instead of endurance athlete. Im in college and have a wahoo kickr and about 18 hours to ride per week. Is 18 hours pushing it too hard for somebody that only has 1200 miles under their belt?
Thank you a lot for this video :) How does strength training (squats/Deadlifts, etc.) play into this logic regarding fibre 1 & 2 muscle tissues? and how can I incorporate this in the workout plan? Thanks from Germany
I like this but I feel like the information regarding the rate of fitness decline is off base. Everything I've read states that a completely passive rest week (maybe one or two easy spins) is okay and sometimes the right choice after a couple months of hard riding especially if you feel you've overreached. Thoughts?
So after months of structured training, taking 7 days off completely wouldn't be bad, and mental fatigue could also build so a week off the bike could be a good thing. But if you just did your first 3 weeks of structured training, taking 7 days off the bike would not be the best for gains. I have read that after 10 days off the bike you loose 2% of your v02, 14 days is around 5%. You are right that maybe 2-3 times a year would good to take time away, but what I was trying to highlight is more of a block that you would string together others. I need to do a full year overview so I can explain just what you said, that extended rest is good at certain points in the year.
Hey man excellent! This makes so much sense, now I´ll feel better on the recovery weeks! I think I have been doing them naturally , kind of being forced to every 3-4 weeks or so BUT not always.. Sometimes , instead of thinking that I am absorbing the work and gaining form, I feel akward and get like a bad conscience from not training and/or feel depressed from fatigue and thinking all is lost. And theres the tricky part cause sometimes the EGO just wants to be fed and I´ll resort to chasing PR:s and BOOM I get sick. Like hello flu again, dammit cough cough two weeks lost , got to start all over. Ok rant over , thanks for this video, I am going to plan in easy weeks from now!
I get the ego part, you feel like your being a wimp by riding easy. But get a power meter and it will tell you loud and clear what is hard and what is easy. Train smart, recover well, get fast.
Thanks for your response! Yeah I got a stages. Time to put it to wiser use I guess. Going to hop on Zwift now and take an ez spin. . I am really happy to have found your channel , it’s a treasure lots of quality stuff to watch👍😎🎉✌️🏆
Great video's! This one is really inspiring to make a schedule for my rides! Thanks a lot. Question: Where can I look up these trainingzones/effortlevel you mention?
1st of all, love all your videos...any training advise to improve strength for those whose injured their knee to start cycling? I had my knee sugery (patellar ligament rupture) 2 years ago. just start cycling a few months now but it seems not much has improve over the time.
Your channel is better than GCN. I swear I'll spent 45 minutes going through their videos and they talk a lot but say very little and just link to other videos and it's a waste of time! your videos are all very informative!
I'm glad you brought up the concepts of training blocks or periodization. Recently, I've been seeing some huge gains with my FTP these past 4 months (I had a 1 year bike sabbatical for all of 2014 so 2015 is a comeback year) and it has been showing in the group rides and Strava segment PR's and overall Top 10s. It makes me feel so good inside seeing this massive progress that I just want to 'keep smashing it, regardless of fatigue.' But starting the next week with recovery and recovery rides are so important physically, mentally, and psychologically to create that adaptation. I believe the recovery aspect is one of the most difficult, if not more than a VO2 max or LT interval session, because putting the brakes on after weeks of flogging can feel like halting this awesome progress. However, it is the opposite. It's a way of creating a stronger engine. Great vid Vegan Cyclist. BTW- even Cycleops gave u props. how cool is that?!
