Just turned 63 and finishing a ramp up transition plan. Main goal is to lose baggage (w/ sleep & diet plans) also. Do I get better results with General Fitness or Mountain Fondo? I still have the fire to train/ride/race but when mid 50’s hits, your body changes in many ways ; acid reflux, fat storage in places you don’t authorize, metabolism.
Now just trying to affect those factors I can change. Wahoo is awesome!
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Welcome @Dano !
I think that either the General Fitness/All Purpose Road plan or the Mountain Fondo will give you good results. If you have some races or events on your schedule, pick the one that matches best.
Also, if one of the plans is more interesting or appealing to you in some way, then you’ll be more likely to stick to it, so will get better results.
Welcome!
My two cents for what it is worth.
All purpose road on low volume was a good plan (varied, challenging, I saw improvements and my compliance rate was pretty good) and if you chose it I doubt you’d regret it.
Mountainous gran Fondo (chosen because it suited my upcoming event) was fun for the first few weeks (varied and challenging) but I only did 5 weeks of the plan. My cautionary tale would be to beware too much to quick. I went from low volume to mid volume and that crushed me, by week 4/5 I was starting skip workouts due to fatigue.
So chose what suits your goals but beware setting an overly ambitious plan. You can always drop an extra ride in or do an “extra shot” (very fun video) but following a plan that is too hard will creep up on you and suck the enjoyment out exercise.
Hope that helps, enjoy the journey 
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I did both plans last year, found all around plan to be more intense, understandably. I did not adjust hours from high to med which also elevated fatigue by Thursday’s plans. I will go 2:1 from 3:1 which should promote recovery regardless of plan. Older athletes seem to be guided to more HIIT (short and intense) and away from long sustained high bpm efforts. Historically, long-slow was always the way to burn fat.
Therein, pun intended, lies the rub.
I’ll be 70 next month and find I mainly need more recovery in a plan. I previously did high volume 3:1 plans and found that I’d get to a point where I couldn’t complete a hard workout and needed another day or two of recovery. I’d delay that workout and extend the remainder of the plan by that day or two. I’d continue until I hit another wall, take additional recovery and do that again. My feeling in the past was that I needed more recovery interspersed in the plan rather than going to 2:1. This time I’m going to try high volume MTB Enduro plan at 2:1 and see how that goes.
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…addressing ballast reduction. For me, what’s worked best is concentrating on getting weight loss going and keeping workouts easy. It’s tough/complicated to lose weight and fuel properly for serious training. Once I’m in the weight loss groove, I’ll gradually increase training load, being sure to fuel properly before tougher workouts. It’s no good doing a workout and then eating those calories afterward. Need to eat them before.
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I can confirm it is a VERY narrow line to fuel for training and to drop weight, especially when older. I ended up with RED-S last time. This time I’m working with a nutritionist and it is HARD. Not just about calories in/out but also macros and timing. It is HARD.
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I appreciate your input, it confirms my experience. I’m trying to say it’s hard without whining. I know there is no easy answer, there doesn’t seem to be much guidance about the 50,60+ groups. Let’s keep plugging!
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I turned 64 and agree; everything(!) Is hard now:
o Excess baggage
o Starting your BMX career because your 6yr old grandson calls you out.
o Double black diamond slopes.
o Peak power
o Sustained power
o AC power
o Long rides
o Rembering where you put your keys (sorted - I just leave them in the 1985 truck now)
o A decent gift that doesn’t hint at being old for your spouse of 42 years.
I’d agree with others here on not trying a higher volune with a 3:1 ratio. Ride as much as you can and importantly, make it enjoyable.
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