Unfortunately for various reasons I’ve had quite 4 weeks of significantly reduced training, and am travelling for 3 weeks with only the possibility to run and limited access to a spin bike.
What’s the best way for me to get back to my cycling fitness? A few weeks of Sweetspot with some VO2max?
Be glad to hear some thoughts.
Endurance, lots of endurance. (Depending on age (how old are you?))
When I take a a month off it’s like 4, when I was younger, it was weeks. Seems that way anyway. (60-something)
I guess if you’re under 50-ish, start out strong/hard. Over that: Start out slow, and see how you feel, and push were possible, but plan recovery, and active-recovery. Others I’m sure will say I’m nuts and I may be, but after 2 months off, my resting heart rate was 20 to 25 beats up, and it felt like new riding even zone 2 workouts. I’m now pushing myself harder than TR says I should, so I’m naughty I guess.
Just be good to yourself. And if any of those various reasons included medical reasons, take it easy…
I’m in the same boat myself. Unforeseen family medical issues has had me off the bike for 7 weeks. I’m 46. Plan is to start slow via endurance riding with half the volume I was at when I stopped.
As I find my legs I’ll slowly get back into some sort of structure but for now it’s simply find a way back to my post gap routine and slowly build my volume back and that’s it.
The SS and VO2 etc can wait until I find my legs - and I have a few sneaky KGs to drop as well. lol
I did do one of my favorite sweet spot workouts, heavy on the sweets, and realized how far off I was. I didn’t finish it, it was so hard. Now I’m so much better, but my FTP dropped quite a bit, but haven’t tested, just had the auto-FTP slash it (after dropping it by 50).
Either do an FTP test, or grab a favorite higher zone ride and see how it goes. Don’t push it too hard, but just see if you can pull it off, or how much you can do. Good luck. I feel like I restarted, and have an FTP of 194. On the road to bigger things!
That’s about 8 weeks total.
If it was me I would do some long Z2 rides for starters. What’s long? My body will tell me. Once I dial that in, I would add short Threshold and V02 max workouts. For me avoiding tempo and sweet spot is better for a restart.
The first thing that detrains is blood plasma volume. You can get that back by just starting to ride regularly. No need to kill yourself with vo2max efforts. You probably don’t even need sweet spot. After like 4 weeks of just regularly riding, you’ll get back like 90% of your performance.
Just ride. If you’re up for it in a week or so start riding hills. Alternate an easier ride with a harder one. When you see a hill push it once in a while. Or if you are riding flats add in some accelerations. Ride some negative splits or “cut down” rides where you increase intensity slightly every 5-10 min or so. Or pick up the last 15 min of your ride. When you get the itch for some intervals you’re probably ready.
Personally for me, jumping into hard training after time off led to getting in shape really fast but then plateauing and feeling flat late season. But that’s me.
Do a 4-week base block, that has worked for me in the past after getting sick. If you have the time, you could select a polarized base block.
As others have mentioned, the key to regaining fitness is simply getting back into the routine of riding consistently.
Some athletes prefer starting with Zone 1/2 rides to ease back in, while others feel comfortable jumping right into a structured plan. You likely don’t need to rush into VO2 max workouts just yet – it may even be counterproductive – but incorporating some Tempo and Sweet Spot sessions can be a great way to reintroduce higher intensities.
It’s also worth reassessing your FTP after a break, especially if it’s been 7+ weeks of inconsistent training. Your FTP may have changed, and having an accurate number ensures your training zones are set correctly, making your workouts more effective.
All that said, I bet your fitness will return quickly once you get back into a regular routine. You’ll probably be feeling as fit as you were before (or fitter!) pretty quickly!
I’d focus here, shorter sessions more frequent. Wake the body up and it will remember quickly. It’s only a few weeks off, not a few years 
Have a play with plan builder. Might give you some options you would have considered otherwise.
Ride your bike.
Seriously, don’t overthink it. Just ride.
After a few weeks you can start to work out a plan. But for now, just ride your bike to regain some fitness.
I’ve been injured 2 times now in 6 months and other personal reasons of decreased riding. I’m slowly getting back into things. If you’re not coming off an injury it might be easier to do some “harder” workouts earlier than I am.
I like to get back into the schedule that works for me with cycling, making sure I’m getting up and riding those days. Easy zone 1/2 rides ( coming off injury). I’ll stick to a solid schedule for 2-3 weeks of easy riding and increasing volume 10% or so each week. Then I’ll start with a plan if all is good with my recovery.
Thanks for the reply all.
I think I’m going to aim for progressive Sweetspot sessions in the week with 2 weekend rides if I can wangle it.
I’m 48, not injured just working too hard and life pressures.
Sounds good. I like the odd anaerobic effort just to recalibrate my feeling of what’s hard. With a twice daily commute, maybe one or two 45 sec Strava segments a week 