Another well thought through response from a respected source on power training (whose coach is Dr Max Testa) I agree that much of it makes sense, but what is interesting is where the point of view varies from what is widely practiced, at least among many amateur athletes. For example, no recovery periods, no recovery weeks are planned. Rest is taken as needed, not as planned. Also, no extended transition period (or off, away from all training) between the end of one season to the next. And, training is planned to perform well in a limited number of events. Show of hands, how many people put "rest periods" or "recovery" weeks in their monthly training plans? I agree with the author about not doing this, and I also agree that the athlete does loes some conditioning during these "recovery weeks". My monthly plans never include a recovery period of more than a day or two in a row, unless it's for tapering before a handful of events in a season. When I need rest, that's when I get rest. Could be the 15-16th days of the month, or the 24-25th days. The key, is knowing when you really do need rest, or when you can benefit from doing more training even though you feel tired in some aspects of your ability. It's useful to figure out exactly what area is fatigued, and then figure out other areas that can still benefit from training. Rest one area while you train another. The limited (off-season) transition period... I mentioned this to one of my racing/training buddy's the other day. He rides every week of the year, as I've done for the last 3 years, partly from his suggestion. He says he doesn't want to lose the fitness he has because it takes too long to get it back, and that's time lost to improving from previous levels. The trick is to allow only enough time for you to recover and recharge at the end of the year, but then get right back to work. Some people can do this in 2 weeks, and some can do it in 4 weeks. If you're racing really hard at the end of the season it might take a bit longer, but longer than 6 weeks is probably more mental than physical. The author talks about training and preparing for just a few events each season. Look at the tendencies for the pros doing well in the Giro or Tour. This year we see Floyd Landis racing a fair bit, but not Simoni, Basso, Leipheimer, Ullrich, Julich, Vinokourov, Cunego, Salvodelli, et al. Most don't race much at all before their major events, and/or the races they do are done in a controlled way with efforts made for specific areas of their ability, and to provide some race-mode testing of their current ability. Smart training can allow you to address your specific weaknesses better than most racing can. So the question you can ask yourself each week is, would I benefit (in terms of a major goal or objective) more from racing or from training? Sometimes racing gets in the way of your training. One thing in the article that won't work for many people is the author's/coach's perspective on who can handle the workload and what happens to those who can't. Basically, if you can't handle the workload you're not good enough to be on the (National) team and when you're burned up and burned out you're dismissed. They keep the few who can handle the load and discard the rest. This approach happens all the time in some pro cycling teams and to some riders formerly involved in the USCF system of coaching and racing. So, while the author/coachs' approach may be okay for "team" members it has to be used with caution for individuals trying to maximize whatever ability they have and then competing with that ability.
