I’m not well versed in periodization. Need to do a bit more homework.
Anyway, Is it a bad idea to do FTP work year round without any breaks? I understand mentally it would probably be a good idea.
Anyway, I started FTP work last November. And continued this through the season. Each week I performed 2x20, ( 1x20 or 5x5 ), and a Sweet Spot ride for power specific work. I usually did a long moderate ride on the weekend. I kept the volume pretty low. Longest weeks were usually around 6 hours on the bike. I only compete in sprints.
I will be cutting down to ~2 hours on the bike during the winter. Is it a good idea to take a couple weeks or month or so away from FTP specific work to refresh a bit or is it okay to continue with the FTP work given my low volume? Do most of the folks here take a brief break away from FTP work?
It’s working. I’m satisfied with the gains given the amount of time I’ve put in.
I guess I’m just curious to know if people are doing FTP specific workouts all year long or if a lot of people take a couple an amount of time away from the killer workouts just to refresh a bit.
I’ve tried it…doesn’t work for me. Mostly a mental thing…I find ti difficult to keep my motivation up without an upcoming race / event. Just wears on me and becomes too easy to blow it off.
Physiologically…I have no idea if it is a good thing or not to do FTP work throughout the year. I guess if you can tolerate the workload, have at it.
I’ll still do some unstructured, higher power intervals throughout the winter, but they are just that - unstructured adna way to beat the boredom.
