I do the same, often indoors though due to weather, and really enjoy it. I mix in some rowing on the non-plan days, so the LV POL makes for a good schedule.
@KBryan416 I appreciate you sharing this. I’m wrapping up the POL Base and was thinking about what to do next. I was thinking something similar, so I appreciate you sharing your plan.
@MrBirchling , glad to hear my testimonial has helped you, too. My foray into POL came about from another thread with the over-60 crowd discussing the POL training plans. What struck me most was the additional leeway we older athletes got in order to recover each week. Yes, I can get through 3 hard workouts in the old plans, but by week 3 or 4 of the training block I’m feeling it. My FTP may not grow as fast with POL (compared to non-POL) plans, but it grows. And, my increased fitness manifests itself during my long group rides where it’s very obvious my time to exhaustion has improved. I’m sold.
I am now in recovery week of HV POL base, and just peeked at AI FTP. Has me going up from 246 to 252, which feels right, and is a pleasant bump.
At 55 years, the reduced number of intensity days is probably a big help, but to be fair I never really felt that the 3 days of intensity for HV SSB was too much. (Always swapped Z2 ride on Sunday — am not crazy.)
Am now looking forward to HV POL build, but not WWDD at the higher setting.
@KBryan416 i just joined that over 60 club, so these threads are very top of mind. Thanks for the support.
I am quite cool with indoor rides, I can easily knock out 2 hours in Z2 on the indoor trainer. But for some weird reason 50 % — especially 50 % flat — is grating. It is weirdly uncomfortable, slightly too hard to be effortless, but not hard enough to be fun.
I suppose the question for you is whether your three days of intensity sees better gains than two days of intensity. Plus whether the gains translate into real ones outside.
If 3 days of intensity isn’t getting you fitter than 2 days of intensity, why have a 3rd hard day when you don’t need to?
My outdoor terrain is nicely undulating with quiet meandering lanes. There are steep hills about, but it easy to avoid those so you can stay in Z2 with maybe peeking a little into low Z3 on some of the hills.
I agree with your statement, but I doubt I’ll ever have enough solid data to know. Last season was my first with TR and I did one structured season on Zwift before that. Lots of ups and downs in there.
I’m also now fueling during the ride better than before, and supplementing my protein intake. Any of these could also be the difference.
But maybe AI can see something across a larger pool…
I want to try the polarized plans next year, but not sure when I should implement them in my season.
I want to do traditional base 1,2,3 and then wondering if polarized base should go after that? Or should polarized base be a replacement for one of the traditional base periods?
Do you have a specific event that you are training for? If so, the timing of this would impact your question.
If you aren’t training for a specific event, then you could do polarized base after doing TB 1 -3, as a replacement for part of TB, prior to doing TB.
I do have some events sprinkled throughout the year, my A race would be in November.
Im was thinking, like you said TB 1-3 then Pol base; TB3 has 5 rides, with 2 sweet spot and 1 threshold. So I was thinking after that Pol base with 2 hard, 3 easy rides it would fit in nicely.
Given you have 10 1/2 - ~11 months to your A race (depending upon when in November it is), you can easily fit in 18 weeks / ~4 1/2 months of base (TB 1 - 3 at 12 weeks, Pol Base at 6 weeks). Go for it and let us know how it goes.
@KBryan416 following up from a couple of months ago. I’ve finished two rounds of Polarized Base LV and just start Polarized Build LV. I’ve boosted all of these with at least 2 additional hours of Z2 per week.
I’ve noticed two positive things. First, I’m not crashing like I did with SSB. Still have to watch my recovery, but all up, it just feels better. Second, I’ve noticed much better endurance outdoors. I’ve been mostly on the trainer for the past couple of months, partly weather related. I’ve done two outdoor rides (same ride, 2X) in the past week and I noticed my speed is up, I’m climbing better and I feel better during and after. I’m also being careful on my fueling, which of course is a factor.
While it’s only a couple of months under Polarized, it’s working very well for me. The missing piece for me was adding more endurance work, to increase volume. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year, as I feel like I’ve cracked a secret code that’s eluded me.
@MrBirchling your experience mirrors mine quite closely, especially that of the benefit of increased z2 riding. I’ve also found in the polarized build phase that I really need to imrove my supra-threshold performance, something I’ve known for a while. Next time around I plan on doing SSB-LV to improve my muscle endurance at relatively high power, then once again pick up LV polarized build to assess / improve my progress. I really like the polarized programs, and will likely stick with them as long as they’re around. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!
For the last two, three seasons (not sure anymore) I have done a polarized block before starting a training plan (that starts with sweet spot base). This has really upped my mental game for 2x16 minutes at threshold is a lot harder than 2x20 minutes at sweet spot. The extra endurance training also helped gaining fitness after the break.
@OreoCookie , that’s my thinking, too: improved endurance before jumping into sweet spot. I’m currently in polarized build, but I’m going to forgo a specialtiy phase to, instead, start SSB 1&2 —> polarized build —> specialty. Thanks for your feedback.
Question for the group. Sorry if this has already been discussed but I missed it.
I’m doing POL LV + extra Z2. I’m getting up to 8+ hours combined while currently doing POL Build.
In the recovery weeks, would you recommend backing off the extra Z2? Maybe not completely but not the full 8+ hours?
I’d appreciate thoughts on what you’ve experienced.
I take full advantage of the rest week and do not add any extra volume. When things pick up the following week, I find I’ve lost nothing, and am mentally fresh for the upcoming work.
In recovery weeks I drop Z2 volume to about 60% of my peak Z2 volume in that block. Been getting good results with that, both in terms of fatigue management and progress.
Thanks both. I appreciate your perspective. I like the mental scrub aspect of my riding, so I’ll probably do some lite extra Z2 to fill in the gaps. Shorter duration too.