[LEL17] Training. How far to go?

[madcow]

I take it that you don't have a wife or kids then?
I admire your attention to detail and am sure it focusses your attention , but I find real life gets in the way.
If I tried sticking to a rigid plan, then it would end up being more stressful and I ride a bike for fun.

[L CC]

I take it that you don't have a wife or kids then?

I've found ditching the kids and taking up with someone else's partner much better for training.

YM¹MV


1: Marriage

[Greenbank]

If you can maintain ~1000TSS a week then you shouldn't have any fitness concerns for LEL, that's for sure.

I can just about do that in a week without intruding into family time, but I only work 4 days a week so one day (during term time) I get 6 hours to myself whilst my daughter is at school. I can do about 5h exercise in that time, so a good chance to get 350TSS in in one hit (well, a 1h15m swim and then a 4h cycle, or shorter cycle and a run), the rest is spread out over the week (5-a-side, cycle commuting, running, lunchtime swim, etc).

Doing 1000TSS/week week in week out I've never managed, something always gives (injury [usually from 5-a-side], school holidays, etc). I think my CTL peaked at about 80. I haven't tried to work it out for my 50 point season, mostly because I didn't have a power meter then.

[mattc]

I take it that you don't have a wife or kids then?
I admire your attention to detail and am sure it focusses your attention , but I find real life gets in the way.
If I tried sticking to a rigid plan, then it would end up being more stressful and I ride a bike for fun.

I have the freedom to ride a LOT if I choose, but I do know that many friends with families (and/or other commitments) find they get a lot more done if they plan meticulously.
(Perhaps part of that is
"Of course I can't pick them up tonight - look at my schedule!!! " 

Is a TSS a unit that's independent of current fitness and natural ability? An answer in single syllables would be appreciated!

[madcow]

I take it that you don't have a wife or kids then?

I've found ditching the kids and taking up with someone else's partner much better for training.

YM¹MV


1: Marriage

I have enough on my plate finding the time to "train" for "that ride" without that sort of aggro as well.
Changing jobs is traumatic enough for me.

[Veloman]

I have enough on my plate finding the time to "train" for "that ride" without that sort of aggro as well.
Changing jobs is traumatic enough for me.

I think she also did that changing jobs thing along with relocating up North!

[Greenbank]

Is a TSS a unit that's independent of current fitness and natural ability? An answer in single syllables would be appreciated!

100 TSS is an hour riding at your FTP. You can't get more than 100 TSS in an hour (if you do your FTP is incorrect as that should be the maximum that you can put out in one hour).

The longer the ride the lower the TSS per hour (for the same reason you can't do a 5k run at the same speed you could do a 400m, etc).

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/what-is-tss

[EDIT] And yes it is independent of current fitness and natural ability as it is measured against your current FTP (if you don't know that, and don't have a power meter then it won't be accurate).

[rob]

I take it that you don't have a wife or kids then?
I admire your attention to detail and am sure it focusses your attention , but I find real life gets in the way.
If I tried sticking to a rigid plan, then it would end up being more stressful and I ride a bike for fun.

I have the freedom to ride a LOT if I choose, but I do know that many friends with families (and/or other commitments) find they get a lot more done if they plan meticulously.
(Perhaps part of that is
"Of course I can't pick them up tonight - look at my schedule!!! " 

Is a TSS a unit that's independent of current fitness and natural ability? An answer in single syllables would be appreciated!

This year we have purchased a wall chart.  Should have done it years ago.

There's a very good piece in Faster by Michael Hutchinson where he describes several athletes who persuaded their long suffering partners to financially support them for a year as they went full time.   A large percentage, he says, went slower.   Looks like full time employment can be a blessing in disguise.

Can't help with TSS/CTL I'm afraid.   There's probably an explanation in a book I bought some time ago but didn't get past the first couple of chapters.

[mattc]

Is a TSS a unit that's independent of current fitness and natural ability? An answer in single syllables would be appreciated!

100 TSS is an hour riding at your FTP. You can't get more than 100 TSS in an hour (if you do your FTP is incorrect as that should be the maximum that you can put out in one hour).

The longer the ride the lower the TSS per hour (for the same reason you can't do a 5k run at the same speed you could do a 400m, etc).

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/what-is-tss

[EDIT] And yes it is independent of current fitness and natural ability as it is measured against your current FTP (if you don't know that, and don't have a power meter then it won't be accurate).

Perfect 


[It is slighty interesting that you get no extra points for riding 100% - i.e. at an effort you can only maintain for a minute, above FTP.

If I understand it right, an hour spent alternating between 100% efforts and equal rests, gets you the same points as 30mins at FTP. With very different training effect. But of course it can only every be a rough measure. Only slightly interesting ... ]

[Greenbank]

If I understand it right, an hour spent alternating between 100% efforts and equal rests, gets you the same points as 30mins at FTP. With very different training effect. But of course it can only every be a rough measure. Only slightly interesting ... ]

It's not measuring training effect, it's a measure of training stress on the body. Whilst the two different workouts might feel completely different during, and shortly after, the workout; over time the difference becomes less relevant.

Training load (CTL = Chronic TL) is measured over the last 42 days and fatigue (ATL = Acute TL) over the last 7 days (both with exponential decay - simply put, every day you start by taking 41/42ths of yesterdays CTL and add on the TSS score(s) for the day. For ATL you take 6/7ths of yesterday's ATL and add on today's TSS scores). The difference between the two (CTL-ATL) is your form or fitness (+ve is good, -ve is bad) - usually done using the previous day's CTL and ATL scores.