I’ve been on TR for about a year now. This past year has been my first experience with structured training, training with power, and a return to activity from a relatively sedentary life at age 50. With the exception of 4 weeks (see below) I’ve been doing low volume, choosing XCO as my focus and seeing FTP increase to 189 from 139.
I’m currently in the build phase, having done General Build I - Low Volume. For General Build II, I went with the Masters Plan at Mid-Volume and found it manageable from a stress perspective, even if it required more schedule shuffling.
I’m now tempted to do General Build III at Mid-Volume, but do the non-Masters version. Will this to be too big a jump? Should I stick to the Masters option for this whole cycle (base-build-specialty) and let me body adjust before increasing?
In addition to TR, there’s a couple of hours of strength training and, in the summer (live in Canada), a couple of outdoor MTB rides/week.
Personally I would try mid-volume masters plan (two intensity days, more volume) then if you respond well try the general mid-volume plan (3 intensity days). Baby steps!
If you do go with the general mid-volume plan, then when you add in outdoor mtb rides you can always switch back to masters.
Nice work on your recent fitness gains! It sounds like you’re doing really well so far!
I think your method of increasing training time/stress with the aid of masters plans is a really good idea. Bumping your volume up from Low to Mid can be a big jump, and the masters versions are great stepping stones!
In terms of your next step, you could certainly try the non-masters mid-volume Build, but just know that the Build phases are typically some of the hardest.
If you’re feeling really good, you could go for it knowing that you can always switch back if you need to, but if you’re feeling borderline about it, it might be worthwhile to wait until you’re back in a Base phase to make the switch.
I’d just make sure that you’re giving yourself enough time after each switch to ensure that you’ve adjusted to the new workload before making any decisions, and at that point, make sure to trust what your body is saying.
