Prepared by RIAK Fitness - The Online Cycling and Triathlon Club

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THE PLAN

This plan is designed for someone relatively new to cycling and new to structured training with little or no experience of E-racing; or someone that has had a long lay-off from structured training and needs to build back into it. Either way, it is suitable for those with an FTP of 3w/kg or below (divide your FTP by your current bodyweight to get this figure).

FTP (Functional Threshold Power) is an important metric of fitness for cyclists. It denotes the point at which your body shifts from working predominantly aerobically, to more and more in the absence of oxygen. Knowing the estimated power output at which your body makes this shift allows us to train in a targeted way and tease this number higher over time. In general terms, the higher your FTP, the stronger you are.

If you do not have an FTP, the plan does start with an FTP test, so this will allow you to set your FTP on RGT.

You will notice that as the plan progresses and more sessions are added in, it begins to roll on a 3-4 day cycle. The motivation behind this structure is to chip away at your fatigue and avoid you getting into a state of chronic tiredness. Recovery is vital as it is during your recovery days that you will become stronger and your body supercompensate as a result to the training stimulus you have subjected it to. We work in 3-4 day cycles before a recovery day because we find that with all of life's other demands on top, training for more than 3-4 days at a time without a break can be negative not only for your training but also for your mental well-being and immune system.

The premise of this plan is that you will not start E-racing until the end. E-racing is seriously high intensity so we strongly recommend building your fitness before getting involved. If you do start E-racing before the end of the plan, ensure you do it on a day followed by a rest day or in place of your most high intensity training session that week (the mid-week session with the highest TSS) and slot in an easy endurance ride somewhere else in the week for about an hour. What we are effectively trying to avoid is you filling your week with too much high intensity whilst keeping the overall weekly volume up.

It is very important that you keep building your base fitness at the same time as steadily increasing the intensity of your mid-week sessions. Your longer road ride, which we have put at the weekend, should be steady state and relaxed. You will have a good amount of intensity mid-week, so avoid pilling more intensity into your weekend ride as you will rapidly become fatigued. For the weekend endurance road ride, you should strive to keep your average power between 56-75% of FTP, which, if you don't have a power meter on your bike, translates as a 3-5/10 effort. The endurance sessions are when we teach your body to utilise body fat more efficiently and build your endurance base.

In the last week of the plan is a second FTP test, by which time hopefully your FTP will have improved and you will be feeling strong and ready to race!

Good luck!

Website: www.riak.fitness
Social media: @riak.fitness