Strava Training Plans

bobmcstuff
bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
edited January 2016 in Training, fitness and health
Just noticed this feature on Premium, not seen it before (assuming it's brand new?).

Essentially you can get "custom" training plans from CTS (Chris Carmichael, the author of the Time Crunched Cyclist Training Plan) so I assume it'll be fairly similar to TCTP.

Think I might sign up for the 15 or 30 minute climbing one with a view to improving my time up my local ~20 minute climb (Cairn O' Mount). Probably the 15 minute one as that's the kind of time I'd like to do it in.

Anyone else using one (maybe not if it is literally brand new) or interested?

Comments

  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    These plans are about as 'custom' as a trip to the deli counter in Sainsburys and getting slices of ham that are not prepacked.
    With a bit of general research you make up your own fairly easily.
    On Training Peaks they can cost an arm and a leg and I avoid Joe Friel as he will insist I make trips to the flamin' gym weight monkey area 51... I positively hate those places.
    However, he has put his name to this
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyclists-Traini ... ning+diary
    Having a formal record of your training is very satisfying and it is old fashioned enough for someone with a pen to use!
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    JGSI wrote:
    These plans are about as 'custom' as a trip to the deli counter in Sainsburys and getting slices of ham that are not prepacked.

    Hence having "custom" in inverted commas ;)

    But, that doesn't necessarily mean they won't be any good surely? I signed up for the 15 minute climb one, based on the email I got it is very similar to the TCTP, much of the terminology is identical and it looks like the workouts will be similar too. Given people seem to review the TCTP quite highly and it's free (if you have premium) it seems like it might be worth a shot.

    It's a 4 week plan "designed" to make you faster up a climb of your choice. The later workouts apparently will include attempts on the segment (which means it might be difficult to do the one I want to do anyway as the snow gates are often closed at this time of year).
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    If you have got time to give us a breakdown of what he has written to get you up a hill quicker, would be interested. The guy has still a little bit of credibility left over from ...
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    JGSI wrote:
    If you have got time to give us a breakdown of what he has written to get you up a hill quicker, would be interested. The guy has still a little bit of credibility left over from ...

    No doubt a varied diet:

    Breakfast - EPO

    Lunch - testosterone

    Tea - cortisone

    :lol:

    These so called online training plans are as tailored as a suit from Primark.

    Seriously, if you want a personal training plan then get a coach.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    redvision wrote:
    Seriously, if you want a personal training plan then get a coach.

    Yeah, but coaches are expensive, and this is free...
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    So in case anyone cares, the workouts from this are more or less identical to those in the time crunched training plan (high intensity intervals) but over a shorter time period (4 weeks as opposed to the 8-12 in the tctp). So if you were considering the tctp and had strava premium it might be worth checking it out just to see what the workouts are going to be like (despite the above posters the tctp does seem to be generally well reviewed on here).
  • a4ndyp
    a4ndyp Posts: 16
    I live right next to the snowgates on the north side of the cairn ( in the steading conversion) - if you fancy a blast up, over and back let me know :)

    you can look here to see if the gates are open before you set off http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/webcams ... owGate.asp

    hope that helps :)

    andy
  • robbo2011
    robbo2011 Posts: 1,017
    Well I have started the 30 minute climbing plan this week. Why not, it's free. too early to say if there is any effect on my fitness, but the over/under workout last night was tough. i won't be able to stick to it religiously due to some business travel, but hopefully my early season climbing will be stronger this year as a result.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    robbo2011 wrote:
    Well I have started the 30 minute climbing plan this week. Why not, it's free. too early to say if there is any effect on my fitness, but the over/under workout last night was tough. i won't be able to stick to it religiously due to some business travel, but hopefully my early season climbing will be stronger this year as a result.

    I'm doing the 15 minute one, I also found the over/under session tough (but satisfying) and having similar issues with work and travel.

    Doesn't help that I'm doing a lot of cross training at the moment - I'm supposed to be doing the steady state intervals this evening, but I've agreed to go and swim 2k after work, not sure if I'll be keen to do 75 minutes on the turbo after that! Plus a 10k run yesterday lunch time (after doing the over/unders on Tuesday instead of yesterday) and I'm starting to feel a bit knackered... Losing weight though :D
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    a4ndyp wrote:
    I live right next to the snowgates on the north side of the cairn ( in the steading conversion) - if you fancy a blast up, over and back let me know :)

    you can look here to see if the gates are open before you set off http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/webcams ... owGate.asp

    hope that helps :)

    andy

    Cheers! It's partly wishful thinking on my part, because I ski as well so am hoping for lots of snow!! It's not been that great so far. Looking like it could be very windy this weekend so if I do go out I'll be staying down low to try and avoid the wind.

