Originally Posted by
Jughed
I'm 50, long time rider - never really "trained". Most of my riding has just been riding along with no plan, mostly Zone 2 with random hard rides. My fitness has flatlined & I'm trying to take my modest FTP and bump it up a bit, would like to do some 50+ gravel races or just be better during my longer rides.
I'm doing the three weeks of increasing intensity, followed by a rest week. Just finished week two and am pretty beat up.
Doing 80/20 - zone 1/2 with one day of FTP intervals and one day of VO2 Max. Using both heart rate and power as metrics.
Been adding minutes to my FTP intervals and going from 3 to 4 VO2 max intervals.
The past two rides my heart rate vs power is off. My HR is higher, and my power is down. Z2 Power that used to be at 120-125 BPM is now 130-135BPM. Threshold power is 15-20 watts lower for the same heart rate.
I don't know what signs/clues to look for that will tell me if I am going to hard, too easy, when to rest. Most of the plans I read are for younger people, or for the pro's.
Is 3 weeks on/1 off too much for us older folks? Will 2 on/1 off provide results?
I just don't want to burn my time, nor do I want to over train.
2-1 on/off training cycle is the general recommendation for older athletes. I'm 55 and switched from 3-1 to 2-1 about a year ago as a trial and found that I do prefer it. Go with your feeling on this one. If you feel beat-up after 2 weeks then listen to your body.
I wouldn't stress too much about your variable HR for a given power. There are loads of factors affecting it on a daily basis. That's why training with power is more consistent, but I do track both. I keep an eye on my resting HR and HRV (via fitness tracker, not manually) as indicators of fatigue. Over time you get to know how these things trend relative to your form.