YEARLY TRAINING PLAN
One of the most common coaching questions is, "When should I start your training for next year?"
Using a Periodization schedule incorporating Transition, Preparation, Base 1, 2, 3, Build, followed by Taper and Peak Race Phase, the minimum period to prepare for their first Peak of the year is 19 weeks—almost 5 months!
I prefer a 27-week schedule starting October 1st and ending in early May.
Below is an outline to help you better understand when to start training for next season and a blueprint for their first Peak Race.
It's a comprehensive program with many technical elements and terms.
Most riders want a two-peak season with the most prominent Peak at the end. The program below is organized with that idea, with the first Peak coming in early May. Maintaining Peak Fitness for up to three weeks is possible, but I would like to consider this first Peak just an early-season "starter" to see how things are progressing.
In that respect, the recommendation below will take you to March, the beginning of most racing seasons and the start of the Build Phases. This Training Plan does not include specific Build 1, Build 2, Peak, or Race Phase workouts, but this overview describes the Phases for your information.
The Transition starts in October.
Usually, there is a scheduled break from training completely with time off, followed by a couple of Transition weeks of light training after a late or in-season peak. Numerous studies have suggested that riders will only lose about 10% of fitness when taking 14 days completely off, so the maximum time away from the bike should be no longer.
If you take four complete weeks off the bike, you can lose up to 20% of your in-season fitness, which can take some time to regain. Unless you have trained for over 10,000 miles during the year, you don't take more than two weeks off. Most riders have mental burnout that is much more significant than their fitness burnout.
During the transition phase, it comes down to just riding your bike. Group riders are also great options, as long as they don't turn into races! Power and Heart rate should be limited to Endurance levels.
Preparation is the 4 weeks in November.
In general, start cross-training, weights, and slightly structured bike rides. Remember that the name implies what you are trying to accomplish during Preparation. During this phase, weekly hours are greater than Transition but far from the volume of the coming sections of Base.
Weight training is introduced and is purely adapted to the weight room, so do not overdo it, as it will lead straight to injury!
During the Preparation Phase, most riders under Category 2 level should spend about 8 hours on the bike, and riders above this level may choose to train up to 12 hours.
Athletes are limited to no higher than the top of Tempo Zone Z3a Heart Rate in Preparation, which should only be touched briefly in training!
The main goals are adapting to regular training protocols and weight training.
Overview
Volume – Small to Medium amount of time
Intensity – Easy workouts
Frequency Road – Small amount of workouts
Frequency Weights – Small to Medium amount of workouts
Base 1 is the 4 weeks of December.
Base 1 is the 4 weeks of December.
The volume starts to increase during the Base 1 Phase, which focuses on increasing Endurance output and building a broad base.
Weight Training comprises harder Maximum Power-style workouts, making Base 1 challenging but possible.
Remember to do just what is necessary, as there are enough Christmas Superstars!
Intensity efforts mainly consist of Aerobic Endurance Power Zone Z2b efforts, which help increase speed, power, and neuromuscular transmission at the top of your endurance output. Thus, they provide the base work for upcoming Tempo Power Z3b Intervals and later stages of higher threshold intensity workouts.
An Endurance Power Interval Z2b starts with 30 minutes of intensity within an average upper Endurance Power Zone Z2b power and heart rate. Add 15 minutes to the Endurance Power Z2b Interval time each week, but keep in mind the total should be no more than 50% of the ride time. Depending on the Category level, one would want to build up to 1 hour or more in this Base 1 phase.
During the effort, the goals are to build a high average base speed, maintain a 90 cadence, and stay entirely within the prescribed Heart Rate and Power Zone of Endurance Power Z2b.
Endurance Power Intervals are both Power and Heart Rate-based, with both aspects equally important. (Don't enter Tempo Zone Z3a as an average Heart Rate number.) You know these Interals are working when your power increases and your Heart Rate lowers.
The faster you can ride within the Aerobic Endurance Zone directly affects the faster speeds you can maintain in all other higher zones.
During the Base 1 training phase, the primary goals are to increase Endurance, Endurance Power, efficiency, and economy, build a wide training base, increase saddle time, and increase weight training to increase maximum power.
Overview
Volume – Medium amount of time
Intensity – Medium workouts
Frequency Road – Medium amount of workouts
Frequency Weights – Medium amount of workouts
Base 2 is the 4 weeks of January.
Volume increased over Base 1 with continued work on Endurance Power Z2b and the introduction of some Tempo Power Zone Z3b Intensity work to increase Muscular Endurance and build for upcoming more complex Intensities.
Weight training elements include Explosive Power training, where you work on pushing the weights quickly with explosive bursts to increase your Maximum Power.
The Tempo Power Z3b Interval session lasts 30 minutes and builds up to 1 or more hours, during which you stay entirely within Tempo Zone Z3b Heart Rate and Power Zone. The same goals apply to this interval session as the Endurance Power Z2b session: build a high average speed, maintain 90 cadences, and stay within the prescribed zone. If your Power increases and your Heart Rate lowers, you are doing Tempo Power Z3b correctly.
