Overloading your TSS or keep it constant??

[BlueJersey]

Does it matter my 3 training weeks I overload my TSS by 30% each week? Or keeping TSS a constant???

 

[Spunout]

Does it matter my 3 training weeks I overload my TSS by 30% each week? Or keeping TSS a constant???

If you are in base training and increasing your hours every week, your TSS will increase every week.

I'm about to investigate if the hardest base week sets your TSS for your build period. That is, increase intensity while reducing hours results in a more constant TSS.

If one overloads TSS by 30%, it might lead to injury. Increase it slowly (5-10% increase in hours is suggested in most programs).

 

[RapDaddyo]

Does it matter my 3 training weeks I overload my TSS by 30% each week? Or keeping TSS a constant???

This is probably highly variable for each athlete, but I don't really worry about my absolute or relative increase in TSS per week until I get to ~1000 TSS points per week. I've looked at my TSS scores from last season and during some weeks they increased by >30% over the prior week. But, it's one thing to increase from 600 - 780 and I think it's quite different to increase from 1000 - 1300. And I may be less vulnerable to overtraining stress than others. As long as my glutes don't bother me, it's pedal to the metal.

 

[SolarEnergy]

Yes. It is important to build up, in intensity, in volume, in both (depending on the phase objectives).

But it is also very important to have small weeks.

A group of weeks (microcycles), is called mezzocycle. Some also call it macrocycle. It can consist of 3 to 6 weeks. Often 4. Sometimes 8.

Given you use 6 weeks mezzo. You can go
w1 : medium
w2 : hard
w3 : ez
w4 : hard
w5 : very hard
w6 : very ez

Sessions are part of a week. Weeks are part of a mezzocycle. Mezzocycles are part of a phase. Phases are part of a year. Years are part of a multi year plan (e.g. 4 years at the time, in the case of an Olympic Athlete).