I’m preparing for a cycling holiday in Majorca in 22 weeks. The trip will involve daily rides ranging from 50-70 miles, with some days extending to 80-100 miles across varied terrain including both flat sections and long climbs.
As background, I previously trained using the Sweet Spot method about two years ago. I’ve recently made big improvements to my diet, reducing sugar and processed foods while being mindful of carb intake and also eating a lot more veggies. I’m currently doing intermittent fasting which I plan to continue with Zone 2 and rest days. I’ve just started back this weekend with 2x 1hr30 Zone 2 rides and have 12-15 hours available weekly for training.
I’m planning to structure my 22 weeks as follows: 12 weeks of base training, 6 weeks of build, 3 weeks of specialty, and 1 week of rest. Does this sound right?
My main question is about choosing the right base plan. I’m considering either the high volume polarized plan but it only has a single block and not sure if doing the same block 3 times would give me good results? Or the General Base (former Sweet Spot Base) which offers three blocks and seems to have reduced intensity compared to previous versions.
Given my goals and circumstances, which approach would you recommend? Many thanks!
I don’t think it matters what plan you choose. All roads lead to similar fitness. But for a trip like that, the focus needs to be endurance and time in the saddle. Maybe do some blocks of back to back to back long endurance days if you can.
Does it not just automatically suggest Sweet Spot assuming most people are time crunched? I thought having 12-15 hours per week to dedicate to the trainer it might be better off looking at Traditional Base or Polarized?
I suggest you use Plan Builder to build your Training Plan, especially since you are just getting back into training. Plan Builder will analyse your training history to give you the optimal volume, intensity and rate of progression that will best prepare you for your holiday. Without knowing the exact details of all of this information, we are all just speculating. Plan Builder has been built using a wealth of data that shown us what works.
You will be given an opportunity to tell us how much time you have available in Plan Builder. TrainerRoad will build your Plan considering all of this information. Just because you have 12-15 hours to train each week doesn’t mean that is optimal.
Why don’t you go through Plan Builder and have a look at the Training Plan we suggest? If you wish to tweak some things based on your preferences, you can do so! But for the Training Plan that is going to prepare you in the best way possible for your holiday, I suggest using Plan Builder.
