Ultimate Sweet Spot Build by Charlotte Backus Turner
Overview:
This 8-week plan is designed to help you build power and endurance progressively. Each week, we'll increase the Training Stress Score (TSS) and training time, with a specific focus on sweet spot training to enhance your Functional Threshold Power (FTP). This comprehensive program not only emphasizes sweet spot training but also incorporates key elements of technique and form, ensuring well-rounded development. You'll also work on endurance and technique within specific training zones, creating a balanced approach to improving your cycling performance.
Key Features:
Progressive Build: Over the course of 8 weeks, you'll gradually increase your TSS and training duration, ensuring steady and sustainable improvements in fitness.
Sweet Spot Focus: The plan emphasizes sweet spot training, which is crucial for boosting your FTP. This training intensity balances intensity and volume, leading to significant performance gains.
Technique and Form: Dedicated drills to improve your cycling technique and form, including one-legged pedal drills, cadence work, and in-and-out-of-saddle exercises.
Endurance Development: Structured endurance rides to enhance your stamina, ensuring you can sustain higher power outputs for longer periods.
Zone Training: Specific workouts targeting different training zones to build comprehensive fitness and adaptability.
Ideal Timing:
This plan is best implemented pre-season, within a month or two before starting a threshold or VO2 max build phase. The timing ensures that you have a solid foundation of power and endurance to handle more intense training blocks effectively.
Recovery:
To maximize the benefits of this plan, it is recommended to follow it with a week of recovery and active recovery. This period allows your body to adapt fully, preventing overtraining and setting you up for continued progress.
Weekly Structure:
Week 1-4: Gradual increase in TSS and training time, focusing on sweet spot intervals, endurance rides, and technique drills.
Week 5-7: Continued TSS progression with more challenging sweet spot workouts, longer endurance sessions, and advanced technique exercises.
Week 8: Peak week with the highest TSS and most demanding workouts, preparing you for the next phase of your training.
By the end of this 8-week plan, you'll experience noticeable improvements in your power, endurance, and overall cycling performance, setting a strong foundation for further threshold and VO2 max development.
I like to focus on areas of training through structure workouts that I create that are catered towards any goal an athlete. this can involve base build, sweet spot training, or Vo2 max. it can also go week by week or annually or even monthly depending on the daily life schedule each athlete has. I also work closely with nutrition and psychology. I like to use Zwift to help with indoor training and blocks of good structured workouts and also incorporate outside routes.