Coach Jack - Design your own plans

[Alex]

As I mentioned “Coach Jack” believes that you can get great performance without having to kill yourself on a regular basis. Among other things, is to continually do longer and longer interval durations at a gradual mostly “easy” pace and you will improve. When you stop improving it’s time to start the next phase of your periodization.

Coach Jack (or we) do believe hard efforts have a place in performance. In races, for fun and during a peak period right before your critical events or season are all logical places.

We have now added some new progression patterns. You can see both a Sweet Spot Blocks Hard and a Threshold Blocks Hard below. You see in my EXAMPLE below the starting interval intensity is at 10 and this is week 13 so this is maximum hard. I suggest you start at level 1 and build up Some people will want to go to 11 and we can respect that but Jack will not recommend it.

If you like one of the primary Jack plan options but want to change which workout is on which day you can. Jack will still apply the best practice coaching rules to what you create.

We will consider adding new sequence patterns if anyone wants to request them. Please do.

Coach Jack allows 3 hard days a week and believes that creating plans with 4 hard days requires a very good human coach to fully monitor and make sure it’s actually a better plan than 3 hard days. Also that you have the life and recovery aptitude to handle it. Sleeping 9+ hours a night, 20-years old, great genetics… You get the idea.

In addition to custom plans, we also added ramp rate = 0 which attempts to give you consistent weekly hours but increased training stress. If your plan has long workouts they may not fit exactly in your weekly hours depending on how many days you train and how many weekly hours you have.

[gomeskiller]

Hello good afternoon.
When can you put proofs for him to calculate the best increment of work?
Thanks

[Alex]

Hello sorry, I don’t understand the question.

[Alex]

I should say generally there is very little proof of anything regarding an entire cycling training plan.

Dr Seiler for example proved that 1 hard day (VO2max) and 3 easy days(up to 80% of FTP) is better than 4 sweet spot workouts. Polarized or 80/20 in a 9-week study. SInce this is a short study, this does not prove to us that Polarized is the best plan out there but it does show that a lower TSS plan out performed a higher TSS plan, my belief is because it allowed enought time for recovery. Jack has more hard days in a week but builds in more recovery.

You can see here Aldo Sassi considered one of the greatest cycling coaches of all time had his pro cyclists doing 3 hard days a week (primarily SFR, Threshold, and long ride with climbs)

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/aldo-sassi-the-philosophy-of-coaching-1349

You can read a book like cycling bible and see that the principals jack is promoting is the same as Joe Friel is recommending

The Cyclist's Training Bible

I have met with many coaches including one of my best friends a 30-year world tour coach, that have reviewed and approved of our primary plans and Coach Jack philosophy. There is lots of “proof” that recovery days, days off and easy days are a critical component to getting fast.

Coach Jack promotes progressive overload with workouts, this is also fairly well proven in both endurance sports and strength training.

Not sure if that answers your question. If you look for “proof” from what any platform or plan offers there is very little proof other than SCIENCE THEORY or lots of people saying this made me faster… which neither are proof.

Actually if you try to research there for example is no proof that trying to maximize your TSS will make you faster. Yes it is suggested as an optimum way to training based on SCIENCE THEORY but not base on proof. I am not saying TSS is not important I am just saying there is no proof that your goal should be to maximize it. Another example is the idea of designing workouts that try to hit weak spots in your power duration curve or continuously try to get break throughs. Again it is good SCIENCE THEORY there is just no proof it works better than other programs.

There is proof for people with a minimal amount of time available to train that HIIT or Tabata workouts can produce better results than more aerobic activities. It’s hard to know exactly where that “minimal time” threshold is. Generally “experts” seem to agree if you are training under 5 hours a week one or possibly two HIIT or hard efforts like this is likely going to produce better results. So almost always is “it depends.”

Coach Jack does give time proven recommendations from a long tradition of top coaches and does his best to back up his recommendation with PROVEN SCIENCE not SCIENCE THEORY. And he does attempt to for example try not to let you progress too quickly during a build process and that includes managing TSS.

[gomeskiller]

I am a cyclist who participates in competitions. It will automatically do the workouts

[Alex]

Do you mean adaptive training like xert or TrainerRoad? No it is not adaptive at this time. If you mean will create an event specific plan? Soon it will but right now it does not.

[gomeskiller]

Hi Alex.
that’s exactly what I was referring to.
Another question!!
Why doesn’t coach Jack at the end of work analyze the cyclist’s training? This was a very important tool.
Thanks Gomes

[Alex]

We plan on working on these ideas this next year Right now we are just making improvements to Jack Plans and then we will work on Coach Jack day to day adjustments and interactions.

[gomeskiller]

Hi Alex!
Yes I hope the soft is at the level of the best on the market.
Because, when analyzing the training, it can give the athlete an alternative to lower the power because he is tired or increase if he is well. So also when placing the tests to give the athlete the peak of form and give better advice on what training to do! grandfondo 142 km with 2,600 accumulated. In this type of competition, for example, give the best training. Hope this helps

[Alex]

Yes exactly!!! The last 4-8 weeks before the event should be event specific training and a small taper. So we only have “a plan” right now but we need to add multiple blocks.

Base + Build + Peak for event or season specific goals. This will be coming later in the winter.

But yes later it will be more dynamic and change as you change.

[gomeskiller]

Yes Alex! I’m going to ask the question, because I don’t know if I can!! When placing the test, depending on the type, can he apply the best training? Another thing that should be implemented was, when analyzing the training, to recognize fatigue and immediately ask questions to change the training

[Alex]

Yes 100% exactly, or if he can’t recognize it to just ask. How are you feeling? Or How did that ride feel? Seems like you did not complete your intervals… But monitoring TSB (Training Stress Balance) is also good way to pay attention.

[gomeskiller]

Thanks Alex.
I look forward to the improvements you will make. I had a coach and I gave up to see if Coach Jack satisfies my training for the season and if I can improve.

[Alex]

We really appreciate good coaches and don’t see Jack as a replacement to a good coach but we do see him going the route of being a better alternative than a bad coach and also being a “coach” for people that are not willing to pay for a human coach.

I am sure you know this but if you have a local human coach that can watch you and make suggestions and you can talk to on a regular basis that can be very valuable but also usually very expensive.

[gomeskiller]

I’m sure Alex you’re going to do an excellent job on jack. By getting various opinions not only from me but from other users. You’ll be able to get as real as possible to a human trainer.
Thank you and a hug from Portugal