I am about to start the 6-week beginners FTP-builder. Looking at week one it says:
day 1: foundation
day 2: strength
day 3: foundation
day 4: tempo
day 5: rest
then it describes week 2!
what about days 6 and 7? I’m a bit confused!
Hi Phil,
Due to the fact that it is the beginners FTP Builder, those other 2 days in week one, are also rest (or in the case of a beginner triathlete, a non-bike training day) You’ll notice that the SP number is 164 , for week one. The Stress Points (TSS in Training Peaks, Training Stress Score) is important and whoever created this beginners plan presumed that beginners would be doing it and therefore wanted to gradually increase workload. Also a great plan for someone new who may not have 6 days to ride. This way the beginner athlete also has less chance of getting injured or feeling intimidated. Rest and recovery is just as important as the training time, so all plans will have this built in. By week 6, you will be doing almost double the work (TS) as week one.
The reason that they did not spread the 164 TS points out evenly over 6 or 7 days, is again , building in rest but also the fact that a good training plan should always include a mix of hard and easy (recovery) rides, long rides, high intensity intervals etc Day 4 is Tempo and has 59 TS - more than 1/3 of your work for the week.
My suggestion is that (if you haven’t already done it, recently) make sure that you do a zwift FTP test. Do the first week and if you feel great and are hungry for more, try the 10-wk plan (if you’re fit, start at week 3)
These plans are great and do work - have fun!
thanks Brad! that’s helpful - especially as I hadn’t taken much notice of the Stress Points information…
I did do the FTP test - it’s 137 - and I have typed that into my profile. I just did day one and it felt comfortable but not too easy - which, I guess, is where is should be!
I was just a bit confused that they would label day 5 as a rest day but then not label days 6 and 7 as rest days…
presumably I could do the 4 training days of week one interspersed with 3 rest days? or is it better to do the four work days as a block and then have three rest days in a row??
Hi Phil,
Re. mixing in rest days. I don’t see that being a problem. Just get the workouts completed, as closely as you can to goals and think about the week’s goal.
Re. FTP test. The actual timed free ride test portion of this test should be done at maximum effort, to obtain the true and useful data. If you felt comfortable last time, I would do it again. The reason that this is so important if you want to get stronger, is that the program works out the intensity (% of your FTP) for each of your workouts. Your FTP is calculated by taking the average power for the 20 min (or shorter test) and then taking 95% of that. Lets say your FTP is 137 (I’m guessing that it’s higher!) On day 4 you have a Tempo interval ride, with a lot of zone 3. At an FTP of 137, that would be riding at about 120w, or about 88% of your FTP. So, if your FTP is set too low for your true current ability, you are not doing yourself justice and progress will be delayed.
Hi Brad,
sorry - my post wasn’t very clear - the FTP test was most definately NOT comfortable - I was at my max effort!!
- it was day one of the training programme that felt comfortable but not easy!
Phil,
Haha - good! Well, I think that you are planning this out perfectly and this plan is a good fit, for you. The zwift plans really are well thought out and you will figure the TS etc, very quicky.
All the best!
Phil, you are correct - the training plans are not very well done. Why would you prescribe a “rest day” on day five, and then expect everyone to know there are supposed to be two more rest days that week? Silly.