6-week FTP Builder - how to execute the week based plan

The Archives Archived: General Discussion
1

Hi, asked this someplace else but didn’t get an answer, so thought would try with a new post.

I am quite new to Zwift and decided for my first workout to do the 6-week beginner FTP training plan.

However, each “week” only has five days in it, with at least for week one the 5th day being the day off.  Does that mean the plan is set up to be done back to back week by week with a week only being 5 versus 7 days?

So since yesterday was my rest day, do I start week 2 today, or is what is unstated is that I should actually still take off the 6th and 7th day and then start week 2 on a standard calendar week basis?

Thanks in advance - this has really confused me and I have had conflicting responses from friends as what to do here.

2

Hi Sunil,

exactly my question too. Starting as a beginner and don’t know if I have 3 rest days after doing a training week with 4 workouts.

Hope someone can enlight us.

See you on the road

Mario

3

I’m not an expert however my understanding would be that you have 5 rides to complete that week and you should fit them into your schedule as best you can.  Everyone has different lifestyles/jobs/family life so being as prescriptive as setting specific days wont allow being to be flexible.

For me, working out monday to friday is easier as I can do it in the morning before work, so I’d do 5 workouts in a row.  However someone else might prefer workning out at the weekend and fitting the other workouts in the evenings during the week.

Also, a rest day neednt be a day completely off the bike, a short light spin can be more beneficial than a taking a day off. 

4

Thanks Jimmy, that’s helpful. 

Since I wasn’t sure after I completed week one I just went right into week two.  Seems to be ok, but frankly would be good to try to space things out a little and maybe add in some cross training as well on “off days”, so if I can stretch out to 7 days I could do that.

Funny thing is I have two triathalon/trainer friends who both said completely different things.  One suggested this was intended to be 5-day microcycles completed back to back, while the other was more aligned with your view of stretching over a 7 day week!

Oh well.

5

There are hundreds of different training methods out there.

The best is to get a good book and start reading. We all train different, you need to find what work with you. These workouts is a good place to start, but as you progress you will have to customize them to your specific needs. 

 

6

Thanks.