4 week training program... Then what?

Daroxtar

I'm starting one of the Strava training plans this week. I'm going to give it a good lash. I'm not expecting miracles but hopefully I'll set a few PRs.
My question is this- once I've completed the block what should I do to maintain the progress? Do the same block again or try a different one or what? I'm not racing or aiming to peak for an event, just improve a bit and not lose it again.

Edit: Forgot to mention. It's the 30 minute hill climb plan.

AmberGold

Have you a hill event coming up?

Given the time of year you might be better off with some structured base training that will take you into next year.

ford2600

Daroxtar wrote: »

I'm starting one of the Strava training plans this week. I'm going to give it a good lash. I'm not expecting miracles but hopefully I'll set a few PRs.
My question is this- once I've completed the block what should I do to maintain the progress? Do the same block again or try a different one or what? I'm not racing or aiming to peak for an event, just improve a bit and not lose it again.

Edit: Forgot to mention. It's the 30 minute hill climb plan.

It all seems pretty random, why did you choose that plan?

It involves 5 sessions per week, so your going from 1/2 sessions to 5?

You'd probably get good answers if you gave a bit more detail;
1. How long are you cycling?
2. Age and previous athletic participation prior to cycling
3. Goals, where do you want to be next summer? Doing 100 mile sportives at your ease, club league racing etc
4. Are you in a club? Is joining one a possibility?
5. How much time have you to spare each week.

Whatever answers you get back(I can't really give detailed advice as I just train at moment with long distance in mind which is probably not what you are after) keep the following in mind
* Listen to your body when you up training, when you are tired/fatigued ask why and see do you need more active rest and or better sleep.
* Learn to eat well and make sure you get the appropiate nutrients you need
* Being strong in general will benefit you on bike(or any other athletic pursuit) so use your physical work as an aid while keeping in mind need to rest well
* Get more flexible, work out your mobility. @transform who posts on fitness forum has some brilliant stuff on mobility(and diet for that matter) on his website http://www.dominicmunnelly.ie/?s=mobility. Foam roller and a mat and off you go
* Going uphill is easier the lighter you are, no fooling Newton!
* Keep enjoying the bike, if looking at numbers becomes a drain, turn the fcuking thing off and enjoy being out on your bike. The last few long rides I've done garmin has been in the pannier for most of it

Daroxtar

More info - I chose that one as I'm not the best climber. My weekly cycling consists of an hour or two turbo midweek and 3-4 hours on the road at the weekends. I usually head for the hills around Dublin on a Sunday for a few hours. There's some kind of pain/pleasure thing going on with me.

Bohernabreena/Ballinascorney takes me around a half hour. Stocking Lane up to the featherbeds about the same. Piperstown, Kippure etc, all in or around the 20-30 minutes mark for me. 30 minute climbing plan seems about right for me now. I figure there's no harm in trying a structured plan with roughly the same amount of time rather than just spinning around.
I also managed to free up a few extra evenings so I can actually do the plan. I'd be on the bike every day if I had the chance but work commitments have been in the way.

My base fitness isn't that bad. For an idea of where I'm at, I did the Reservoir Dog sportive last week 125km/2000m climbing. Didn't break any records but didn't collapse or anything either.

I do enjoy my cycling, I fking love it TBH.
I don't stare endlessly at the garmin when I'm out, jut keep an eye on the HR so I don't calve halfway up a hill.
I'm just aiming to improve a bit and don't want to lose the gains I make (if I make any) by doing the wrong thing once I come to the end of this particular session.

Ryder

Daroxtar wrote: »

More info - I chose that one as I'm not the best climber. My weekly cycling consists of an hour or two turbo midweek and 3-4 hours on the road at the weekends. I usually head for the hills around Dublin on a Sunday for a few hours. There's some kind of pain/pleasure thing going on with me.

Bohernabreena/Ballinascorney takes me around a half hour. Stocking Lane up to the featherbeds about the same. Piperstown, Kippure etc, all in or around the 20-30 minutes mark for me. 30 minute climbing plan seems about right for me now. I figure there's no harm in trying a structured plan with roughly the same amount of time rather than just spinning around.

My base fitness isn't that bad. For an idea of where I'm at, I did the Reservoir Dog sportive last week 125km/2000m climbing. Didn't break any records but didn't collapse or anything either.

I do enjoy my cycling, I fking love it TBH.
I don't stare endlessly at the garmin when I'm out, jut keep an eye on the HR so I don't calve halfway up a hill.
I'm just aiming to improve a bit and don't want to lose the gains I make (if I make any) by doing the wrong thing once I come to the end of this particular session.

Our fitness levels aren't all that different and I do similar training, goals. The difficulty will be trying to stay at peak fitness all season...I presume the plan has lots of intervals but it's difficult and boring doing that all year.

I'd suggest picking some events next year and aiming to peak for those. This time I'd stuck with the weekend spins and look at doing some weights or circuits over the winter to improve overall conditioning

Daroxtar

So maybe I should be asking is this plan designed to make me peak in 4 weeks and that's it for now, or is it going to bring me to a level I can continue to slowly improve on over the winter and into next year? I'm fairly sure I have loads of room left for improvement.

I'm going ahead with it anyway just to see how it goes for me. Sure getting a bit of training in won't do any harm.