Most people overdo their training. thats what i have seen and also experienced myself. When starting train total different way I gained way more top speed at the end of the season and never had pain.I did on average of 100 km per day during the season (here in denmark from April to October) and stopped eating meat. the reason I stopped eating meat is the long time it takes to digest. If eating meat, be sure to eat low amount as the body uses a lot of energy to get rid of the protein you dont need/cant use.Sunday was resting day with only 40 km easy ride. Monday to Friday around 80 - 120 km per day and saturday 120 - 160. Only Saturday I gave it a bit more power. The other days I never did more than I was able to ride the 80 - 120 km the next day. That made me actually go from 27km/h to 35+km/h on average speed during the 120 or 160 km ride. (riding alone)Before getting into that training I maxed out a little over 32km/h in October.If muscle fiber burst, you should rest completely. Even light ride will just prolong the fibers to heal up. At times it will take even 2-3 days to heal before you are good to go again.So I figured that the training done by most was wrong and I tried to find a system that suited my body and mind. It was really something that made a difference.Another thing many doesnt take into consideration is the muscle type of the persons. Some have mostly long muscle fibers and some have mostly short. the training have to be different for each person in order to be fully effective. You cant set up one training program that will be most effective for all. Thinking that is fooling yourself and others.There are some general guide lines, but to find the most effective for you only, you need to adjust here and there and can only use others advice as a guideline, not as the final solution in order for you to be most effective in your training.Just my opinion
I dont usually comment on videos because of privacy concerns but your channel is just amazing. This video right here is like the secret sauce to being a better cyclist, but most of the BIG channels on youtube dont even talk about it. Some websites would put it behind a paywall. So thanks for sharing the info man. Gotta love the effort you put in these videos. I bet my ass this channel's gonna hit critical mass soon.
Cheers from the Philippines!
Awesome stuff bro! I am having a lot of fun doing these videos and getting comments like yours makes my day!
I don't often feel moved to comment, but that video was awesome! Now I know why it takes me so long to make any gains. Cheers!
+willwh1993 You made my day bro! thanks for the comment!
Just bought a book about MTB training. This totally fits with the same philosophy and training suggestions I've been reading about.
I recently over-trained and I literally fell into self-induced illness. I was sick for about two weeks straight, mostly because I couldn't get over the idea of not training. I still hit the indoor trainer four times throughout that week. Gotta stop getting OCD and take a freaking rest!
Great video. Easy to understand. Really helpful stuff.
Also cool to find another vegan cyclist out there!
Did you injure yourself when you fell.
This video (and your others) are amazing! I've read the 2 most expected books on training and this ONE SINGLE VIDEO does a better job of explaining a structured training program than most of both books. You are *very* good at explaining complex topics. Thank you!
have become a huge fan of your channel over the last week or so, every vid is packed with such good info and content! you deserve many more subs and views
+Matt press Thanks BRO! I think if i keep making good content, the subs will come. But you subscribed, so thats honestly worth it for me. I never really thought anyone would watch, so I feel pretty successful as of right now. More subs and views would allow me to invest more time into doing better stuff, talking with more people, and traveling to get more perspective. Thanks again for your support bruh!
Having some nostalgic VC vibes pre ride.
Still an absolute solid video all these years later. I think you taught me most things about cycling over the years 😄🙌
best channel for cycling that I have found on youtube. I will be directing every cyclist I know in this direction!
Great timing for us in the northern hemisphere starting to turn our thoughts to next summer. Awesome that you're planning more similar videos. Suppose you're covering week-scale and month-scale periodisation in a way, but what about how fall/winter/spring/summer training changes? I guess we all know the basics and that this varies depending on what and when your goals are etc.
I want to do a video on a overview of the whole year. I actually had it in this video by had to cut it due to length. Each block I do is slightly different then the last, and they change according to what part of the year it is. I will tackle all things training in time. Thanks for your support
This is a very nice video it deserves more views. I recently got myself a Wahoo Kickr and have been training following Trainerroad's base build Sweet Spot plan phase 1.
The first 2 weeks were good as my FTP from tests was not that high.
2nd week I can start to feel fatigue seriously building up. (I started a training plan with Trainerroad the 2nd week after I bought the Wahoo, before I was just toying with its workouts)
3rd week I did another FTP test and adjust it accordingly (17% increase). Then trouble started.
If I was just training in sweet spot zone it would be good but Trainerroad incorporates all kinds of drills into their training.
