Never seem to gain much and then Fatigue seems to creep in

Hi i have been using Trainer Road on and off for a few year, and have committed to it since April doing a low volume training. I done my FTP, and my initial FTP was 153.

I did overdo April a little including some Zwift, so backed off a little doing hardly any zwift.

I completed my first set of training, and then had to do my next FTP and i scored 160 in June. Since a short while after then i have been struggling to complete all my training scheduled.

In April, May i had been doing over 350TSS on Average, but since June have lacked ‘energy’ and have been struggling.

I guess im asking is there a way i can ‘fluke’ the ramp test which them makes me overtrain?

Im just getting really frustrated at i seem to have 3 good week and then i hit wall and cant complete them. I thought sticking to TR session would stop me overtraining but it doesnt not seem to help?

You intimate you use TR on and off. But have started trying structure but hit a wall. If you are doing Low Volume Base. Then the wheels should not come off. As above its just likely you had tested high. So Adjust down 5% and work on developing your Strength endurance. Do Base 1 and a base 2 - 12 weeks of Sweetspot and see how you feel then.
I would say the 8 minute and 20 min FTP tests take a lot of controlled pacing effort. I have done both and they virtually give me identical FTP, But i know my current FTP and set my effort according to that when doing the other 2 type of FTP test… But Find them tough.

Low volume plans compensate lack of volume with high intensity. If recovery is an issue, maybe you’re better off with longer slow rides to build base. You can check out Traditional Base with highest volume that you can allocate per week. Do not be alarmed by missing intensity. Did 6 week block focused on Z2 rides only and suddenly started breaking power PRs in sprint durations that I never trained for while starting from traffic lights in city.

Also, you can switch to different loading/recovery weeks pattern. Like 3 weeks of increasing load and 4th week for recovering. See Alternate Sweet Spot Base, Work : Recovery Week Layout

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Don’t forget what you do off the bike is equally important.

  1. How is your diet? Eating whole foods? Trying to generally eat healthy?

  2. Rest. Are you getting consistent quality sleep at night? This is probably the single most important recovery metric to get a hold on.

  3. Other activity off the bike. Demanding physical job?

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