Reverse periodization (with work out plans)

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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msl1985
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by msl1985

Hi WW.

I have been looking around the internet about reverse periodization. It sound interesting too me.

Do any of you have experience with that type of training?

/Morten

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devinci
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by devinci

I train on a reverse periodization model every year during off season. In fact, my off season is pretty intensive. I keep the endurance paced and tempo rides for spring when I can ride outside.

During winter, I train indoors, mostly L6 short anaerobic efforts with short recovery and longer L4 efforts, moving slowly to more L4, less L6 and introducing a bit of L5 toward febuary.

I think its a very good approach for northern people who cant train outside much during winter time.

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djconnel
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by djconnel

Heh. Sounds like the same approach as racing cross in the offseason, which goes back to WWI.

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ACDC
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by ACDC

I follow a similar training model for mtb xcm, I usually try to aim for my first peak mid Apr and a second early Sep. Dec/Jan/Feb the weather is usually quite shitty with not much day light so I generally ride the trainer 6-8hrs per wk, which largely consists of L4 threshold and sst L3-L4 interval sessions with maybe a 4-6hr LSD ride at the weekend. As soon as the weather picks up or when the opportunity arises I try to ride a good block (2-3 wks)of back to back L2 LSD with some tempo efforts which sets me up ready for the L4/5 sessions during build.
"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."
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msl1985
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Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 4:26 pm

by msl1985

Thanks for your posts.

I'm a roadracer and I has always been riding with low intensity at my off season. This year i'm trying too ride only my mountain bike until january. Short and hard training sessions.

From january i'm putting in some LSD rides and Z3 and Z4 intesity intervals. I still keep riding my mountain bike single day a week. Hope it will make some good changes for my performance.

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devinci
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by devinci

if you want some good change to your performance, you should focus on improving your FTP since its pretty helpful for road racing.

mattyb95
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by mattyb95

LSD?

msl1985
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by msl1985

I think my FTP is ok. I produce between 370 - 380W at my FTP and my weight is 68-70kg depending on the time of the season. The last four seasons i have been doing the same training procedure. This year i will try the reverse periodization.

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drhule23
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by drhule23

@msl1985... if your FTP is around 370-380 at that weight, then you don't need to be asking clowns like us for advice! :wink:
The more you suffer, the closer you get to transcendence.
It's not the mountain you're climbing, it's yourself. If you don't want to know, stay at the bottom.

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devinci
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by devinci

yeah thats what I thought as well, thats a shitload of w/kg.... Pro numbers

nathanong87
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by nathanong87

msl1985 wrote:I think my FTP is ok. I produce between 370 - 380W at my FTP and my weight is 68-70kg depending on the time of the season. The last four seasons i have been doing the same training procedure. This year i will try the reverse periodization.


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jaketim114
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Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:06 pm

by jaketim114

Yeah, that's pretty hard to believe. You'd be good enough to race pro somewhere. Evidence or it's a lie!

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Kastrup
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by Kastrup

I have been following several posts in this category trying to construct some kind of training plan for the coming season. It seems that there are several very experienced trainers and many people with great knowledge of how to maximise your hours spent on the bike so i though i would ask for some advice.

First up, some background. For the past 2-4 years i have been more or less a road cyclist, the last two years saw me doing about 20000 kms in total. Intensity and duration varied but many of the kilometers came in due to my daily 37 km commute and some good long rides in the weekends. Some of it, not that much, came from some rides after/before work featuring various intervals such as 30/30, 40/20, various hill reps, sprints from a stand still and some longer less intensive workouts. All this training was done because i thought it was fun, i did very few races and didn't even have a license.

All this changed when my good friend convinced me to go back to XC mountain biking. In my youth and junior years (i am now 21) i raced a lot of XC. I was rather serious and had some pretty decent results, back then i just rode as much as i could and did some various loops and hill reps whenever i felt like it. My last year as an elite racer i worked with a coach who had me and my aforementioned friend do so many hours i believe eventually overtrained and suffered from massive fatigue. This happened right before i went to college and the partying and studying kept me busy and there was little time to ride my bike. After college i started working and also started riding quite a bit more, just for the fun of it.
However i am now looking for tips on how to train for the upcoming season of serious XC racing.

At my disposal i have a road bike, a mountainbike, a powerful light which enables me to train in the dark and i will probably buy a trainer very soon. So far i have been doing nightrides every wednesday on my mtb and some more mtbing in the weekends. I would like to start adding one or two trainer sessions in the week days and continue with the nightriding and weekend mtbing. With my work schedule i should be able to get some 3-4 workouts in during the week excluding the riding i do in the weekend.

Unfortunately i do not have the money to equip both my bikes with a powermeter, this forces me to rely on HR and perceived exertion. What i would like is for you guys to suggest some basic workouts which might fit in to my routine, this could be everything from very specific workouts with time schedules and HR zones to the familiar "find a lumpy course in the woods and ride it as fast as possible". I have been reading a lot about reverse periodization and i quite like the idea of short intensive workouts which gets longer as the season opener approches.

Thanks in advance,

Emil Kastrup
"Stay cool and try to survive" A. Klier to the other members of the Garmin classics squad the night before P-R.

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devinci
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by devinci

im in a similar boat, racing XCO events but cant ride much outdoors during winter. WHat I would do is focus on improving my FTP and anaerobic work capacity. You could easily fit your FTP workout on the trainer, something like 3x15min or 2x20min. You could make some nice outdoors SST session, fiding a nice MTB course and riding it at a good pace, not race pace, but putting out a good amount of work, staying focused. It would be good for your skills as well.

FWIW, I start my off season with thresholod (L4) work and anaerobic (L6) work, progressing to more threshold as the off season progresses. It doesnt need to be complicated.

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Kastrup
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by Kastrup

I was hoping you would answer my posts, from other posts it seems we are indeed in a very similar position :)

Say i do two trainer sessions a week, should i just do one with some threshold work and one with some FTP? The other rides during the week will probably be various interval sessions in the woods mixed with some longer more steady rides.

Any suggestions on how to do these without a PM at hand? I assume the 2x20 and 3x15 minutes can be done with HR, probably so the L4 work as it seems they are around 2-4 minutes long. But what about L6 work, do i just smash it for 30 seconds?

/Emil
"Stay cool and try to survive" A. Klier to the other members of the Garmin classics squad the night before P-R.

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