Originally Posted by
rubiksoval
I'll also add that if your goal is improving FTP on 6-8 hours a week, then polarized is definitely not the plan for that, as so much specific FPT training involves training in that dreaded zone 2 of the polarized 3 zone plan.
You can conceivably do 3-5 days a week of 20-60 minutes of tempo/sweetspot/threshold (depending on your experience and recovery) which is precisely the type of training that will most improve your FTP in a shorter time frame with shorter training durations.
During the winter, I decided to focus on building up my aerobic base, and forget about FTP for now, and see if I can then use that starting in February to begin to really hit a harder regimen. I felt my aerobic base was in need of some work after this summer, and then once February hit, will begin to incorporate more targeted FTP efforts. I still will put in a solid 3 or 5 minutes of above threshold work, to keep my legs honest. At the end of the day, sa long as people are riding, it is better than the bike sitting in the garage all winter and doing nothing.