I’m fairly new to cycling training and using a smart trainer.
A little history, 36 Male, 5’11, 90kg, history of recreational sports including basketball in teens, weight training, ice hockey and most recently Olympic weightlifting. I’ve used what bikes in guns fir short hiit sessions to support all types of training through the years.
A friend sold me his old carrera bike and shoes and told me about zwift and I gave it a go. Been on a few longer rides alone (30-40 miles) and 5 miles to they gym and back 4 times a week before they shut. I’ve always been a power sports type person with my cardio never bring what I would call great ( power isn’t great either lol).
I really want to get into track riding and have been in touch with a local outdoor velodrome to find out when I can get down to try it out. No chosen discipline but it seems attractive to me.
I know for sprints that gym work is vital and that is something I am more than familiar with but what is new to me is cycling training and how to approach that side of things including needing to do a fair bit of the training in my shed on a direct drive trainer.
I’ve done a ramp test in zwift and a 4dp test ftp came out the same (I went for The 4dp as I had a feeling that my short power was higher than my ftp and felt short intervals were too easy). Anyway, numbers are 1050, 420, 264, 220 and I have no idea where to go once I finish the base blocks tempo (4 weeks) I am almost finished.
My ftp seems close to vo2 so do I push that next? Push ftp a little more first? Focus on AC as it’s likely to be a bigger factor for sprints? Just work in being rounded by picking one of each focus areas for a work out each week?
Most of the stuff I read on here and other indoor trainer forums etc is very much focused on endurance and being new to cycling I’m not sure the right “road” to walk regarding the best training.
By the way, the tempo 4 week did have challenging workouts but so far at the end if week 3, nothing was unmanageable