First hard day of week 2 (Goddard 60 min), just 5 minutes into warm up, it starts with single leg drill 54%-60% FTP for 9 minutes (HR goes up to zone 4 because single leg at low wattage can turn into anaerobic), then 1 minutes of easy pedaling try to bring down HR (that doesn't work at all). As anaerobic capacity all gone, 10 sets of 30 sec anaerobic capacity intervals follow (and it wants me to achieve the wattage on high cadence like 120rpm+, instead of pushing big gears at normal cadence like 85-90), with 90 sec rest in between. The god damn single leg drills follow immediately, although this time it is 6 minutes not 9. After that I have 60 sec to catch my breathe then two 6 min 94%-90% FTP follows. (These two feels like two walls)
The next day my lower body aches, patellar tendon and back of knee hurt. I have no desire to get back on the bike. This is 3rd week since I have the Wahoo, and only 2nd week into Trainerroad's build phase. I am slower on my weekly outdoor ride.
Fatigue surpassing fitness is horrible, mental and physical. Also training indoor on a rigid set up with all the drills pack into a short time can hurt your joints, forcing one to ride recovery. I am on recovery with dialed down FTP. I have hurt myself trying to follow the plan diligently with a wrongly estimated FTP and crazy drills and it back fired.
Trainerroad is good, but it takes practice to use it properly.
Gotta say, this advice has helped me TREMENDOUSLY as a cyclist. It really explains some of the things I've been going through. The only thing is I wish you would have given a good example for a good recovery week, like how often, how much and how hard to ride on that week. Thanks for what you do!
Recovery needs it own video, just so happens, I made it. th-cam.com/video/HHmLv8gdkkc/w-d-xo.html
your videos are always produced to such a high quality, keep it up!
Thanks bro, I always battle with uploading videos often vs preserving the quality. I usually side with quality, or at least the best to my ablity
I should have found this video a long time ago. I had a group ride today, and I ended up getting dropped, because I've been training for few weeks WITHOUT any recovery or off day. So I've decided to take 2 days off now and start a proper training plan. Awesome vid!
one of the most detailed videos explaining very well good structure of training in very short time.
very useful, thanks.
Man,great video.Im 16 and been training cycling since last year.I was the kind of person that hated rest days and rest rides,but now i realized watching this,that a lot of times last year I overtrained and lost fitness because of this overload of training.Rest is just as important as training.Great video,GO VEGAN!!!
Thanks for this lesson, it was awesome. Can't wait to start training by this schedule. I've been riding for 2 1/2 years and now kinda hit the plateau. After your video, it makes sense how to train smart and keep increasing your ability to ride stronger.
Can you please make a video on how to become more leaner from the bike rides?
+Andriy Hlushchenko Getting lean has a lot to do with your diet. In my area, I see a lot of casual cyclists meander 10 miles to a burger joint, eat like 1,500 calories, then noodle back all while being bummed they dont loose weight. Even if you ride a hard 3 hours and burn 2,500 calories, you cant just go home and eat 7 pizzas LOL.
I am working on something BIG to help dudes get training programs, so stay tuned on that one.
this really explained 'coming into form' which gets said all the time! thanks!
Thanks bro!
As a long time vegan cyclist, I dig this dude, but I can't help to think about Miranda sings when he starts talking. Keep making videos my dude, you rock!
I'm just starting out on a bike to get in shape. Your videos have given me a lot of info to make my training productive! thank you! glad I found your channel.
+Tee Barbarino Nice bro! Follow me on Facebook to stay updated on new videos on other training tips. I really want to focus on training videos like this one, but they take a while to make LOL.
Very good video 👌👌. You go into detail of the first 3 weeks etc but could you explain what the 4th recovery week would be like??? Keep up the good work👍👍
Thanks for the video. I am glad I subscribed. Please keep more training video coming.
You are an excellent example of what good distilled information for a beginner should look like. Good work!
Such a good explanation of why rest is so important for adaption
Another outstanding video here, really really like this one. So great to see the information of fatigue vs fitness = form put into a short well explained and chart illustrated video! Nice weekly periodization training example as well...Great job man!
Thanks bro, I worked pretty hard on this one. I have some more pretty cool ideas in the works as well. Thanks for support!
This dude actually makes me understand training where I can now see how I’ve got it so wrong in the past
Thanks bro, that's awesome to hear. I need to do more like this one.
