I’m currently in the middle of a 13-week Coach Jack plan that builds from about 6.5 hours per week up to 11 hours. My main goal is to increase my FTP — I know you’ve mentioned before that it’s better to train for events rather than chasing FTP numbers, but I don’t really join races or events.
For me, my “event” is the weekly group ride. With the help of structured training through TrainerDay, I can already drop most of my friends… which feels great! lol That said, a few naturally strong riders (who don’t have any structured training and doesn’t ride regularly) still give me trouble, and they keep me motivated to keep improving.
I’m now thinking long-term and trying to figure out how to approach progression between seasons, especially since I’m already close to my maximum available training time.
Here are a few questions I’d really love your insight on:
Should I build the next season on top of the volume from this one (e.g., start at 11 hours and go even higher)?
I’m concerned that this would lead to unsustainable training weeks of 15–20 hours in future seasons, which I simply don’t have time for.
If I start the next season again at 6.5–7 hours/week, will that cause detraining in the early weeks?
I still want to make forward progress without taking steps backward between seasons.
What do you recommend for someone like me, already near their time cap, but still wanting to improve?
Should I stay within my current volume range and just increase intensity or change the interval structure each season?
How do I best use Coach Jack for multi-season planning like this?
Should I be building a new plan each season with different focuses (e.g., more Sweet Spot or Threshold work), or is there a smarter way to make Coach Jack adapt over time without increasing volume too much?
Thanks in advance! TrainerDay has been a huge help in my progress so far, and I’m excited to see how far I can go with smart planning.
If it works now, do the same with your new (higher) FTP. At some point, it will no longer work and you will reach a plateau. Then it’s time to inteligently change your plan. Increasing volume is almost always beneficial. Increasing intensity depends on how good you can recover.
Sounds like you are enjoying the rewards of your hard work. Rightly so!
Certainly try to maintain the volume. Eleven hours per week is sufficient to continue to make solid progress.
I am sure Coach Jack will do a great job for you next year, as it has this year. Here are some things I would keep in mind:
If your event is the weekly group ride, think about the route(s) that ride takes and consider how to align your training to match the requirements of the route and those folks that still give you trouble.
For instance, if you are fading versus them near the end of the ride, think about how you improve endurance / durability. If you are suffering versus them on short hard climbs, think about how you train that.
Within the eleven hours, there is likely a benefit of doing one ride per week that is longer in duration than the group ride. As Dr Seiler says, a lot happens in the 3rd and 4th hours of a long ride that doesn’t happen sooner.
Commit sufficient time to continue developing your aerobic base. Good Zone 2 / MAF rides.
Don’t get hung up just on FTP. In certain portions of any training plan, you will be working on other important aspects of your fitness and will see your FTP stay flat, or even decrease. That’s OK.
Work on other aspects of your riding that will improve your performance in the weekly group rides. Your own efficiency. Reading the group and individuals in it so that you can better predict what will happen and when. Be a good rider in the bunch too: sure dish out some pain from time to time (!), but help new riders to develop and enjoy their rides too.
I like to include a video in many of my posts. Here is one that seems apt for this topic. Anthony Walsh of Roadman Podcast talking about aspects of his own training, including cutting his volume in half
These are some very good topics of attention. FTP alone isn’t telling the whole story, contrary to what general belief is insinuating.
If you can increase capacity around FTP, then you will be more performant even with the same or slightly lower FTP. Simply because you can go longer at those intensities or you can repeat them more or faster then the others.
That said, a few naturally strong riders (who don’t have any structured training and doesn’t ride regularly) still give me trouble, and they keep me motivated to keep improving.
I agree. If it works don’t change it. I will respond more later.