What is the best way to trim/restructure a low volume plan (ssblv1/2 and/or general build LV) so that it is only 2 days/workouts per week?
I’m currently in the middle of the Aussie summer so every day is beautiful and I am enjoying group/hill rides with friends several times a week but am willing to make time for 2 indoor/structured sessions per week.
I know the group rides will not make me as fast as if i was doing structure in or outdoors, but they are keeping me motivated/loving cycling so i want to continue, but maximise my gains from the other 2 days.
I would look at the training stimulus the group rides are giving you and then drop the workout which is most similar. E.g. If on your hill rides you are doing the climbs at SS or threshold and accumulating a good amount of time in those zones, then would make sense to drop a similar workout from your structure.
Alternative approach is pick the 2 workouts that best address your weaknesses.
I find there’s also usually a degree of latitude in how you ride in most group rides, especially if you’re just riding with friends as opposed to doing club rides that have a well established format and etiquette. So might be able to adapt the rides a bit to more closely replicate the session on the plan.
I did this last summer, keeping the T and TH rides and then dropping the longer 90 minute session because my weekend usually contained one or more long rides with adequate stress to do the job, even if it was more spread over longer hours and distances. My big focus was not losing the V02 max and sustained threshold work completely. Ended up working out pretty well.
I sometimes substitute the 90 minute weekend session for an actual ride of that duration, sometimes you just need to get out in the fresh air and I can’t really handle much more training load at this early stage in my training