I love the concept of these 3Fs. Really opens up the understanding of your body demands. Thanks
Thank you.this is what i need at this moment in time.
A wonderful way of correlating fitness with fatigue. Thanks for this vid.
Wow - love your channel. Thanks. I was hit by a truck in Aug breaking a few bones. For two weeks, I needed my wife's help to shower, buckle my seat belt, cut my food, etc. after two week, I started running again - but on average a minute off my regular pace (my course is super hilly and instead of 8:30 it was maybe 9:30 or 9:45). But I took it easy. Maybe 5-6 weeks after I was hit I got back on the bike and to my amazement, I started shredding all my Strava PRs. I mean seriously beating them - so while a PR avg speed may be 22 MPH, my new avg was 25 MPH.
I am sure I lost a ton of fitness after this time off, so why do you think I did so good? It is now four months after and I am still doing well but not as good a immediately following my return.
youre videos are great dude. I am a vegan cyclist just getting started racing after a couple years riding with some buddies that race a lot. Best with next season dude. Onwards.
This video was very helpful for me. Been trying to get this together for months and the examples you've given have shown me exactly what I need to do. Thanks!
A couple of questions.
1. How do you figure in off-the-bike training like weights and cross training?
2. Do you ever find that your fatigue is sky rocketing faster than you planned? If so, what to do? Do you just stop or work through it?
fatigue, form and fitness are terrible misnomers. You are fatigued when you are fatigued, not when a number says you are fatigued. The original names popularized by dr coggan were ATL=acute training load or Fatigue in Strava, CTL= Chronic training load = Fitness in Strava and TSB (CTL-ATL)= Training stress balance or Form in Strava. Negative "form" isn't something bad, many athletes have their best results with somewhat negative Form.
The way these metrics are supposed to be used is to make predictions based on your own experiences. So if you overcooked it with a certain negative TSB that's an indication not to go that deep next time. For what it's worth it starts getting dicy around -30TSB for most athletes and most athletes and many athletes have their best resutls around -15>TSB
While resting your fatigue decreases far faster than your fitness level. otherwise a good video.
kennstube I also don’t think fitness increases so much relative to the x-axis (if bottom of graph is x=0
I been just a year on cycling without any structured training program, this video inspired me to make a program that suite my fitness level, Thank you so much, keep it up :)
What kind of ride should i do in my rest week? Thanks! Nice video btw.
great vid once again. Showed this video to the gf and you explained it alot better than i could have . She recently got a power meter and with your videos she is making some nice gains . Thanks again and looking foward to meeting you at a race next season perhaps.
+Raul Salazar Well tell your GF "GOOD JOB BRUH...et" or whatever the female version of BRUH is LOL. I am going to race A LOT next year. REALLY want to do Cascade, chico, and VOS stage races. But if you see me, please say hi, I would feel like a fucking superstar LOL
Hi man, this video inspired me to try this program. I am now at the fourth (rest/easy/recovery, what ever is the right thing to call it) week. I´ve done three weeks with a good mix of intervals, climbing, long rides + easy/recovery rides. I was doing like 12hour weeks of training. I really feel good, and def. stronger but I understand and want to take it easier. But it wasn´t clear to me how to ride/train during my rest week. Should I keep at it with about 5-6 rides / week, but just make sure I ride in Zone 1/2, and really always be going easy? That seems like a good thing to me? But let me know if you think I need more rest, or if I should do like one or two with a little effort this rest week, or just keep all slow and easy? Thanks!
my favourite line... "NO MORE FITNESS FOR YOU!"
I just started watching your vids a couple days ago and really like them! Ive already watched at least half of them, the info your share is great and I really like the vids about your racing experiences and what to and not to do in a race.
I can testify it is so much easier to get out and do what your supposed to when you have a set workout.
That's awesome to hear! But yeah, when something is written down it's so much easier to accomplish it. That also applies to just everything in life. Thanks for your support and taking the time to leave an awesome comment
Thank you bro! Best explanation so far! Perfect for those of us who love the sport and want to reach their higher potential whilst not being a pro.
