The app can give you a complete list of workouts sorted by NM emphasis.
On the top of the workout list there is a drop down in the middle of the sorter bar.
If you click on it and select NM you will get the workouts sorted by NM emphasis.
You can also get similar sorts for AC, MAP, and FTP.
Nice goals! Maybe check out the Mountain/Hilly Grand Fondo plan as it seems designed for a longer distance than the MTB plan. I also did the Volcano Climbing special focus session recently (only 4 weeks) and it definitely helped me improve on climbing. Good luck!
@SteveW,
Agree with @JSampson here. Volcano climbing is a great way to give your climbing strength a nice boost, but the Mountainous Hilly Gran Fondo would be a great plan to incorporate the distance component as well.
Best of luck and have fun with it!
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback!
Thanks for the feedback! I’m really enjoying the Sufferfest program. It has me smiling throughout the pain! 
Would you say that, on average, gym strength workouts (squats, deadlifts, etc) add a lot more stress than the Suf strength workouts? I’ve been trying to do gym strength and Suf bike workouts but finding it to be too much and needing much more recovery. Debating between switching to Suf strength or keeping the gym workouts and reducing the bike training. Thanks!
Yes, gym workouts with added loads most certainly add a considerable amount of stress and fatigue as compared to the SUF strength sessions that utilize only your bodyweight. I don’t think one or the other is better in absolute terms, as individual factors make all the difference, but one can be better or worse at certain times and in consideration with your other training stressors. You absolutely need more recovery if you’re doing loaded strength sessions. The winter/off-season is a good time to reduce your cycling intensity and focus on strength, however you like to do it. If you’re someone who likes to do events or races, however, you’d want to gradually shift your emphasis from the gym to the bike and train more specifically as you get closer to your events, and then you could use the SUF Strength sessions to maintain. A lot of athletes who have significant experience in the gym really enjoy that type of strength training and can benefit from inserting a phase of loaded strength in the off-season. The hormonal response from a challenging strength session can be a powerful and advantageous thing, both mentally and physically, and especially if you’re a very experienced cyclist or triathlete and find that making further improvements is getting more difficult. Introducing a more challenging strength routine could be enough to help break you out of a plateau or stimulate a new adaptation.
Thank you Coach Suzie, that’s a very helpful answer and appreciate you coming onto the forums to help! No wonder I’ve been feeling so wrecked all the time…
You’re welcome. I’ve been there, whether knowingly and done on purpose (which I have, and was wrecked all the time), or otherwise, I know how you feel!
Hello @Coach.Suzie.S, first of all, happy new year!
I just realized there is an Upper Body workout. I’d be interested in giving that one a go. How do you suggest this one be incorporated within the regular STR plan?
Thanks!
Juan A.
Happy New Year @Juanale81!
The best way to incorporate the upper body strength session into your program would be to swap it for session A one week, then session B the next week. Session A is generally more linear movement while session B incorporates more lateral movements, so if you alternate swapping them, you’ll never completely neglect either of those sessions the way you would if you swapped it for either A or B every time. We don’t recommend adding it so that you’re doing 3 strength sessions per week because it will add extra stress and fatigue that the cycling program does not take into account. Of course, some people may be able to handle 3 sessions/week, however, that would be a very individualized prescription, and we don’t have the resources to evaluate everyone’s situation. You’d have to make that decision on your own and recognize that you will have additional fatigue that may affect your cycling sessions.
I have just begun the ToS 6 week training plan and I have noticed that there is only one day of strength training each week and the sessions don’t incorporate anything above level 3 in the intermediate category. I have gone through all of the strength training sessions and was wondering if I should supplement the plan by either adding one more session of strength training, raising the level of training, or just trust the process as it is laid out?
Thank you!
question for all of you who both (a) appreciate the SUF Strength programs for what they are (mobility, stability, core strength and pre-hab) but also want to lift heavy: When do you do your heavy lifting?
I think i have enough in the tank to add heavy lifts in alongside the SUF strength that i’m doing in the off-season, and i’m curious for thoughts on how to approach working this in.
One option i’m toying with is to add a heavy lift either before or after each SUF strength session that i do. So a sample week might be bench + Intermediate 4A on Day 1, squat + intermediate 4B on day 4.
Would these be better done before or after the SUF session? Or a different day entirely?
Hey Suzie, I noticed the In-Season XC has 3 days of Strength a week where as the Pre-Season only has 2.
Seems backwards?
ditto @Peter_Lewis @Coach.Suzie.S anythoughts/variations that we can incorporate. I’ve been on a constant with strength plan and wouldn’t like to jeopardize with only 1 day a week for 2+ months.
Thank you for the feedback.
Hey @ErickT,
The 3rd session added in the XC In-season program is an upper body workout. Sure, it has a fair bit of trunk work in it, but it shouldn’t affect your cycling like the other sessions that are more lower body focused. If you find that it’s too much, just skip one of them, or modify it however you feel suits you best!
I understand that you want to lift heavy, and I’m glad you are continuing the SUF strength sessions in addition. I would do the heavy lifts on the same day as the SUF strength, as you’ve suggested. As for doing them before or after the SUF ride, I would stick to whatever the training plan says- certain sessions are best done before and others after. If you’re not using a training plan, as a general rule of thumb, we prefer to have people do strength first and ride after. This is mainly to prevent injury, since injury on the bike is less likely if you’re a little fatigued from strength, versus the other way around.
Lifting heavy on different days is not advised because you’d be taking away from recovery on those days, and may need to add more recovery as a result.
Thank you!
This was more a question of stacking SUF strength vs. heavy lifting. It’s kind of a judgment call because normally it probably makes sense to do heavy lifting first, but some of the SUF strength sessions require a lot of agility (i.e. the ones with lot of single-leg work) and you really do get more out of those when you are fresh.
I am thinking based on your response that the first approach to try is SUF Strength first, THEN heavy lift (with the understanding that it’ll need to be a little less heavy, which is okay)
Yes, I think you’ve nailed it.
I do upper body stuff on my recovery days and absolutely leave my legs alone on those recovery days! It is really hard to do extra work on high-intensity cycling days but that is still the better time for it.