need help!!
im new to TR and have being on it for 2 months, i understand that im in the BASE building period but these past weeks i have being bored as hell wile training. i dont want to get discouraged and quit but the so far this program seems like a waist of time and money.
what are your thoughts?? is it really working and i just dont understand it???
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@mcneese.chad maybe this warrants a new/different existing thread?
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What exact plan are you following (please include the specific version and volume)?
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Are you able to hit the prescribed workouts and get appropriate recovery as well?
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How are you judging your progress?
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What are you doing for any entertainment (if anything)?
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Indoor training can be pretty boring. I find it very difficult mentally to stick to a plan all the way through. At the end of the day, I think it does make me fitter up to a point, but then I have to go outside into the real world and get my ass handed to me a few times before Iām actually faster.
For me, nothing simulates real world MTB or racing except the real thing.
@mcneese.chad mcneese.chad
- What exact plan are you following (please include the specific version and volume)?
HAve no idea! went to the plan builder and im just following the recommendations of TR. in my opinion that was the whole point of paying a subscription, someone that know and guides me to improve (what do you mean by volume?) - YES, im able to maintain the power and cadence of every session so far, but they feel like recovery rides ALL OF THEM!!!
3 im not, at least not on purpose. i was waiting to the next FTP test (which is next week) to see if any improvement has being made. but i dont feel any - if you mean while training??? youtubing old races (stupid corona) or nextflix.
As you can see im a newbie in training i being riding for the last 3 years and my ātrainingā was getting on the traner and doing 2 hrs of high speed or home made plan of intervals, nothing fancy! but i used to be dying after every training session before TRā¦
THANK YOU for the help.
Sounds like maybe Plan Builder put you on the āTraditional Baseā plan which is varying length rides(longer usually) with low intensity. How many rides and hours a week are you training?
FYI, you shouldnāt be ādyingā after every single ride.
When you went through the plan builder process, what answers did you give to the questions?
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After getting a couple of weeks into build you might be yearning for the boredom of base!
If you felt smashed after every trainer session prior to TR you may have been going hardish all the time but not going really hard when needed and going really easy when needed. I sure was. One of the reasons I started using TR was to force me to have real recovery days / weeks and really smash the hard workouts. The recovery days / weeks were super boring at the beginning but after getting through build I started to appreciate them more. 
If youtube and netflix arenāt cutting it for entertainment, well, Iād recommend doing some free trials of RGT, Zwift, etc. to see if something else is more engaging. Or mix-up your youtube videos and find a different format that works for you like CX races, POV crits, grand tour coverage, classics, etc.
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Seems like your FTP is set too low. All workouts hurt except for Wednesdayās.
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The last word Id use when I started TR. Next to āeasyā.
Exhausting, terrifying, aggravating, yes.
This could be your, and a very unusual, problem.
If youve been doing a lot of very hard, or in fact too hard, indoor training and come to TR if could seem like relief.
Can you post screen shots of your last five workouts?
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I find all indoor training to be pretty boring relative to outdoor. Not unique to TR. Iām a huge fan and proponent of TR but itās only less boring. 
This is my last Tuesday work out PETITTE. asyou can see my FTP its pretty low (i know thatās not TR fault LOL) but if i go 60-70% of my FTP this was crazy easy. and for the last months all workouts have being similar to that.
i train Tuesday and Thursdays and ride MTB on Saturday and Sunday. if this helps!
@Cory.Rood thanks for the info (i should not be dying after a workout) thatās the reason i got on TR, to do some scientific training instead of what āi thinkā was rightā¦ the story of my life.
Petitt is basically a recovery ride set in the endurance zone, so no wonder you werenāt taxed. You might trying going through plan builder again and follow some of the guidance perhaps from the article explaining plan builder in the blog. Or, even simpler, select a plan from the training plans section. Sweetspot Base Low Volume is probably the place to start.
What mix of workouts have you been doing the last few weeks? Pettit is an edurance workout, typically scheduled for a recovery week (which makes sense, if you mentioned you have a ramp test next week). But if every workout feels that easy, that doesnāt sound right.
When was your last ramp test, and how did it feel? Did you feel you gave it absolutely everything you could?
In your calendar at the start of each Plan Builder block thereās a grey block stating āBaseā or " Build". Click on that and youāll get a popup dialog. That dialog tells you which underlying plan is being used.
Generally Low Volume plans are just three workouts a week, Mid volume are five workouts a week and High volume have six.
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it start to make SOME sense now. yes next week is my new FTP test so this may be an easy week.
im finishing BASE 1 plan and LOW volume.
in my last FTP test i left all out aprox at minute 23ā¦ i just could not keep up with the power and or cadence.
guys!!! i thank you for your help
i guess i will give it a try one more month, looking at the calendar looks like the next plan is looking like its more challenging.
i guess i will do the next test and see if anything changes!!! i will keep you posted on the results!!!
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Something thatās just occurred to me.
TR workouts arenāt intended to be āto exhaustionā such that you canāt do anything for the following 48hrs. With the harder ones (look for a high IF value) you should feel as if you could just complete them with good form. The workouts aim to stress particular zones just enough that you maintain power and form during the last interval. Most of us tend to struggle on particular types of workouts - some donāt like over-unders, others VO2max, etc. So thereāll be some workouts that you find hard, thatās just the nature of the beast.
The TR plans are typically three weeks of increasing load then a recovery week, in your calendar youāll see this load as a TSS value, my next block (Iām on Low Volume) goes: 218, 234, 243, 256, 153. You need that recovery week to give your body extra time to adapt to the demands you are placing on it. Trying to do too much and not give your body time to catch up will lead to overtraining and that can take months to years to recover from.
Getting to 23 minutes in the ramp test is unusual. One workout that is a good indicator of your FTP being set correctly is Lamarck https://www.trainerroad.com/app/cycling/workouts/1648-lamarck, you should be clock watching for the last couple of minutes of the final interval and no more. As Chris Boardman used to say about time trialling: āAsk yourself if you can hold this pace? If the answer is yes then you are going too easy, if itās no then you are going too hard. The correct answer is āmaybeāā
Generally the plans work but they take time. That time gives you a bigger, stronger base thatās also long lasting. They arenāt the āgimme now!ā quick hit, rapid gains (but also rapid losses) of YouTube/Instagram influencers. I have to admit, it took me a while to figure out the rationale behind the plans plus how and when to adjust based on my current fitness/attitude. They may not be perfect but for most of us they are close enough and by the time you know they arenāt then you will have the knowledge of where to tweak things.
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Iād suggest doing Sweet spot base next.
Jeez Iāve had the opposite experience, before joining TR Iāve been clocking 7-8,000km a year and did my first 70.3 this year with a 2:34 bike split off next to no structured training. Started on the half-distance high volume base plan 8 weeks ago and the first couple workouts I either couldnāt compete or had to wind back the intensity. 2x20 sweetspot or 60 minute continuous efforts like Cumberland. Almost 8 weeks in and moving onto build next week the workouts are still difficult but manageable and Iāve had a 5% boost in FTP after a long outdoor climb but will be reconfirming with a ramp test. Trust in the process, good things take time.
Agreed on Lamarck. If you can do this without thinking you are (probably) going to die then your FTP is not even close to being set correctly.
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Just wait