Going to use FTP Detection next week. Can I choose harder workouts this week?

Training
1

Not going to test next week. Hate the test.
This week is all easy rides. Can I update the rides to something more productive or is this kind of a rest week to get ready for the next block?

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We canā€™t tell with so little info. A screen shot of your calendar with last week, the pending week and following weeks visible would help. That or a more complete description of those same weeks relative to your plan timing are needed.

Presumably, if you have a recovery week set already, itā€™s because you are coming out of one training phase, with a new phase set to start afterwards. If so, that is generally a good thing to follow (allowing the body to absorb and adapt to that prior training), but like all things hereā€¦ it depends. If you are following a low volume plan, donā€™t have a ton of fatigue from the prior phase and/or recover quickly, you can look to add more work.

But itā€™s important to look at the full scope of your plan and state before just adding pre-stress if you are headed into a demanding phase soon. Think less about the small difference of whether you are actually testing vs using the AI FTP Detection, and more about your training and recovery needs.

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Sounds like youā€™re following a plan. The rest weeks are there for a reason, and its not to help your recover for an FTP test. Youā€™re building fatigue whether you realize it yet or not. Proper recovery is important for mitigating fatigue and is also vital in the process your body needs to undego in order to adapt and get stronger. In short, no not a good idea.

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Not a recovery week per say. The week before a test is just easier endurance rides. No races or events up here. Still a few feet of snow on the ground.
Definitely a low volume plan. I normally walk about 13 miles a day with work but I am off injured. (hand).

Screen shot attached.

TR
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5
  • Actually, that is exactly what it looks like.

Edit to add the info from the SSB1 Weekly tips:

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  • It seems that is the end of Sweet Spot Base 1, and you are heading into Sweet Spot Base 2. As such, SSB1 is not terribly demanding for many people, but SSB2 tends to ramp up a bit harder by comparison. It has also been dubbed ā€œPre-Buildā€ by many people, Nate & Coach Chad in particular on the podcast. With that in mind, being more rested for that is better than coming in fatigued.

  • Meaning Iā€™d respect the recovery week plan unless you really know you are ready to hit the SSB2 with some pre-fatigue and handle it. AT can help with that these days, but typical training principles (work, recover, etc.) should still be considered.

  • But with a typical 5 week loading cycle in SSB2 ahead (guessing here), ā€œbetter safe than sorryā€ would be my take.

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In the terms of a TR plan ā€“ that is a recovery/rest week, after 3 weeks of interval work. It really has nothing to do with the upcoming test which is really only there to make sure your power targets are correct for your next interval training block.

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It is a built in recovery week to the plan. Another way to think about it is a reload week. It is a week to give your legs time to adapt to the previous weeks of intervals.

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This^^^
Even if you havenā€™t built up fatigue @FatBoySlim an easier week will let your body adapt so you can go stronger in future (such as in your ā€˜Aā€™ event) :wink:

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Great way to put it. The easy/recovery week is to shed fatigue, not just let you push harder on the ramp test the following Tuesday.

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10

Thanks all. I asked this a couple days early lol.

https://www.trainerroad.com/blog/the-complete-recovery-week-guide/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-newsletter-96&utm_content=top-tips-1

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I recently had a recovery week in the plan, but Plan Builder scheduled it there right after a one week trip with no training. Itā€™s kind of odd behavior by Plan Builder ā€“ I didnā€™t really need more recovery (though granted not all trips are vacations, and not all vacations are stress-free).

At first I tried to ā€œmoveā€ the following training block up a week, but thatā€™s not really possible anymore. And if you make changes and at some point hit ā€œupdateā€, Plan Builder will just re-instate its old rest week.

Ultimately I just left it as is, but when it came time to train I picked a harder workout from TrainNow. The world didnā€™t spin off its axis or anything. It was OK.

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Not sure if this is an anomaly or there is a reason for it but the FTP estimate I got the first day of training coming out of the rest week was actually 4 watts higher than the one I got (and then deleted) on the first day going into the rest week. Following an AT structured program and in a build phase.

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Thatā€™s a question best directed to support@trainerroad.com since they have all the data that we donā€™t here.

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Not a question, just an observation related to the discussion in this thread.