Training Plan Classroom

Training Plans Techniques and Guidance

Can I import my TrainingPeaks workout to Zwift?

Yes, you can transfer your workouts directly from TrainingPeaks to Zwift! Just login to zwift.com and make sure your account is linked on the connections page. If they are connected, disconnect and connect them again just to be safe. Next, make sure your workout has been saved via TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Builder. Lastly, login to Zwift, select workouts, and find today’s workout under the TrainingPeaks dropdown. You’ll only see the workout for the current day, and it updates automatically each day.

Cyclocross training question: I’m intrigued as to why you haven’t built any rest days into the cyclocross plan. It’s always been suggested to me that I should take the Monday after races off, or only use that day to ‘spin out the legs’ a little. Would you mind giving me a suggestion or your thoughts about recovery days?

Cyclocross training plans are very different from road training plans due to the requirements of the race.

I add an Active Recovery day on possible rest days for two reasons. A properly executed Active Recovery day enables your body to recover faster than sitting on the couch without adding additional stress to the system. We call this Active Rest. You must ensure that you are adhering to the workout – it is easy to pedal too hard if you are feeling good.

Second, some athletes train 10+ hours per week during the road season. Transitioning from that volume to 8-9 hour weeks is mentally tough for them.

In your case, if your schedule makes daily rides impossible, substitute Rest on the Active Recovery days. You will notice that this will align with Mondays off philosophy.

NOTE: Running. Most cyclists are not used to running. Phase 1 (first four weeks) helps the body biomechanically adjust to running, so they run four times each week.

How do I find the KyleCoaching Library in PerfPro?

Load up PerfPRO Studio then go into the Workout/Courses Library then into the Workouts tab.
Click on the “Import” button then select “Import Libraries from the Web”.
A window will open showing the above workout libraries.
Click on the KyleCoaching then hit the Import button.
The workouts from the library are then downloaded and imported into your library for you.

How do I get my TrainingPeaks workouts to show up on my Garmin?

This is really a two-part question. First, your workouts must be created in the workout builder in TrainingPeaks. We attempt to make sure all of your workouts are now created in the workout builder. The easiest way to tell is to look and see if you see a structured workout in your TrainingPeaks account.

The second part is getting the Garmin ready to find and display the workout. To do this you must have the TrainingPeaks daily workout IQ app and the Garmin Connect Mobile app installed on your phone and paired to your Garmin device.

First, make sure you have the Garmin Connect app and paired with your phone. Garmin FAQ on how to do this, click here. Once your device is paired with the Garmin Connect mobile app you will have to download the Training Peaks Daily workout IQ app. Click here for instructions on how to access the Connect IQ store. After you authorize the IQ app to access your TrainingPeaks account you will be able to see your daily workouts on your Garmin device. One item that I would like to emphasize is daily. You can only see the workout on the day that it is scheduled in Training Peaks. It will not show up the night before and it will be gone the day after. This is just your daily workout.

Resources for troubleshooting

I had a quick question about the strength portion of your Base Building Plan. Will I need access to a gym to do these workouts? From the sample plan, it appears that I’ll be in the gym one day (strength workout) and then the ab days could be done at home?

The short answer is yes, but let me give you the long answer about strength and conditioning for cyclists too.

The Base Plan is broken down into three broad categories: on the bike, cross training, and strength and conditioning. By doing all three portions you maximize your overall fitness. Many cyclists have no desire to go to the gym, which I feel is very short-sighted, but I digress. So this plan could be a cycling only base plan, but I add the other two… well… because I think it makes for a more rounded program. Here are your priorities for your base plan.

The on-the-bike can be done indoors or outdoors, whatever your conditions allow. We design the program so that if you are stuck indoors, you can import the workouts to Zwift or simply use your Garmin or Wahoo to control your smart trainer.

The cross-training portion is typically some cardio other than the bike. This could be an elliptical machine, running, rowing, or alpine tour skiing. Okay, I through AT in there because that is what I use for my cardio, VO2 Max efforts during the winter. The last portion is strength and conditioning.

The strength training works best when you have access to a gym or at least free weights. I created the strength plan on the idea that at a minimum the athlete would have access to a community gym with fitness machines. However, the ideal situation would be a fully stocked gym with free weights. The conditioning portion can be down without gym equipment with little to no modification. There may be an exercise or two that you cannot do even if you have a gym, for instance, my gym is an LA Fitness and they do not have a weight sled, so I have to skip that one. I use the Pilates steps to do box jumps.

