TR Newbie plan adaptation question

Training
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Hi

I’m new to TR and have started out on the low vol sweet spot base training (and signed up to adaptive training).

The plan has me down to do 2 x 60 mins and 1 x 90 mins per week but I would prefer to do 4 x 60 mins, as I don’t like doing 90 mins indoor.

Can I manually modify the plan and assuming I stick above the prescribed weekly TSS for the cumulative rides, will I still make the same progress or should I bite the bullet and just man up to do the 90 min session.

Any advice is appreciated.

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Hi Chris (and welcome to TR :slight_smile:)

longer workouts have their benefits, as they provide higher stress “density”, in particular for those workout which are attempting to have you work once you have depleted your anaerobic capacity.

That said, if you really don’t like them, it’s your training plan, you do what you want :slight_smile:, what works for you.

If instead you want to give it a try (you can always change things up later), here’s a couple suggestions:

  1. try outdoor workouts! If you have a power-meter it’s easier, but you can do them by RPE too (it just requires a bit of practice). I love riding outdoor, it feels easier and more motivating to me, so if I can squeeze it in my schedule, I’ll take outdoor any time
  2. Bring your own entertainment: listen to a podcast, watch a bike race video… whatever works for you. It’s going to help time pass by quicker and you’ll go through those 90 minutes without even realizing (except for the pain, that’s just part of the package). I personally use Zwift (with TR controlling the trainer) and listen to music (podcasts only work for endurance for me, above that I can’t focus…)
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Hi Giacomo

Thanks for the advice, I think I’ll give the 90 min a go then as I want to maximise the benefit of the TR program.
I’m not a fan of Zwift any longer, had too many technical issues with their buggy software over the past couple of years and have vowed not to give them anymore of my money.
I’ll maybe give some of the race vids a go as a distraction to the boredom that inevitably sets in after an hour (for me).
the option of taking the rides outside would be great (as I love riding outside) but I’ve never been able to successfully hold a workout to plan on the road, as inevitably hills/descents appear at the most inappropriate times.

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You should try nevertheless :wink:
I through the same: “how on earth would I be able to keep compliant with the workout prescriptions?”

And then I found a climb that give me ~5 minutes uninterrupted VO2max and that I can go back at the bottom of during a regular rest between intervals; then a piece of flat road, not very car-dense, that I can loop and allow me to do steady power stuff with good compliance (remember it doesn’t matter if you stop pedalling a few seconds to turn around, unless the interval is like, 1 minute long or such)…
Over time I’ve built my “library” of roads that I can pick from. I still miss longer climbs (because they are far from home) and so I do those workouts indoor, but I keep looking :wink:
And then of course it’s indoor across the winter and for workouts that are very specific and just unmatchable off the trainer :slight_smile:

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I’ve not done it my myself but you could look at the ‘Alternatives’ for the 90min session (specifying you want a 60min session) and use ‘Train Now’ to suggest another 60 min session another day. With Adaptive Training and Progression Levels I think the system will be able to process that and let you progress.

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One thing you could do is adjust the workout through the Alternates feature, which allows you to select a workout of different length, but similar benefits.

workout alternates
workout alternates1057×856 109 KB

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Appreciate all the great comments and advice, @GiacomoRz @HLaB @mcalista :+1: