Planning for cyclists

Why plan a cyclist, how they adapt to training and the five principles behind any plan.

1. 1.1 Why plan a cyclist The group-ride trap, why a plan is a hypothesis and the cycle the course follows: assess, plan, execute, review and adjust. 2:28
2. 1.2 How cyclists adapt Stimulus, fatigue, recovery and adaptation; fitness and fatigue at once; what a power meter sees and what it doesn't. 2:24
3. 1.3 The principles you don't negotiate Overload, specificity, individualisation (masters and female cyclists), reversibility and recovery, and five questions before each week. 3:02

Intake, field tests with and without a power meter, and power and heart-rate zones.

1. 2.1 What to know before planning Recent history, real time, goal, health and equipment; and when to refer to a doctor or a bike-fit specialist. 2:37
2. 2.2 Field tests The 20-minute test with its full protocol, the ramp test, the 2 × 8 and the reference climb without a power meter. 3:09
3. 2.3 Thresholds and zones The three-zone model, seven power zones and seven heart-rate zones, power versus heart rate, and watts per kilo. 2:43
4. 2.4 Apply it in TrainerPlan FTP and threshold heart rate in the cycling zones, sessions by power zone and the suggested FTP. 1:51

Planning backwards from the goal: event demands, periodisation, phases and key sessions.

1. 3.1 Start from the goal The event-demands sheet, durability, goal types and A, B and C races, with the Quebrantahuesos. 2:51
2. 3.2 Periodisation Macro, meso and micro, 3 + 1 and 2 + 1 blocks, 80/20 by sessions and the classic terminology. 2:12
3. 3.3 The phases and their key sessions Base, build, specific, taper and transition, with and without a power meter; and strength. 2:41
4. 3.4 Apply it in TrainerPlan The A race in Events and the annual plan in hours generated from the events. 1:43

Load, Fitness, Fatigue and Form, the signs to adjust and the review of each block.

1. 4.1 What load is External and internal load, Effort from power or heart rate, session RPE and the wellness check. 1:58
2. 4.2 Chronic load, fatigue and form Fitness, Fatigue, Form and relative load, with and without a power meter. 1:54
3. 4.3 When to adjust Signs to reduce load, overreaching versus overtraining, under-fuelling, heat and race day. 2:12
4. 4.4 Reviewing the plan Four questions at the end of each block, the power curve and the season review. 1:30
5. 4.5 Apply it in TrainerPlan The performance chart with Power and Effort, relative load and the power curve. 1:15

A Quebrantahuesos without a power meter, a winter to raise FTP and a season with two peaks.

1. 5.1 Your first Quebrantahuesos Carlos, 44, no power meter: 20 weeks in 2 + 1 blocks, fuelling, heat and gearing. 2:53
2. 5.2 Raising FTP over a winter Marta, FTP 190 W: three 3 + 1 blocks between the trainer and the road, and the result: 204 W. 2:19
3. 5.3 A season with A, B and C races Álvaro, masters road racer: two peaks, repeated efforts, the review between peaks and the course wrap-up. 3:05