Training differences for unfit vs fit cyclists?

[LM7805]

Let's say that the goal is to raise 20 minute power. Is the "best" training to achieve this goal different depending on the cyclist's fitness, that is, for those that are unfit, reasonably fit vs very fit? Or are training principles the same, regardless on how strong you are?

Some more context: I've been riding for a good number of years now, but not very consistently, particularly in the recent years (total kms the last few years have been quite low). Compounding to this, I spent a fair bit of time off the bike this year, so I would definitely class myself as unfit. I would like to improve as quickly as possible, so should my training be any different, starting from a low fitness level, compared to "regularly" fit cyclists? The reason why I ask this is that in the past, starting from a similar fitness level to I am now, I did do a 2-3 month indoor training program (from one of the popular training apps). It was low volume plan that included a lot of intensity and I did improve a lot. However, I couldn't help but think at the time that that sort of training was more suited to someone who already had a high level of base fitness and was looking to improve that extra little bit, and that I was better off doing longer rides outside.

[Shrike]

Yeah it’s a good question. You did something like sweet spot base or a TR build plan I’m guessing.

This stuff is great for the short term, but if:

1. Your fitness goals are long term and,

2. You haven’t done lots of endurance riding before and,

3. You haven’t got a race coming up soon and,

4. You have around 8 and hopefully more hours a week to ride,

Then you can do a big endurance base training block for months. Can keep adding time to it and when time runs out, add a little tempo interval here and there to it.

Purpose here is to create mitochondrial adaptations and build endurance to ride huge distances without fatiguing. Great period to dial in weight too and you use a lot of fat to fuel this sort of work and don’t run such a big risk of getting into a black hole like you would cal restricting on intensity blocks.

Once you have this massive aerobic base, it’s easy to maintain. Big endurance ride once every two weeks, though it’ll need to be long enough to fatigue you. Can be a few hours, can be 6 for some people..

From there you can look into polarised training, sweetspot etc and experiment.

The less fit you are in cycling, the worse your aerobic base, so the less fit you are, the more base you should probably do. That would be my interpretation of fitness. I wouldn’t consider someone with an amazing one minute power but couldn’t ride at tempo for a couple of hours ‘fit’ for example.

[AJS914]

Then you can do a big endurance base training block for months. Can keep adding time to it and when time runs out, add a little tempo interval here and there to it.

This is what I started doing this spring. The problem was that while I had miles in my legs and regular riding I was bouncing up and down with fatigue. I'd do my 2.5 hour Saturday group ride and then be completely exhausted afterwards. I was ok riding 6-8 hours a week but when I upped it to 10+ I'd again hit the fatigue wall.

I decided to do a full reset with 12 weeks of "base". That was basically lots of long/slow riding plus continuing to do the Saturday group ride as my only ride with intensity. By doing lots of long/slow I was able to get up to 10-12 hours per week consistently without too much fatigue. Around week 6 of this block I was flying. I improved my times on climbs by 10-15%.

Since then I've been experimenting with various interval sessions once a week. Overall, my stamina increased greatly. The 2.5 hour group ride hardly tires me out. I usually tack on an extra hour and turn it into a 3 to 4 hour ride.

I do think that having a proper base in your legs then allows you to do harder interval work without burying you in fatigue.

[boots2000]

Question is "where do you want to take it"?

To increase fitness from unfit to somewaht fit- Simply riding will help.

If you want to take it to a higher or more specific place. A specific buildup could facilitate this.

[TobinHatesYou]

Frankly, if your goal is to raise 20min power, then you should do 20min efforts. 2x20 at 95%. If you want to round yourself out you should do shorter intervals above your LT. Throw in one longer, slower ride each week.