Do I need a Training Plan

Simple answer is NO :) You can just stop reading now. There are problems with training plans. There is even problems with AI or dynamic training. The best coaches in the world can spot problems and go deeper than any current AI or smart training can. Most smart training or rules based training is based on theory. Like maximizing your TSS will make you the fastest or focusing on break throughs, this is theory, pro cyclists don’t train this way, there is no evidence based science that proves this is effective.

So the best we can do is look at the small amounts of evidence and top results as well as trust the real experts, if we could ever figure out who they are. Am I a real expert, well the people that agree with me think I know what I am talking about, and many others probably not so much :) I have read like 300–400 books on training of different types. I also have made friends with a Coach that has coached many world tour cyclists including when Cadel Evans won the Tour de France. Andrea Morelli and I met because we have very similar ideas, the only difference he knows from experience, what he is talking about.

It’s funny because you look at “Mr Sweet Spot” himself, Frank Overton of Fascat and what does he say. Want to get faster, ride more. That’s it, sure he has created thousands of training plans but at the end of the day, ride more. Training plans and specific workouts (outside the training that matches your goals) is like the icing on the cake. Now it can be fun and motivational following a plan and that last 5–10% can be what really makes the difference but that depends on YOU. You need to do things smart, too much or too little intensity might make a big difference in your season. Also if you have a race or big event, what you do in the few months leading up to that event can make a big difference.

If you focus on perfecting your volume patterns. If you have consistency and volume nailed, then a training plan likely makes sense. If not just using the TrainerDay train now feature and doing some Zone 2 training is enough get give most people what they need.

Here is a video that might help