I'm going too plan my form right now for the following season, I allready know what is my most prestigious race, so there I want to have my fittness as high as I can possibaly reach, with my fatigue as low as possible! Thank you man
back watching an old one of yours. love it
Great tips mate, makes it much clearer! Thanks.
Great, great video! These information came at the right time for me. I don't race, but I am planning on doing so next year and wanted to start training, but didn't know where to start. I'll continue watching your videos. Great job, very specific. Only thing is that I can't afford a power meter and I know it's extremely important, but I guess a heart rate monitor it's better than nothing.
Wow this is a fantastic video mate. You deserve far more subscribers. Great content.
Awesome, awesome video! I use road cycling to train for the extreme sport of Towerrunning (competitive stair climb racing), and I came across the "Fitness & Freshness" in Strava Training recently! That has been something I have struggled with the last several years is trying not to go into a competitive climbing race being fatigued. Using the data from my power meter, heart rate monitor on Strava has really opened my eyes, and then watching your video just adds to the knowledge base I have been looking for, thanks big time! I have a big race in two weeks at the US Bank Tower in LA, right now I'm ranked 11th overall men's in the USA at Stairsport.com. So this helps me with coming up with a training plan for the coming season! Thanks again from a fellow vegan to you and Coach Tony Wolf for the incite! Didn't mean to be so long winded ;)
That's so cool! Training peaks has an amazing system to analyze the data, and it projects where you will be for upcoming races.
Follow me on Facebook and show me some pictures of the stair racing, seems awesome!
Great Explanation man. LOTS of great information.
You are very good at condensing the relevant information into something understandable and practical. Thank you.
Dude your videos crush it! I know this is one of your older videos and wonder if you still adhere to this type of training block with the increased fitness and gains you’ve made. Another question for you.... You mentioned taking a recovery week but didn’t really provide details as to what that active recovery looks like. Any suggestions?
Good stuff Mr Vegan! Keep rocking the videos. Do you have an off season workout/plan video
I do, I have a meeting with well respected coach to give me some great advice on offseason .so maybe next week I can upload it
Man, you are making really awesome videos. I just love them. Discovered your channel two days ago and since then I learned some new stuff, thanks to you! In this video, there are such a good points. Maybe I already know what went wrong with my season. In july I had important race, so my coach set up a training plan for it, but it was like 5 weeks full gas, mostly with racing every weekend. After that race (which I screwed up.. :D ) my body said no and I was ill for a month and half, completely without cycling. This 3 weeks hard 1 week recovery seems like a much better plan :)
P.S.: Already subscribed your channel to not miss any of your new videos. Keep it up! Great work, cheers!
+Jan Blažek Awesome to hear BRO! No matter your level, 5 weeks full gas is going to rip you up for sure. Try for more quality then quantity, and listen to your body. Thanks a million for the sub.
+The Vegan Cyclist Thanks for advice, yea now I'm doing some cross training (sadly we don't have weather like you in California). I will listen more to my body and not just mindlessly follow training plans from my (ex)coach :)
I've been riding for like 3 years, just got a power meter these videos are great! not much like this around, cheers!
Dude, this a perfect and very clear explanation, my green brother! Thank you!
killer video thanks for the tip, if i dont have time to go out and use a indoor trainer instead would you change the workout or it can be done the same way
Excellent video. Put into words things I've been trying to understand for a long time. I'm not a "racer" anymore but I would love to see a video for us that only ride about 3 times a week and have to use a spinning bike/turbotrainer in winter because of our adverse conditions. Thanks :)
Brilliant video mate remember watching this 2 years ago but I had no power meter at that time,I have one now so I'm going to give this a shot just a quick question regarding rest week after week 3 which you said on rest week you should keep riding to maintain your fitness I'm wondering when you ride on rest week what zone would you ride at and how often would you ride that week or how many miles love your videos liked and subscribed 👍
Your videos are so good that they make me cry! XP Thank you so much for creating and sharing awesome videos!
great info. great music. great production.
Bruh, the music I had on it the first time I loaded it was off the charts! But youtube said no go. Thanks for view !
great video, it going to help me a lot
Awesome to hear, I will do more about rest weeks and more about the actual workouts soon. Thanks for the support !
