This plan is aimed at masters athletes, typically 40 yrs+ in age who want to get the most from their time whilst also balancing the need for recovery and adaptation and obviously other work life demands. That said anyone would benefit from this plan.
As we age it takes longer to recover from hard workouts and the tendency is to train in that hard-ish range of intensities which is fine to an extent but we also need to go very hard from time to time to maintain or enhance our aerobic capacity or sometimes referred to as Vo2 Max. The higher we can make or sustain this the more scope there is to be stronger and faster on the bike.
This plan assumes you have 10-12 hours a week to train, which i think is the optimum if you have work and family commitments.
It also assumes that you have already been training consistently for a good couple of years and you are now looking to fine tune and structure your training to get that extra few percent out of yourself.
If you have not trained consistently for a while then see my 6 week time efficient beginner plan or one of my base plans. These would be more suitable in the first instance to establish some basic fitness before we move onto more advanced training in this plan.
In terms of focus this plan would suit a variety of athletes who either want to race in crits, road races or mountain biking or just want to get faster. To some extent it would also suit time triallists who want to increase their top end power.
The plan is progressive in that we firstly look to increase that all important VO2 component.
We then continue in this way but the training becomes a bit more race specific with intervals becoming shorter and more intense.
The final 3 weeks we then look to shift the focus more towards the anerobic energy systems with very short intense efforts.
Between the key sessions it's important to work at intensities well below your threshold to develop and maintain the aerobic energy systems. These are typically heart rate based.
One last thing to consider, especially if you are a masters athlete, and that is strength work off the bike. Ideally you want to be incorporating some of this into your weekly routine. Doesn't need to be long (30 - 40 mins) and the movement patterns also don't need to be complicated. If you're not sure please reach out to me and i can help you with this part of your training.
Hi, my name is Colin from Tried and Tested Cycle Coaching. I've been cycling for 15+ years and my primary focus has been on the road, both in terms of road racing and time trials with a high degree of success. I've learnt a lot in those years from reading and studying the science and from listening to others, that journey never stops. I still enjoy racing at a high level in the amateur ranks as a master and I'm now looking to pass on that knowledge and help others achieve their goals.