I’ve newer to training. On TR since Sept. I’m not training for an event. Basically my goal is pretty generic (boost ftp//increase fitness/get faster). Not sure what best way to attack that. is it better to do a longer plan (1 year or longer) or shorter plans and change them every so often?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
I’ll bite.
I would pick some build plans after you establish a solid base. Pick the plans that target where you want to get faster. Example; if you want to improve short term speed pick the crit plan. If you want sustained speed pick the TT plan. I would move from one to the next to break it up and avoid training becoming stale. All the plans will increase your FTP.
Thanks for advice. I’ll try that
If you have any events planned at all, the “easy button” approach is using the plan builder. It will have you enter time off (vacations, etc), events (races, fondos, whatever else) and schedule a plan through the last event you enter. The plan will include base blocks (general fitness), build blocks, and the speciality blocks prior to the event (specific to event length and type - XC mountain vs fondo vs gravel, etc).
If you truly have no events in mind (even just fun events like a century or fondo), then you probably want to do a base block or two, then a build phase or two, and then a speciality phase. Then repeat. TR has different base, build, and speciality blocks based on volume/time and event type. Most blocks are 4-6 weeks, but some are longer/shorter.
Generally, you don’t want to repeat a block type over and over again - you need to return to base, build, speciality periodically to let your body adapt. But, there’s no need to schedule blocks way out in the future - do one, maybe in the last week, pick the next, etc. It really just depends how “scientific” you want to get.
Personally, since I race and do events (mostly for fun, no expectation of being competitive in most events), I just use the plan builder and add/remove events as they happen and let TR adjust my scheduled workouts as it see fit. Sometime I just want to do a sprint workouts (plan be damned) and I pick one, do it, and the plan adjusts if needed, so it all works out in the end.
I will piggy back on AlistairSH, you are always “training for something” fitness, group rides, increased AVG Speed… The list goes on and on. All training plans have a base - build - specificity aspect. Plan builder will be the easiest. I find the Gran Fondo plans to be the nicest and most well rounded. The rolling road plans seem to have a crazy amount of Anaerobic and V02 efforts so just be aware of that. Sweet Spot Base are good starts. Have fun there are countless options.
@rsiegel914 I like to always recommend utilizing the Plan Builder tool. As @Cod8825 mentioned, it’s definitely going to be the easiest way to go as it takes the guesswork out of trying to create your own plan by adding training phases to your calendar one at a time.
Aside from creating a totally custom training plan for you, Plan Builder also has the power to adapt to changes in your calendar in case you decide to add an event down the road or if you’d like to adjust your training volume along the way.Here are a few articles that might be useful in your situation:
Of course, feel free to reach out to support@trainerroad.com if you have any questions about setting up the details of a plan if you’re interested. This is what we do! 
… which is just what you need for short, punchy climbs or responding to attacks. Race specificity. 
Thanks for the info. definitely, like the idea of shorter plans and changing those up over time. I believe that will keep it fresh and keep me motivated.
The one question I do have, is do you recommend any training breaks between plan changes. Is that more beneficial than going directly from plan to the next.
Again, I’m not training for anything specific except fitness.
definitely need to do more research. Everyone has given me a lot to think about. comfort level improving. great links.
Thanks much
I don’t know how long you’ve been riding but, if you don’t have any goal events that you are training towards you have all the freedom to experiment. Why not give one of the base plans a go and re-assess after a month or so and see how you like it and go from there? The danger of not having a goal event from my experience is that it can be easy to lose motivation. Especially if the weather starts getting nicer, it gets a lot easier to opt for an outside group or solo ride rather than staying holed up in your pain cave. Of course, I don’t know your circumstances, but just a thought. Good luck with whatever you choose but I encourage you choose a plan and see how it works for you and keeping it fluid.
That’s effectively what the plan builder with Gran Fondo as the discipline would give you.
Not at all, don’t you need an event date for a plan?
@oldandfast , no event date is needed. When you are setting up your plan in PB at the point where it asks you what you are training for, you can say “I’m not training for an event”, at which point it still gives you the option to choose what you want to specialize in…
Choosing Gran Fondo at this point then sets you up for the proper build and specialty blocks (sustained power and century respectively)
So pick the XC discipline. That’s why you get to pick! Good grief!
Yes, I understood wrong.