Your videos are awesome man, really thanks for putting the effort on explaining this, much helpful.
excellent data visualization. the simple charts helped me understand your points better, and I learnt a lot from this video. thank you!
The four -week training schedule , how do you suggest I do not see in the table that you write to .
Fantastic work! Keep them coming.
great and honest presentation....very informative and without any BS....thank you!
This is an incredibly helpful video - one of the best I've seen on this topic. Thank you for taking the time to put this together! Go Vegan!
Killer video! Thanks for the share :)
This is a great video contains heaps of helpful information and ideas…but……does not show the most important part….how to recover. Can you please advise / show what the recovery week look like (e.g.: Monday 1-2 hrs zone 2/3, Tuesday Recovery Ride 1 hr zone 1/2, Wednesday Intervals 5 * 3 mins zone 3/4 with 5 minutes recovery etc etc Thursday off, Friday 1-2 hours zone 2/3 Saturday off, Sunday off)
I usually dont comment on videos but this really was a great video!! Thank you for making this video it really helped! :)
I never comment on videos either , so that means a lot that you took the time to comment and make it a positive one. You're making my day BRUH!
You can switch your setting on a gopro to linear fov to get rid of the "fisheye" effect ;)
I am with a professional coach for only three weeks now and it felt a little weird at first, because I stopped riding my weekly 450km and started training! But I guess that was the best decision of my cycling 'career'! :)
Great video!
+Mango Mama Could you share how your training looks like? I'm a beginner and have no idea what actually to do, because there's no coaches in my city...
Magahaka My training plan is highly personalised and according to my current level of fitness and also working towards the goals I have this year.
But in general, it is a mixture of interval training, fondos, and rest days. I also incorporate muscle strengthening exercises after training. What is important is to follow every training as exactly as possible as every day relies on the training from the day before.
What are you trying to achieve?
+Mango Mama I'm trying to prepare for the race on June and on August. I'm afraid that I will get dropped... I want to finish in TOP 10, that would be a miracle for me.
Magahaka What kind of race is it? Short/long climbs/flat?
+Mango Mama It will be 60km race, so it's not a crit. It will be mostly flat, not hilly place.
Your videos are some of the best out there, really hope you make it big, keep it up man!!! :)
That means a lot to me bro! I will keep making videos until I am out of things to talk about. Then I will probably do a ton of vlogs lol
+the vegan cyclist I eat clean, organic food for the last six months. I was limiting my calories to under 2k calories and no help, same fat levels. Then I started eating more around 3k calories and my weight went up but fat levels the same, so it must be new muscle. I'm 6'2'' and weight 199 right now, I would love to lose 10 lbs of my stubborn fat I can't get rid of. I was also told that I need to add strength training and it will help, but I don't want to add more weight because than I get slower on hills. So, I'm very confused and I wish I could be lean as you are. Thanks for your videos, they are awesome.
Thank you for explaining this from the coaches perspective. Fantastic video.
Thanks bro!
Very good Video I hope you do more :)
One Question:
Are you sure that the Fitness in the Recoveryweek realy going a liddle bit down? I don't think so because in the Recoverytime your bodyfunctions adopt so the Fitness increases if you don't recover to long ;)
Greetings from Münster the Cycling Town
+Clemens Hartmann I read that you can loose upto 20% of your vo2 max after 10 days of no riding, and 40% after 14 days. What I tried to say in this video is that on your recovery week, you still want to be somewhat active, dont just lay on the couch.
Great video and makes sense since i started looking at the Strava freshness and fitness. my concern is my fatigue is way up on my fitness so will look from next week to bring it down whilst keeping the fitness steady.
If i did a 4 week training block (inc recovery week) would it make sense to have a big ride/race at the end of your second training week in the block? i am going to start training for Liege-Bastonge-Liege and want to make sure i am as fresh for it as possible but not lacking the fitness after a recovery week. any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
So how should I spend my money as it comes in for cycling? Obviously I'd want a proper bike before a power meter right?
