Training to maintain

[bikewithnoname]

Hi Guys, I'm currently doing all my training on Zwift due to both lockdown and an 8month pregant wife. Am able to do 5 sessions a week ranging 1-2 hrs in length but will shortly be thrown into fatherhood and all bets are off!

I'd ike to think I'll still be able to squeeze in 4 or 5hrs a week on the turbo despite the lack of sleep, so am really just looking for recommendations on what type of sessions I should be looking at in order to get the most bang for my buck and not drop off too much (sweet spot, tempo, etc)?

If you can recommend any specific Zwift sessions it'd be much appreciated.

[RyanH]

I've made some pretty good progress over the past couple months and most of that has been driven by 4 to 5 hours of zwift a week (less over the last couple weeks since I've been riding outside). Most of what I've been doing is the races which averages out to sweetspot but is really 5 minutes high z5 and then settles into whatever you can muster.

The one downside is that you lose anaerobic capacity in my opinion just doing that, so you'll want to add in some anaerobic work.

[kode54]

I had a hard time during the lock down and getting back on regardless of a smart trainer. Gravity is my enemy...but I figure riding as many miles as I can is better than nothing. Good luck with the new born to come!

[mcfarton]

Try to find anything that motivates you to get on the trainer. I generally do group rides and races. But lately I have been getting outside while the weather permits. I like sprint rides and shorter races on zwift. Maybe mix in some running if you are time crunched


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[bikewithnoname]

Thanks for the tips guys will try to get in a couple of races a week and throw in a sweet spot and/or VO2 max session and see how it goes.

[DanW]

Don't think about "maintaining", think positive and look to exploit something, look for something to improve, change or try new.

Your life will no doubt be turned upside down but my best fitness and power numbers were from having our first little one- the secret is that you are so tired and your legs are in so much pain all day every day that ripping them off on the trainer seems like light relief Seriously though, when everything is a haze you can actually push pretty hard

I think I rode at 11pm most days, just left the turbo set up to minimise excuses to not ride. Geeking out on the most benefit from the least time available and testing out theories on the bike (this personally stimulates me rather than following online plans or zwifting), buying a powermeter and also a decent set of lights for night rides when you ineveitably need a release really helped.

I guess the main message is don't overcomplicate things, be flexible and just do something. It is miserable from a fitness perspective trying to ride having not done anything at all for ages so just do whatever you can to not be in that boat

All the best and enjoy!

[stoney]

For maintenance, at the minimum do one VO2Max session and one Sweet Spot session per week...Say VO2Max Tuesday and Sweet Spot Saturday. Make sure you are "fresh" for those 2 sessions and make them count. Fill in the rest of the week with whatever you can handle but make sure they don't take away from those 2 critical sessions.

[Dannnnn]

I currently do about 2/3 hours a week and haven't lost any fitness, I just have to be very careful to pick a quality workout.

Working from home has made me lost my commute by bike so I've lost a lot of my riding time.

Good luck on the baby front.
When I had mine I managed 1 hour in the first month and a few more in the 2nd. Didn't help that we had a week stay in hospital after he was born.

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[bikewithnoname]

Thanks for the tips and the good wishes!

[trainingpartner]

I'd ike to think I'll still be able to squeeze in 4 or 5hrs a week on the turbo despite the lack of sleep, so am really just looking for recommendations on what type of sessions I should be looking at in order to get the most bang for my buck and not drop off too much (sweet spot, tempo, etc)?

If you can recommend any specific Zwift sessions it'd be much appreciated.

Congratulations!

Maintenance is the easy part! My number 1 tip is to do high quality work that don't kill you.
Whilst all these platforms will easily maintain your fitness I would say that most of the Zwift workouts are trash, GCN workouts are trash and incredibly hard, and the sufferfest will make you suffer. as will the Peleton stuff.

Now I would argue it's not about suffering, because it's possible to do the same "quality" workouts these platforms supply you but with a lower RPE by structuring workouts right. You'll also be less fatigued and able to operate in daily life better which is important with the lack of sleep you're expecting.

Tabatas, are my go to workout for myself and anybody who doesn't have time. Make them your own

[Methodical]

I use TrainerRoad. Have you ever considered there training program? They have a sweetspot training plan (low volume) that I think would fill the bill for you. You can always add Z2, tempo or other workouts as time permits, but not be commited to so many hours. Oh, you will most likely be riding late at night when the little one arrives.

[Djakninn]

I have 3 x children and one thing that definitely helped us was that my wife and i would work shifts for the night duties. She would get up Mon-Thur nights and id do the weekend shifts. This gave us a proper break and a time to recharge the batteries which kept the energy levels up.
I now work away from home, currently 6 week stints in a workshop and find that doing a VO2 max, Sweetspot, tempo, a low cadence endurance and 2 x light recovery spins, i am able to still progress albeit with a drop in endurance, but that usually returns quite quickly once i get back.

[mogwaiboi]

Hi Guys, I'm currently doing all my training on Zwift due to both lockdown and an 8month pregant wife. Am able to do 5 sessions a week ranging 1-2 hrs in length but will shortly be thrown into fatherhood and all bets are off!

I'd ike to think I'll still be able to squeeze in 4 or 5hrs a week on the turbo despite the lack of sleep, so am really just looking for recommendations on what type of sessions I should be looking at in order to get the most bang for my buck and not drop off too much (sweet spot, tempo, etc)?

If you can recommend any specific Zwift sessions it'd be much appreciated.

I'm in Melbourne Australia and we have just headed ino a 6 week lockdown. Exercise is restricted to 1 hour / max 5km from home, so I figure I'm better off using the trainer. I've gone from 250km+ outside (road / gravel) to trying to maintain my fitness indoors. I don't use Zwift, just structured workouts on a Lemond with music. I'm working from home and don't have kids, so I have plenty of time (good and bad at the moment!). My routine this week has been:

Mon-Fri - morning fasted commute simulation 20km
Mon-Thurs - afternoon alternate between 3 x tempo or sweet spot intervals of 10 mins
Sun - some sort of VO2 workout (Danish / pyramid intervals)

This is my first week, I'm totally winging it so I'll see how it all goes!

[DavG]

Riding 5 times for 1-2 hours is usually a luxury for me. I can only go after work for literally an hour because it's very cold and the streets are dark. I want to go back to my small town to ride my bike for hours at a time.