Curious - is it typical to have your power dip during a new training plan ?
I’m in week 5 of a 12-week custom plan ; since starting the plan, my power has been consistently 5-10% lower than normal while doing full-throttle efforts like Zwift races. My 20 minute power averages have gone from 3.9-4.0 w/kg pre-plan to more like 3.6-3.7 w/kg.
My volume has increased – pre-plan, I was typically riding 4 days a week and lifting 3 (weekly TSS between 200 and 500) ; I’m now riding 6 or 7 days a week and lifting 3 (weekly TSS 200-300 during rest weeks and more consistently around 450 during work weeks.) Coach had dialed ime back to 2 lifting days / week, but each lifting day was feeling brutal at that volume. Body felt happier sticking to 3.
I’m not too concerned about it - this is my first structured training plan, though, so I don’t have any points of comparison. Just wondering if this type of power slump is typical when increasing volume ?
I do not have a huge experience with training plans, but i see the same results as you.
When i cycle a lot, i feel that my max power, as well as my overall endurance drops.
I consider this typical because, the fewer rest days you have, the less time your body has to recover,
which means that you always start the next workout without being adequately recovered.
Just keep in mind that the more stress you put on your body, the higher the chance is to get injured.
Some people can handle more, some can handle less.
You can discuss this with your coach.
The important part is to, somehow , enjoy it.
When I’m doing a structured training plan I avoid things like Zwift racing, which tend to add a lot of extra fatigue. Does your custom plan allow for these additional high stress efforts?
Hey - as you’re on a custom plan - this is def one for the coach at your next session.
Everyone’s different is the caveat to everything - only your coach will know what you can maintain. So this is with a pinch of salt:
Riding 6-7 days a week for 3 weeks and doing three lifting days every week - just sounds a lot. If some one those weeks are 7 days a week along with 3 additional workouts (do they target legs/gluted and so on?) then your legs are being hit for a lot of hours. How many of the 7 days are true recovery days?
The lifting thing - bodies like movement - it’s just what they do - that feeling (I’m not a coach, and I don’t lift) when you dial it down to twice a week might be your body recovering and it is possible that it feeling brutal is a good thing …?
Samed with bike workouts - workouts towards the end of a recovery week can feel brutal as we’ve not been doing as much, but the end rfesult is a faster rider as the recovery time does its thing.
I’d certainly expect to be in ‘a hole’ if I was pushing that much effort throughout a week
Thanks for the replies - glad to hear my experience isn’t uncommon.
Does your custom plan allow for these additional high stress efforts?
Yes - my coach advised doing 1:1 swaps between planned workouts and race efforts of similar intensity. I’ve dialed down my Zwift racing to 1 or 2 per week to avoid getting too much of only that type of conditioning.
Riding 6-7 days a week for 3 weeks and doing three lifting days every week - just sounds a lot
It does sound like your TSS is high enough to knock the edge off your peak power. As suggested I would discuss it with your coach. I would find it very difficult to combine a structured training plan with regular weekly race events. So I tend to stick rigidly to the training plan and then let loose with a few races at the end of each training block.
, enjoy it.