Really cool video mate! Just watched 4 or 5 videos in a roll... really nice tips! Well done!! And keep posting! :-)
Thanks for watching bro! Many more to come !
Love the vids! Very motivational and has given me a good sense of direction! Im a much better cyclist. Keep up the good work !!
+omar khalek AWESOME! Follow me on facebook and let me know how you progress through the year.
Tq dude... Really appreciate doing this... Becouse I feel tried now... Need some rest... 9 days more to race critt...
Wow - blast from the past! Lol-but just what I needed, simply explained.
Thanks VC
Thanks for this. As a bodybuilder trying to get into cycling this is super helpful
Hey Tyler, I know that your 3 week block is good for you because you've already developed a large aerobic base, but what about somebody without a big base like you? I'm pretty athletic, but was always an explosive instead of endurance athlete. Im in college and have a wahoo kickr and about 18 hours to ride per week. Is 18 hours pushing it too hard for somebody that only has 1200 miles under their belt?
instead of the weekly schedule, can this be done daily?
Say... Day 1 train, day 2 train, day 3 train, day 4 Rest, REPEAT?
Thank you a lot for this video :) How does strength training (squats/Deadlifts, etc.) play into this logic regarding fibre 1 & 2 muscle tissues? and how can I incorporate this in the workout plan? Thanks from Germany
I like this but I feel like the information regarding the rate of fitness decline is off base. Everything I've read states that a completely passive rest week (maybe one or two easy spins) is okay and sometimes the right choice after a couple months of hard riding especially if you feel you've overreached. Thoughts?
So after months of structured training, taking 7 days off completely wouldn't be bad, and mental fatigue could also build so a week off the bike could be a good thing. But if you just did your first 3 weeks of structured training, taking 7 days off the bike would not be the best for gains. I have read that after 10 days off the bike you loose 2% of your v02, 14 days is around 5%.
You are right that maybe 2-3 times a year would good to take time away, but what I was trying to highlight is more of a block that you would string together others. I need to do a full year overview so I can explain just what you said, that extended rest is good at certain points in the year.
Hey man excellent! This makes so much sense, now I´ll feel better on the recovery weeks! I think I have been doing them naturally , kind of being forced to every 3-4 weeks or so BUT not always..
Sometimes , instead of thinking that I am absorbing the work and gaining form, I feel akward and get like a bad conscience from not training and/or feel depressed from fatigue and thinking all is lost. And theres the tricky part cause sometimes the EGO just wants to be fed and I´ll resort to chasing PR:s and BOOM I get sick. Like hello flu again, dammit cough cough two weeks lost , got to start all over. Ok rant over , thanks for this video, I am going to plan in easy weeks from now!
I get the ego part, you feel like your being a wimp by riding easy. But get a power meter and it will tell you loud and clear what is hard and what is easy. Train smart, recover well, get fast.
Thanks for your response! Yeah I got a stages. Time to put it to wiser use I guess. Going to hop on Zwift now and take an ez spin. . I am really happy to have found your channel , it’s a treasure lots of quality stuff to watch👍😎🎉✌️🏆
Wow!!! Your videos are the best. Numero UNO
Thanks BRO!
Great video's! This one is really inspiring to make a schedule for my rides! Thanks a lot. Question: Where can I look up these trainingzones/effortlevel you mention?
Do you have a power meter? Heart rate?
+The Vegan Cyclist I use a heart rate monitor.
Absolutely fantastic video
Man, another fantastic video! Thanks so much for doing these.
not sure if I missed or not, but what workouts do you actually do on your rest week?
Great video and graphs, this was very helpful.
What activity would you recommend for the rest week?
Short but very informative. Thank you!
1st of all, love all your videos...any training advise to improve strength for those whose injured their knee to start cycling? I had my knee sugery (patellar ligament rupture) 2 years ago. just start cycling a few months now but it seems not much has improve over the time.
Fatigue will be tss? Or hrtss. Please your comments
Really interesting
Liked, faved, and sub'd. What is the intro song +The Vegan Cyclist ?
How about nutrition and recovery supplements? I find that after taking them for prolong period of time, they becomes ineffective.