During this training phase, the primary goals are to increase Endurance and saddle time over Base 1. Tempo Intervals open other pathways, and weight training works to increase Explosive Power.
Overview
Volume – Medium amount of time
Intensity – Medium to Medium Hard workouts
Frequency Road – Medium to Great amount of workouts
Frequency Weights – Medium amount of workouts
Base 3 is the 4 weeks in February.
The highest volume during the season may occur with workout times reaching up to 7 hours for higher Category riders, with continued base-building Endurance introduction of Tempo Change efforts and start of Functional Threshold Power (FTP) workouts.
Weight Training may contain elements of Muscular Endurance, where you try to increase the ability to maintain powerful motions in range of motion and time. For most riders, this is the time to start tapering down your efforts, depending on when your season starts, and design programs to maintain Strength.
The "standard" Functional Threshold Power Zone Z5a workout is the 2x20-minute Interval. Start by doing 20 minutes at Lactate Threshold, then ride in Recovery Zone 1 for about 10 minutes. Follow the Recovery by another 20 minutes at LT. There are other ways to build Threshold; the coaching plans have more creative options.
Riders in most areas of the country must do these efforts indoors because it's too cold outside! Trainers provide a stable, solid, and measured performance resistance, helping greatly for these efforts. Increase your average speed and Wattage each week to become more powerful and economical.
Once again, these threshold intervals aim to increase average speed, build higher Functional Threshold Power (FTP), and increase tolerance for perceived exertion at LT. They also extensively prepare you for racing, but only after the proper base building of Endurance and Tempo Sessions.
This training phase's primary goals are to increase saddle time even more over Base 2 with some of the longest training days of the winter, continue tempo intervals, start Threshold Intervals to prepare for the upcoming season, and increase muscular Endurance. Weight training may taper off for some riders with busy race schedules, while others may work to increase Muscular Endurance.
Overview
Volume – Maximum amount of time
Intensity – Medium Hard to Hard workouts
Frequency Road – Great amount of workouts
Frequency Weights – Small or Medium amount of workouts
Build 1 and Build 2 are the 8 weeks of March and April.
Volume decreases during the Build Phase as Intensity increases. Racing starts, and it's possible to get your prescribed intensity efforts from these events. Remember that these races are not the World Championships and should all be considered "training races" and lower-priority events.
Most weight Workouts will have ended in Base 3, but for some looking to increase overall Strength, this would be the time to taper down to efforts designed to maintain levels.
Specific Workouts related to increasing your Weaknesses and Limitations should be the main focus of your Interval Sessions during this phase. If you found that the winter could have been more kind to you in Endurance Power, Temp, or Lactate Threshold works, it's time to design specifically tailored workouts to work on these aspects. Hill workouts, Max Power Sprints, Tempo Change, Cadence, and other efforts atypical at this time of year should be included.
My main goals are to continue increasing Threshold Interval performance numbers, reflect on my current racing fitness, results, goals, strategies, and tactics, and design specific workouts during Build to help me prepare for the upcoming Peak Race Phase.
Overview
Volume – Medium amount of time
Intensity – Hard to Tough workouts
Frequency Road – Medium amount of workouts
Frequency Weights – Small or no amount of workouts
Taper is the first 1 to 2 weeks of May.
The Taper Phase is the time to lower your volume and intensity and participate in fewer races to prepare for your upcoming Peak event or events. Don't go crazy and try to make up for lost training days over the past two months, as this will only make your upcoming event go less than expected. You have spent loads of time preparing, so do not waste all those efforts on being silly!
The primary goals are to taper down all aspects of training and racing to prepare for upcoming Races.
Overview
Volume – Small amount of time
Intensity – Easy workouts
Frequency Road – Small to medium amount of workouts
Frequency Weights – No amount of workouts
Peak Race Phase – May and beyond
It's time to meet your goals for the year, and during the Peak Phase, simple workouts will keep you fit and focused. Efforts will be shorter and last only a few hours on the bike overall.
Testing
It's crucial to start a coaching program by setting baseline metrics.
Tests include Wattage Maximum efforts, which are Wmax (absolute maximum power), Wmam.5 (5-second power), Wmax 1 Minute, Wmax5 Minute, and Wmax20. The latter is used to set your FTP using a 95% scale of the Wmax20 number. Doing these tests outside is best to simulate real-world values, performance, and numbers. Indoor FTP Ramp Tests are an option, but after decades of coaching, I have found that many elite athletes' performance doesn't match the same levels as outside testing.
Then, follow up with regular testing to track your progress in each training phase. This allows for a better understanding of fitness on both a macro and micro level, allowing for adjustments. Another aspect of great importance is to use the same course and methods, such as indoor vs. outdoor, to test the metrics. It helps to eliminate variances in the overall metrics.
I hope you find this yearly training plan overview helpful.
Coach David Sommerville
