# 3 week on, 1 off blocks or 48 hour periods?



## jlgoodin78 (Dec 13, 2007)

The big thing in every training book since Lemond is the 3 week on, 1 week of recovery blocks, but I met a coach who believes it's garbage for those who aren't on a stage race mentality and instead believes in the principals of 48 hour periods for cellular growth. He instead advocates for a high intensity workout with a day of recovery (either easier spinning or a day off entirely) with occasional (every couple of weeks) days of 2 days in a row of high intensity, followed by 1-2 days of recovery. He's a very firm believer that you need to build the base properly with about 4-6 weeks of long length, high cadence, endurance spinning before going into intensity.

What are the thoughts of those of you who are experienced in coaching or have an exercise physiology background? I'm in the process of getting back to structure in my training plan after 10 weeks of laissez faire training due to a lot of travel & want to do it right. Gotta build up for cx now!


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## rockdude (Apr 3, 2008)

I am not a Coach but I play one sometimes. There are a lot of variables like how old you are, what you are training for, how stressful you life is, etc...But, as a general rule, I think most elite Cycling Coaches believe in block training. 3-4 days on followed by of rest or active recovery. And most will issue an off week or less intense week every 3-4 weeks.


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## hscoach2 (Jun 20, 2011)

That sounds like someone who is thinking of strength training, not endurance. Works for bench press though.


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## rockdude (Apr 3, 2008)

jlgoodin78 said:


> He's a very firm believer that you need to build the base properly with about 4-6 weeks of long length, high cadence, endurance spinning before going into intensity.


This is fine but I would not do these too slow.


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## Alex_Simmons/RST (Jan 12, 2008)

rockdude said:


> I am not a Coach but I play one sometimes. There are a lot of variables like how old you are, what you are training for, how stressful you life is, etc...But, as a general rule, I think most elite Cycling Coaches believe in block training. 3-4 days on followed by of rest or active recovery. And most will issue an off week or less intense week every 3-4 weeks.


Arbitrary scheduled recovery makes no sense. Rest and recovery when it's needed.

In a "build" or aerobic base development phase, I might not back a rider off a rider for 3 months. But you have to know how to layer on progressive overload that is sustainable for that athlete.

Coaches who are scheduling recovery on an arbitrary schedule (e.g. every 4th week) are not really monitoring an athlete's response or needs. They would be using stock off the shelf training plans.


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## rottieruff (Aug 8, 2008)

my coach has me 3 wks on and 1 wk off but not totally off. more active recovery and little to no hard efforts for the week.


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## jlgoodin78 (Dec 13, 2007)

Thanks for the replies, all! The arbitrary and set 3 weeks of build, 1 week of lighter recovery does seem too stock or canned. I'm feeling like I should really be adjusting my training and recovery to build as my body needs it rather than taking a week of lighter training because the calendar says to. I'll be breaking my season into build periods to focus on specific growth, but mixing the recovery in as my body responds & needs it rather than arbitrarily scheduling it in specific periods.


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