My Weekly Training - What It Takes To Be Competitive In P/1/2

Follow this to get your category upgrades in road and criterium racing.

Here are the training fundamentals:

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Music:
"That Girl" by LAKEY INSPIRED
and
"Raw Rivalry" by Jay Man

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[bmxracer]

Love watching your videos- especially this type! Hope there are many more to come!

[TheRedzinger]

This is fantastic stuff. Way too many cyclists abandon base to their peril. I just started on my base period for next season. The piece of the puzzle that is hardest for me this time of year is diet with the cold and dark Midwestern winter upon us and lots of good holiday food. . . . a post about nutrition would be awesome! Love this channel.

[brianmessemer]

So educational. Very very beneficial for cyclists to watch. Thank you so much!

[tonym]

Hey Jeff, I just wanted to say thanks. Your commentary has really helped me with crits and I think you have the best cycling videos on YouTube.

[XCRunner]

Digging your channel and this series. I've always loved riding bikes, but am now (semi)seriously transitioning from my collegiate long-distance running career to cycling racing, and I appreciate these videos breaking everything down. Keep up this training series, as well as your tactics series. Even though I don't crit race (and am probably not suited for crit racing, tbh), I like the style of your videos.

[averydaboy]

Thanks for the tips ! Will def incorporate this into my training

[mitchellsteindler]

*Is advised 15 hours of zone 2 a week ... *lives in Ohio. Intervals and lifting it is then!

[evanreeves]

I wish someone had told me about zone two three years ago when I started cycling.

[Jimmyfpv_]

Thank you so much Jeff, very educational. Do you do all your planning on your own or do you have a coach?

[db]

Hey great videos! Any tips on increasing maximum wattages maybe? Gym work, uphill sprints?

[callemacody]

Hey man awesome content, I was wondering, do you do any kind of specific strength or sprint training to maintain your sprint?

[thomasjackson]

Great information and video.. I don't race but I like being in race shape/fitness and doing spirited (mock race) rides with the local Cat 1-5 guys. I like doing Gran Fondo type events, my goal is 100 miles in 4hr 45min or less. That's approx. 22-24mph average, any training recommendations or concepts for that type of effort?

[michaelhoult]

Hi There !! Thank you so much for this information. Could you give a weekly layout of the types of workouts you do in each phase. E.g endurance, build, taper, racing.

[kirkshammett]

Just curious. Do you work a full time job while doing all this training?

[shaitraister]

Hi Jeff - thanks for sharing! This is really good stuff. 2 questions:
1. How are you able to build so much fatigue during your base period? You're only adding ~5 hours/week to your schedule but your intensity goes down significantly if you're only doing zone 2-3. If you're staying at Z2/3 wouldn't your fitness AND fatigue drop?
2. You mentioned in the commentary your base period is Dec to Feb, but the graphic showing the various periods show it much earlier, with Jan-Feb being actually a Race period. What should be the Build period for NCNCA racers?

[dpw]

thank you for this! Very helpful to beginners like me. Quick question, do you do any core strengthening exercises or weights off of the bike during off season?

[mustafacayci]

Hi Jeff, thank you so much for this video. I noticed that you were carrying a high fatigue during the Base period even though you said you were mostly doing Zone 2 - 3 rides weekly during that period. I see definitely an opposite, lower trend in Fitness and Fatigue and increased form in my situation. I noticed @Shai Traister asked the similar question.

[AydinPrecipice]

Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your video and content.

One quick question: I've always been taught that Z2 adaptations are dependent on ride length > 2 hours. Do you feel like your 45 minute to/back work splits uniquely work for you or would most cyclists benefit from Z2 in small durations as long as the overall volume is there?

[wmyers]

You are so much better at training then I am.

[wackery_zeimer]

Interested in diet/nutrition advice for a future video. Would also be interested in specific sessions you do.

Also, do you mostly just do crits? Any road races?