Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
The 80/20 balance thing has folks interpreting it in several ways. The most common is 4 days low, 1 day high. I've seen it as a time in zone thing which IME&O is undoable: not enough low end to support that much Z5 volume.. I've also seen the following, which is a mix of those ideas, but more the young racer program:
1 hour high
2 hours low
4 hours low
1 hour high.
2 hours low
4 hours low
off
It's still January and I'm aiming for June-July rides and events. I'm doing 1 day high, 3 days low steady state, 2 days low HR high muscle work pedaling drills or aerobic crosstrain, 6-8 hours/week total, including 40' dumbbells twice a week after riding - if I have the energy.
I'll probably start 2 days high in March. Of course this all is assuming that there are rides and events this summer, which is still quite doubtful. FUBAR takes a long time to turn around.
I see. Well personally I always do 2 HIIT sessions a week anyway and one long ride. Anything on top is bonus. In the summer maybe a very easy ride on Monday instead of complete rest. Maybe zone 2 on Wednesday instead of rest. Friday usually is always rest with Sunday the long ride. Saturday then would be a mix. long-ish ride with some climbing that comes along the route.
Doing 5 sessions a week and just 1 HIIT seems foolish. If you do less than 10 hours a week it is far better to make two session intense rather than stick to 80-20. I guess if in those 4 low sessions you have the time to really go long it might be different.