First of all, thank you all for your feedback.
So here is what I plan to do after taking your comments into account:
#1 - Rest :
I can’t stop exercising entirely (otherwise I’ll go crazy), but I have reduced the intensity of my workouts considerably.
I’m staying in this mode until my resting BPM returns to its normal level, if in 2 weeks there is no material change, i’ll just stop training entirely for another week.
#2 - Switching to trainer road :
I’ve got to think a little bit about that but there is good chances that i’ll do the switch.
The idea to have a custom quality plan to follow and put my brain down is a good argument.
It will probably avoid me to burn myself and should assure over the long term better results by just training by feelings.
#3 - EZ rides :
Easy rides are meant to be easy, so < to 70% FTP but they have to be longer (> 90min to even 3h if i can).
Dumb question but, as i don’t have a good control on my schedule, is it better to do 2x1h on 2 days on a row or 2h straight and rest the following day ?
#4 - Tough rides :
Tough rides as i am doing are no “bad” but i should mix things up, and it goes with #5
#5 - Training plan over the long term :
My training plan should be structured in such a way that I work on several things over a long period of time (macro cycles) in order to maximise my gains and tendancies could be observed (progressive overlead & recov)
I drink water only on my bike and usually before getting thirsty -and i’ve got a fan.)
I don’t consume glucides, even on longer or tougher rides though, but i want to be able to train my body to tap into my fat.
I added up 5 watts to my workout each time i completed it easily enough.
And when i started to failed to complete it i kept trying until success.
But yea, i was not doing any rest week and i failed to develop a long term view on my training plan with different kinds of training and macro cycle / trends you are right.
Frankly i just gonna switch on trainer road
There are few training plans in zwifts and i’m never really sure which one is the best suited to my objectives…
That’s type of progression (linear progression) is actually a pretty good way to get most out of your easy “beginner gains”. I did somewhat similar progression when I moved from running to cycling and made some serious gains within the first 4 months. But as you have found out, eventually you platoe and start moving backwards. So no harm done here!
But before you start any training plan, I’d highly recommend you to take two weeks of recovery. I know it can feel like a waste of time but it really pays off in the long term, especially in your situation.
I’m not the most ‘science’ based person on this forum but, I could see this becoming an issue.
If you’re tackling a variety of intensity, those Threshold and VO2 sessions are going to take it out of you. I’m 100% prepared to be 100% wrong but, I’m not sure your body will be tapping into fat stores at this intensity.
The closer you get to your 300 watt goal, the higher your calorie expenditure will be.
Obviously we’re all different and you know you. Best of luck with your goal
This is a mistake.
You will only take a rest from cycling for about 4 weeks per year. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything else. Some people go skiing or hiking. Others shovel snow. Give your body a chance to heal.
Note that this is different from rest weeks during periodized training, where this means you significantly reduce volume and intensity. Again, this is when you get faster. You need rest weeks and rest periods if you want to train not just for a few months and burn out.
Essentially any periodized plan is better than what you are doing now. But since you are asking on TR’s forum, you’ll obviously get recommendations to stay here. Quality alternatives are likely to be more expensive.
Not <70 %, more like 0.60–0.63. If you go higher, you will incur more fatigue.
There is no general answer. E. g. I found out that I need two days off per week, even a 45-minute endurance ride will throw me off. So if I had to choose, I’d opt for 2+0 rather than 1+1. However, other people are different.
There is no progression in your “tough” rides, so they won’t really be tough for your body. That’s one of the reasons you should follow a training plan. So what you think of as a tough ride is likely not tough on you.
This is also a mistake. The issue of fat burning has been discussed many times in the forums, so I won’t rehash it here. But the advice is that you take in carbs and sodium on every ride. If the intensity is higher, you aim for more carbs. Depending on intensity and weight, the recommendations vary between 60 g/h and 120 g/h.
Not taking in carbs will impact recovery, RPE and may lead to weight control issues. Also, fat burning is not something you can train with 90-minute rides. You’d need 3±hour rides, because it takes that long for your muscle glycogen to deplete. All you are doing is unnecessarily torturing yourself.
That’s not a good idea. You are effectively shifting the workout type, e. g. a sweet spot workout will become a threshold or light VO2max workout. You don’t just have wattage to play with, but also duration, rest periods in between intervals, number of intervals, etc.
If you were following a proper training plan, then this progression would have been built into it.
@Pica64 is at 4 W/kg, so he is certainly out of beginner gains.
We all have a tendency to do the things we like doing. We also tend to see causation when what we see is correlation. Beginner gains will occur pretty much no matter what you do, if you include enough volume and a smattering of intensity. Because we think we see causation we repeat it and are disappointed when it doesn’t work the second time as you’re not in the same position as 12 months ago etc.
I think one of the best things about signing up to a plan, as a novice, is that it will be based on a mix of science and coaching knowledge gained over many years. It’ll get you doing things you don’t like, it’ll challenge you in ways you didn’t know you needed challenging.
After a few years you’ll start to diverge from default plans as you find out how you adapt to what’s thrown at you. Meanwhile in the intervening years you’ve learnt all about structured training without realising it. You’ll be ready for the next stage of your self coaching.
