Training Session Order

I don't think there is any one right answer. Its true that most plans will schedule the hard weekend ride on Saturdays, but if your 3-4 hour Saturday ride is with a group outside and you like doing that then by all means continue. If it is a solo ride then you could try swapping Saturday and Sunday and see if that leaves you feeling fresher or somehow works better with your other commitments (family, etc.). I train on the same schedule as you and prefer to do my hard weekend ride on Saturday but I have to do mine inside because it is too cold to ride outside, so I like just getting it out of the way. Your training program has to work for you and not necessarily anyone else.

Agree with Brian.
Don't cycle if you do not feel happy and comfortable. However, your training schedule should be regular. You can find a certain pleasure in cycling in Saturday such as cycling to someone's house or somewhere to entertain. Just cycling rather than training.

I ride alone mostly. It is like once a month I ride with peeps around. All other sessions solo.
It feels like if I do a hard ride on Saturday, I feel too tired to go for an endurance ride on Sunday. So since you guys said it don't matter, I dont care about the order. I do endurance on Saturday and hard ride on Sunday.

I now have completed three weeks with 5 sessions each week and initiated the recovery week as of today.
My 5 sec power went from 690W to 861W, and FTP from 196W to 210W in this period. I am not testing 1 min and 5 min.
I am doing sprint and endurance rides mostly and some test rides. Following a self made plan which is inspired by Joe Friel's base training advice.

I am very much excited about the improvement, but also I really feel tired. Especially these FTP tests are knocking me down. I am not taking a shortcut and doing the full 1 hour version. I am happy that the recovery week started.

Total volume of training in this 3 week period is 2790 TSS. This fatigue index metric in golden cheetah. I dont know what it means or how is it calculated but it says my fatigue index is 98.1% for the last month, sort of scary.

Anyhow, I am already very happy that I bought this powermeter. I should have bought this before all the useless stuff I have. And all sorts of advice is welcome about how I should utilize this device.

whenever you train you must pay attention to your body and how it feels. Everyone of us is different so what works for one person may not work for you. I would suggest that you try doing different training routine for awhile and see which one works best for you and gives you the best results.

It's better to have a day off after a challenging day. I'd also recommend increasing your protein & carbohydrate intake in the hours following the session to increase the recovery rate. If you are concerned about overtraining but still want to cycle do it casually.

I think the long Sunday ride is part of cycling tradition that comes from the good ol' Sunday "club run". It was a ride that was more social that training but often had some fun parts. During the winter it'd often be 4+ hours and maybe a stop for a bite to eat, getting longer the closer you got to spring. With the advent of more focused training methods, Sundays had been used by many as a 2+ hour fairly hard but steady ride.

The order of the days isn't written in stone. Your schedule dictates what order you do your rides. If you find that a 3 hour ride at your tempo pace leaves you with dead legs the day after, moreso than a day of intervals, then better you do that prior to a rest day. If you're eating and sleeping well and you're still being left with dead legs that riding for 30 minutes to an hour won't fix, either back off the duration or intensity a little and make sure you spend the last 15 minutes or so just pedalling a bit easier. It's supposed to be train, not strain.

I think it would be good to have two days off to relax your muscles, you can spread them along the week or have them after each other, it's just more healthy that way.

Hey,

Sounds like you're really getting into the training side of cycling! Power meters and structured plans can definitely make a difference. With your endurance rides and interval sessions, you're on the right track for building a strong foundation.

When it comes to climbing, remember that consistency is key. Even small hills can add up to big gains over time. And don't worry too much about comparing yourself to others, especially when it comes to climbing steep terrains. Everyone's strengths and weaknesses are different.

As for the new concepts and secrets, just focus on the basics and building a solid training base. There's no need to get overwhelmed with too much information all at once. And don't forget to enjoy the ride!

Happy climbing! 🙂