I am preparing for XC Nationals which are in March, 2025. I have already been doing a high volume XCO MTB plan in TR, and have gradually been increasing the volume manually to continue improving.
In this regard, I was just wondering what the most optimal method to increase volume to an existing plan is. I have been going between either increasing my interval workouts duration by an hour (by selecting an alternate workout), OR, doing an extra hour of zone 2 after I finish an interval workout. For all of the other workouts, I just use an alternate workout that is an hour longer since they are zone 2 anyway.
From a coaching perspective, which method would give me better results, or are there better methods I could use? I do have the capacity to do an extra session in the afternoon some days as well, and if so, should I do zone 2? Also, should I be doing upper zone 2 (productive), or just an achievable level?
If you are responding well to it - i.e. still being able to complete all the workouts on the plan - then you could carefully push further.
That could be productive Z2 instead of achievable. It could be a tempo workout in the mix somewhere.
AIUI, as long as you are consistently completing your planned workouts at a high quality, then adding a bit more volume to nudge the CTL up by couple of points per week will be beneficial.
Err slightly on the side of caution. You have plenty of time until March 2025. Doing too much too soon and derailing the consistency of the plan by a fatigue induced break would be a bad thing.
You’re definitely on the right track with adding volume!
As @ivegotabike and @Helvellyn mentioned, it’s key to increase volume gradually and keep an eye on how your body is responding.
A good approach is to tack on extra volume at the end of your pre-scheduled workouts. That way, you can prioritize the “quality” intervals, and then add low-intensity volume if you still feel good.
If the quality starts to drop due to fatigue, it might be a sign to pull back and give yourself more recovery between harder sessions.
Also, don’t feel like your Endurance sessions always need to be in upper Z2. Not every workout should be Productive. Some should be Achievable to help manage overall fatigue. It’s important to keep those hard days hard and easy days truly easy.
This article has some more tips you might find helpful:
% This! When I upped my volume to 20+ hour weeks for months on my way to a peak CTL of 135 my z2 rides became closer to 65% or lower of FTP. Also, I was only doing 2 days of intensity/intervals.
% This! When I upped my volume to 20+ hour weeks for months on my way to a peak CTL of 135 my z2 rides became closer to 65% or lower of FTP. Also, I was only doing 2 days of intensity/intervals.