Dylan Johnson's "The Problem with TrainerRoad Training Plans": it's gonna be a busy day around here

I think Standard/Advanced/Elite would be good names for the three levels. The LV plans are good for adding some structure while maintaining flexibility for other things, but most of us need to forgo a workout or two if we want to add group rides, long Z2, training races, etc. One solution would be to add a LLV plan with one or two key workouts a week. Call it the Supplemental plan meaning it’s intended for athletes who do other training. Another way would be to label 1 or 2 workouts of the LV to be key or core, with the other ones being intended to be replaceable by other things. This has the advantage that if you have a time crunched week you can just do the three workouts with nothing else.

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So, so, so true, it is very individual as well.

In my 20s I could do anything I liked, I could do double days and recover.
In my 30s I could train hard 3 - 4 days and week, recovery was easy without even thinking about it or doing the right thing (eating shit, not thinking about sleep, the occasional party or boozy session.)
In my early 40s I could train 3 hard days a week and a medium SST session, call it 3.5 days a week. Lifestyle meant I was getting more sleep, going to bed a bit earlier, didn’t realise it at the time but I think it is why I could still train hard / med often.

I never noticed this difference at the time, it kind of sneaked up on me. The only reason I noticed this trend now is because in the last in the last 18 months since turning 47 suddenly my recover ability has dropped like a stone. Sometimes double rest days are needed and if I can get 9 hours quality sleep then I can still train 6 days a week but at a much lower intensity.

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Wait until you hit your mid-50s. There is no such thing!

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7 is the new 9

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5 is the new 7 :frowning:

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That rings so true to me: I can still do plenty of intensity (I have done MV and MV+ for several seasons with three days of intensity), but good sleep has become more and more important. In fact, the fitter I got, the more important it got. It makes sense: the closer I am to the ragged edge, the less leeway I have for things going wrong. Once, I created a block with HV- intensity and that was too much: every small issue would likely derail my training. I had no option to move a workout around or go to bed a little later, because life happened.

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Same age as you, what really helped me was upping protein to around 2g/kg and around 4mg of melatonin for sleep

It’s the most expensive of all the indoor training apps, at least two of which provide actual worlds to ride and race in as well as training plans.

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None of which negates my point, because I have choice in how I spend my money, and it’s not an either/or.

The different products have different strengths and weaknesses, and athletes have different needs and preferences. As a result, the perceived value of the products is highly subjective.

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And their training plans pale in comparison.

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Are you aware of Peloton? :wink:

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I rode in a large peloton once during a crit. There were way too many people and it was scary!!! :wink:

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Even if you can get training plans somewhere else, one big reason I like to support trainer road is because it seems they take care of their employees and because Nate seems like a breath of fresh air. They aren’t simply trying to make money but they stand behind their product, which is rare these days.

Not to mention the podcasts are free, I have learned a ton from them, and they are responsive to customers.

Is it the best of the best to go pro? Well I doubt it’s better than a legit private coach. But how much are you paying for that?

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The medium and high-volume programs only make sense if you are doing most or all of your workouts outside. Unless it’s the middle of winter, it’s silly to do that much indoor training AND outside rides.

Also, if you’re good enough to be doing high volume plan, you should really have a coach.

I would say I pay for TR mostly for the platform than the plans, which I can’t stick to anyway. Haha.

You would describe the Peleton App as a Cycling App ? Also, I think it’s cheaper (£12.99) than TR

Last time I checked, Peloton had three tiers, the most expensive one is $44/month plus $$$$ for a treadmill or a Peloton bike. We can quibble what tiers to compare TR against, etc. but plenty of beginners to cycling that I know paid for the bike and the full amount.

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This isn’t something i really care about, so I’m sorry if I come across as looking for a argument (I do that a lot) but isn’t that a little unfair, as you are paying for the bike, most TR have a Neo and something lke a SL7, including the price of the hardware in the price of the software app (which is what he said) as you don’t have to have the Peleton bike to use the Peleton app

Anyway, your words were said in jest, sorry for bringing it down

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I am 2 years into structured training using TR and I bet I’ve missed less then a handful of workouts and have followed the plans to a T. I’ve gone from 180 ftp to 341 (Low and mid volume). It may be a lot of intensity but I have always prioritized rest and recover and I have not ever felt burned out. Tbh I hate endurance rides on the trainer and if I had to do mostly endurance or z2 on the trainer I would probably quit… with adaptive training if a workout was too intense mark it has all out and the plan will adjust. I’ve seen amazing results! I understand that polarized is probably better but it’s so boring and tedious and I don’t think I could do that all winter long on the trainer.

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Youre obviously young and can handle all of the TR intensity. Good on you.

That’s awesome progress, which plans did you follow?