need a bit of help/advice regarding the various training plans and there time scales…
did my 4DP recently and it showed up my weakness which is repeated hard efforts, which was no surprise, I frequently think I’m missing a lung when I do these sort of things but I can ride a steady pace all day long happily and always have been able to do that
so picked the suggest improvement plan, which as usual gives the 2 or 3 week plan… my query is, is this enough time to actual gain any benefit from these plans ?
my impression of such things has always been it takes more than 3 weeks, if not months to see the gain from a training programme or is this meant to be a plan that you incorporate into your normal off season training in an on/off as required/ time allows sort of schedule ?
feeling a bit lost with all this, so any advice or pointers is appreciated.
You might see some improvement depending on your fitness level, but I’d suggest you do a longer plan. Maybe the Cycling>General Fitness>All Purpose plan. Pick volume and extras depending on your personal preferences. I quite like the yoga (beginner) and do strength training outside the SYSTM so don’t include that. The plan will take your rider profile (and weaknesses) into account.
cheers for the reply AkaPete I’m generally fit, run regularly and have cycled for most of my days, lost some weight during the various lockdowns we’ve all experienced recently, but I’m trying to following the suggested plan to make gains in my weaknesses instead of picking some “other” plan that may not work on the weakness… if you get my drift… it’s more the timescales that’s confusing / I’m not understanding can you make gains in 3 weeks ??
I’m guessing that you chose a Building Blocks plan. My experience and understanding is that these are shorter plans to fill a short period or to allow a bridge between plans.
It’s important to understand that, in general, because of 4DP, all plans will improve your weakness and maintain your strengths.
I second @AkaPete in that the All Purpose plan will probably suit you very well.
Do you have a specific goal that you wish to attain?
If repeated efforts, wondering if the Crit plan might be a good choice. I was looking at it few weeks ago (repeated effort weakness here too) and it appeared to have lots of fun workouts (like Violator) that would help with that.
If it looks fun, go for it. Nothing bad will happen. Even if you’re not aiming for a crit, it will make you stronger.
But any plan will work and all purpose will include many of the same workouts AND will push you on your weakness. You don’t have to pick a plan based on your weakness—SYSTM takes care of that customization for you!
