Time for low volume but I don’t consistently have time for mid volume. However I would like to add one workout every week when possible.
Any recommendations? Just add an endurance ride? Or a SS ride? Or maybe even a VO2 ride?
What you say??
Don’t add any SS or VO2, the LV plans are loaded up with intensity to compensate for the low volume already. Long endurance ride is your best bet.
12 Likes
@Junebug this is a difficult question to answer without knowing more about you…but since this is an internet forum, I’m a bro, and you asked I’m gonna shoot from the hip and answer anyhow. 
Your instincts are good on this one…add a ride and see how you can handle it. Here’s the thing to think about, though, low volume plans are about 3 to 4 hours of work a week. Usually tue,thu,sat or something similar & between 200 to 300 TSS per week. If you add a 30 to 45 minute endurance ride on sunday that might amount to a 10% to 15% increase in training stress so on a percentage basis it can be a lot.
Don’t let that scare you away but keep it in mind. Start slow! Ha!
If you feel like you can handle that in base then continue in build & once every third week pick a workout that has a little more intensity. I would add such a workout in build week 3 or week 7. If you feel good enough to do more intensity at the end of those weeks then you do well and truly need some additional training. But if not the load of the previous week will act as a natural governor to curb your enthusiasm.
2 Likes
Sorry for not providing enough information. This is my third year of training with trainer Road. I tend to do a couple of days of strength training every week and I try to ride at least one night outside during the week on a group gravel ride and one weekend ride that can be up to four hours long. Weather permitting The weekend ride tends to be a a lower intensity ride. The weekday gravel ride tends to be higher intensity but only an hour to an hour and a half long.
What I do is add a Z2 block at the end of a workout when I fancy or have time. Sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes 30 or more.
This could be an alternative solution for weeks when the outdoor ride is not an option or if you want to add even more volume.
It sounds like you’re getting in 4-5 rides or workouts per week. If that’s the case, one option you may consider is to build out a MV plan using Plan Builder and schedule in all of your weekday gravel and weekend endurance rides as “C” events. Doing this you can arrange the days of the week for workouts in each block to align the appropriate workout with your outside rides. Example, schedule a “Difficult - 60 min” workout for the same day as your gravel ride (or Moderate if that’s a better fit) and a “Moderate - 90+ min” workout for the same day as your weekend long ride.
You may still end up with only 3 TR workouts scheduled per week, because Plan Builder will automatically substitute your “C” events for a workout, but they will likely be three workouts that complement your outside rides. And then if/when you miss an outside ride (“C” event) that you want to replace with a workout, you can reference the MV plan to see which workout Plan Builder had replaced with the event and go with that workout.
If it helps you stay on track, add a notation to that outside ride day with the name of the TR workout that was replaced. This way there’s no thinking about alternatives or letting yourself off the hook when a ride is missed. You have a plan and it’s right there for you to follow.
4 Likes
That is a fantastic idea! 
So one could also build a mid volume plan and replace a Wed or Saturday workout with an outdoor group ride then?
In theory, yes. When I want to replace specific workouts with rides, I try to match those rides closely to the workout it’s replacing to hit similar energy systems and, if I want Plan Builder to do the switch automatically, I schedule those outside rides as “C” or “B” events.
1 Like