The weather is horrible, are there alternatives to my workouts?

You want alternative workouts?? If you have a trainer there are several Sufferfest videos that can be used to supplement your training plan:

Endurance: This workout can be achieved using “Blender”.
Tempo: This workout can be achieved using “The Hunted” or “Angels”. Finish the night with “Extra Shot”.
Race Simulation: This workout can be achieved using “Fight Club”.

Want to do two a days?? Well then try this, every Tuesday morning wake up to a 45 minute kick your tail video “Revolver”.

(Pro-tip: you race crits?? Start in January with “Revolver”, do it twice yes 90 minutes that is 32 1×1 intervals. February, increase your workout from Zone 5 to Zone 6 on each interval. March, go to upper Zone 6. By the time the first crit comes around you will be looking for the podium.)

Find the videos at www.thesufferfest.com they are about $15 each. Have a CompuTrainer, drop me an email and I will tell you how to map these using PerfPro. Also, PerfPro has a full library of KyleCoaching designed trainer workouts.

What are my priorities during Base Phase Training?

During your Base Phase the priorities are:
1. Strength
2. Aerobic threshold
3. Aerobic Capacity

The reason:

The base phase is designed to take the time to fully establish your basic fitness abilities of endurance, force, and speed skills. This will be the longest period of your training plan. You may ahve to take a full 12 weeks to develop a strong foothold before launching into high-intensity training. Typically you can divide this into 3 periods, Base 1, Base 2, and Base 3. The volume of training will grow in each base period as cross training phases transition to on-bike training.

What are the KyleCoaching Training Plans Rules of the Road?

Kyle Coaching’s Rules of the Road to help you get the most out of your training plan:

(1) Train moderately
(2) Train consistently
(3) Get adequate rest/recovery
(4) Train with a plan
(5) Train with a group infrequently (or train to your plan)
(6) Plan to peak
(7) Improve weaknesses
(8) Trust your training and your coach
(9) Listen to your body (and tell KyleCoaching what it says)
(10) Commit to goals

What is RPE?

This is the scale we will us to show the intensity of your workouts without a power meter.

The Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale is used to measure the intensity of your exercise. The RPE scale runs from 0 – 10. The numbers below relate to phrases used to rate how easy or difficult you find an activity. For example, 0 (nothing at all) would be how you feel when sitting in a chair; 10 (very, very heavy) is how you feel at the end of an exercise stress test or after a very difficult activity.

Active Recovery
0 – Nothing at all
0.5 – Just noticeable
1 – Very light
2 – Light
3 – Moderate

Endurance
4 – Somewhat Heavy (Lower Endurance)
5 – Heavy (Upper Endurance)

Tempo
6 – Challenging Aerobic

Threshold
7 – Very heavy – Lactate Threshold
8 – Climbing – solid 8

VO2 Max
9 – VO2 Max
10 – Very, very heavy – Sprint

Additional reading
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/estimating-training-stress-score-(tss)-by-joe-friel.aspx
http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/labels/RPE.html

What is your Functional Reserve Capacity (FRC)?

The total amount of work that can be done during continuous exercise about your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) before fatigue occurs. Units are kJ or J/kg.

What should I do on my day off?

Here is your checklist for your Day Off Routine:

Read over your TrainingPeaks week and add make sure you have updated and commented on last weeks workouts.
Check your bike out today. Is it clean? Lubricate the drive train.
Check the weather for the week. Do you need to rearrange your calendar? Make sure to get in your key workouts/breakthrough workouts.
Plan your nutrition for the week.

What’s the optimal day of the week to start the program? Is it a Monday start? Most of our CX races are on Sundays through the season, so I’m looking to base the program around Sunday race day as a general rule…

The plan is setup for Week 1 Day 1 to start on a Monday. Depending on your location, you could have a cross season that is all on Saturdays or one that is all on Sundays. The plan starts on Monday and gives the racer the option of moving Saturday’s workout to Sunday if the race is on Saturday or the opposite. Most CAT4/5 or “B” races are 30-45 minutes. Some of our athlete’s race and then execute the endurance ride to further build fitness.