8-week Preseason Plan - MTB XC and XCM (HR-based)
Author
Coach Jeff Winkler
All plans by this CoachLength
8 Weeks
Typical Week
1 Day Off, 6 MTB, 1 Strength
Longest Workout
5:00 hrs
Plan Specs
cycling mountain biking intermediate advanced masters hr based base period
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Summary
Includes Structured Workouts
Structured Workouts automatically sync with compatible devices and guide you through workouts in real time.
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This plan is designed for the competitor who is focusing primarily on the MTB Season: March - September. This a plan to transition you from the off-season to the early competition period. Use this plan to prepare for XC and XCM events. XC events are typically in the 1.5-2.0 hr duration and XCM events 3-4hr.
Ideally, you would begin this plan in January and complete it in March. Many locales start racing in March/April and important summer events will begin to appear on the calendar.
ORDER OF TRAINING SESSIONS:
You can adjust the order of the workouts to fit your schedule, but I don't recommend changing the order of workouts too much. I have placed them with purpose and certain workouts may be harder to complete if done in a different order.
TRAINER WORKOUTS:
Many of us are forced indoors for early season training. Not all these workouts translate well to the trainer, e.g., sprints. It is usually necessary to adjust the workout for the trainer, while still achieving the basic goal of the workout. For example, a SPRINT workout could be done as a seated maximal effort of similar duration. This will avoid most of the limitations of an indoor trainer: insufficient resistance, wheel slippage, etc.
GROUP RIDES:
If you have weekend group rides during this period, feel free to substitute. "Spirited" group rides are good substitutes for the Saturday workouts. Riding with a group on Sunday long rides can make the time go by too. The 2 major concerns are: 1) group rides are too HARD compared to the planned workout OR 2) group rides are too EASY. You will not be peaking at the end of this block, but you will be ready to race. After this block you should employ an "in-season" block that balances volume and intensity with your weekend racing schedule.
Stats
Sample Day 1
Mellow spin to loosen up legs.
Sample Day 2
Mellow spin to loosen up legs.
Sample Day 3
30min progressive warm-up (as if you were warming up for 10-20km TT)
30min best effort. The goal is the best steady output you can hold for the duration. Don't start out strong and then fade. Try to use a stretch of road with minimal interruptions. A gradual climb is good if you have one (3-5% steady grade).
Your threshold HR is the average HR for the last 20mins of this effort. Set this value in TrainingPeaks for future workouts.
Sample Day 4
This is like a "walk in the park". We are not looking for any "training stress" just movement to assist with recovery.
Sample Day 5
Head to you more technical trails. The goal for this skills session is steady riding technique work. No "sessioning" this time, just work on sustained smooth flow over technically challenging terrain.
If you have a loop trail, you could try different riding styles (or bike setup) and compare lap times.
The overall effort should still fairly modest, Zone 2 primarily. Even if you are using the clock to time laps, the efforts should not be "time trials", you want to compare technique not fitness.
Sample Day 6
The goal for this session is to build endurance. This is an obvious need for XCM events, but is also critical for XC events.
The intensity of this ride can be steady Zone 2, variable, or race-like. The key is duration: 3-5hrs is ideal. Try to minimize stoppage and keep time in Zone 1 to < 25%
This can be an ideal day for exploring new trails and/or integrating skill work.
Sample Day 8
This workout is designed to develop your "maximal aerobic capacity" or VO2max.
Most of these efforts are too short to use HR as a pacing guide. Therefore, the short efforts should just be done at maximal effort for the duration.