    A question, does the road get icy up there? A lot of the back roads just outside Aberdeen seem susceptible to icing up when it's below about 3 degrees in the centre, with the extra elevation on the Cairn o Mount road I'd imagine it ices up quite easily?
  • a4ndyp
    a4ndyp Posts: 16
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    a4ndyp wrote:
    I live right next to the snowgates on the north side of the cairn ( in the steading conversion) - if you fancy a blast up, over and back let me know :)

    you can look here to see if the gates are open before you set off http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/webcams ... owGate.asp

    hope that helps :)

    andy

    Cheers! It's partly wishful thinking on my part, because I ski as well so am hoping for lots of snow!! It's not been that great so far. Looking like it could be very windy this weekend so if I do go out I'll be staying down low to try and avoid the wind.

    A question, does the road get icy up there? A lot of the back roads just outside Aberdeen seem susceptible to icing up when it's below about 3 degrees in the centre, with the extra elevation on the Cairn o Mount road I'd imagine it ices up quite easily?


    Yes, it gets really bad up there....

    It is not on any of the Aberdeenshire council routes for salting/gritting. It does get salted now and again (approx once a month) in the winter but that is only when the gritters have completed all of their other routes and ensured that all other roads are open.

    I drive over there as part of my daily commute and regularly tow people out of ditches and call emergency services for them when they have had accidents and the sad reality is that it would cost less to treat the roads than it costs to send ambulances, air ambulances, police, fire engines and mountain rescue up there all the time when things go wrong but the council don't see the road as a priority as its a simple solution to allow the police to (check and) close it when the weather turns- in fact last year i had to rescue the police when they totaled their 4x4 on the Cairn in the snow..... go figure!

    in fact i tend to give it a miss at this time of year on the bike and just head up Clachnaben on the MTB - unless its an exceptionally warm day.

    andy
  • glasgowbhoy
    glasgowbhoy Posts: 1,341
    Oh the Cairn O Mount. I raced over that road in the Jollibar Trophy in Sept. The second section was brutal but a cracking decent at crazy speeds.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    About to do a steady state interval session. Feeling a bit hungover so we'll see how that goes...

    Hoping to actually ride outside tomorrow but it's so damn windy.
  • nbalcombe
    nbalcombe Posts: 87
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    About to do a steady state interval session. Feeling a bit hungover so we'll see how that goes...

    Hoping to actually ride outside tomorrow but it's so damn windy.

    Rest day for me today, that I should have had yesterday. Hoping to do a ride tomorrow morning for endurance miles but because of the wind will probably end up being a turbo session.

    I wish there was a way to tailor which days were which, the emailed plan doesn't particularly match up with other commitments during the week.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    4x 12 minutes steady state (threshold) intervals done... Nearly died in the third. Pulled it back for the 4th. Hard workout!
    nbalcombe wrote:
    bobmcstuff wrote:
    About to do a steady state interval session. Feeling a bit hungover so we'll see how that goes...

    Hoping to actually ride outside tomorrow but it's so damn windy.

    Rest day for me today, that I should have had yesterday. Hoping to do a ride tomorrow morning for endurance miles but because of the wind will probably end up being a turbo session.

    I wish there was a way to tailor which days were which, the emailed plan doesn't particularly match up with other commitments during the week.

    Yeah, that's exactly the same with the TCTP and there is guidance in that on moving workouts around. They appreciate that you can't always do them on the day and it's not a big deal. The Strava plans could do with adding similar guidance.

    Probably going out tomorrow, hoping to do a 100km which will be a lot longer than the 1h45 endurance miles it wants me to do, but hey ho.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    Well, for the new year I've signed up for another one of these, I found it worked out quite well last year - if only because it's good to have some structure.

    There are some new options since I last looked, I've gone for "intermediate indoor training plan" based on 3 workouts a week. The new plans are more or less identical to the plans in the Time Crunched Training Plan book. I'll do all 3 on the turbo and then aim to ride outdoors a couple of times as well, plus I'm also running a bit at the moment (as a means to see daylight during the Aberdeen working day).

    I did the HR test on Sunday and I am very unfit compared to last year!

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