Looking for a Crit Training Plan

[9kfever]

Hello, Looking for someone to point me towards a plan or more information. I started doing triathlons this last year and just finished my first half ironman. I had been riding centuries the year before that and feel like I have a pretty good base. My race calendar is now complete. Just recently built up a new road bike and would like to try my luck at some crits. I have been doing the socal group rides for the past 2 years so I do feel pretty comfortable riding in groups, pacelines, and sprinting bar to bar. Could probably work on some cornering though. Looking for a structured Crit Training program with about 2 hours available daily Monday-Friday and 10 hours available between Saturday and Sunday. I live very close to the SART Bike Trail and therefore have a wide open road for interval training. If such plan does not exist, more information on these L2 L3 L4 and L5 acronyms would help. I do not have a power meter is those are what those numbers are for. Any help would be appreciated, and I will maybe be starting a blog to monitor progress and make tweaks along the way. Thanks, Scott PS, someone I know had recommended the Chris Carmichael "Time Crunched Cyclist" book. I ordered a used copy through Amazon and should be recieving it soon.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by 9kfever .


PS, someone I know had recommended the Chris Carmichael "Time Crunched Cyclist" book. I ordered a used copy through Amazon and should be recieving it soon.

20+ hours a week is not exactly time crunched but imo there are 2 things that can be pulled out of Carmichael's book - a bunch of quickly attained but short lived fitness if needed, and essentially what is the 6-12 week peak building phase of a traditional plan. You'll reach a peak about 7 weeks in and be able to hold that fitness for another few weeks before becoming sick with intervals. My observation is that you will do much better going into the plan with a solid base of fitness. It will absolutely help build the speed you need in a crit, but without a base and some solid FTP work don't expect to bridge any major gaps or stay away for a prolonged breakaway.

 

[9kfever]

So are you saying to mix in an FTP day with 2x20s or 2x30s at FTP? I also still have the Tri-bike and would like to dabble into some time trials as well eventually. I'm looking for a plan that will allow me to ride 6 days a week. Not looking to take shortcuts if my time available allows for doing it the right way. I will also be continuing to swim 3 times per week and run at least once to maintain somewhat of a base for tri's. But that it all morning and nights and does not take away from the 20 hours of daylight hours available.

 

[danfoz]

Traditional plans have base, build, and peak periods with increasing intensity and decreasing volume. The plans I'm familiar with have a bulk of the FTP work in the build phase. Time crunch skips right to hard intervals and VO2 level+ intensity after two weeks of very minimal FTP work.

There's no reason you cant do sub threshold work year round, but trying to mix in extra days of 2x20's when some of the TCT plan's weeks call for three days of hard 3 min intervals may be a bit much. It's not a sustainable plan, it's not designed to be. It's a short term plan designed to bring on maximum fitness with minimal training time after several weeks.

Because it is a top heavy plan, fitness gains disappear quickly (most traditional plan's have a big aerobic base at the bottom of the pyramid creating a stable platform for fitness building, which is absent from TCT). My speculation is that the gains arrive primarily from increased mitochondrial efficiency and capillarization, as opposed to the fitness that comes from sub-threshold work which is necessary for building stroke volume, and which in my experience last a little longer.

Edit: On top of an existing base with a target event in mind it can be very effective. Perfect for getting used to the output a crit requires. However I personally would not begin TCT till I had a specific target event in mind 7-10 weeks out from the start of the plan.

 

[vspa]

make out your mind because a criterium is quite the opposite of a triathlon event, for criteriums you will be jumping out of the saddle all the time after every corner, for that i would train sprinting, you can do it once or twice a week, like 10 sprints in 1 hour or 1 1/2 hours, 5 from a standing point and 5 in motion, no technology needed other than going as hard as you can for 15 to 20 seconds or 200 to 300 meters, recover your breathing in 5 minutes and then going again !

 

[9kfever]

Thanks for the posts. I will continue to work on the base while starting to throw in some sprint and interval work.