Training Peaks

In January, I started using TrainingPeaks in addition to Polar ProTrainer which I have been using in some version for many years. It has been helpful for me as a Mac user to be able to keep my training log up-to-date without having to start up Windows in VMWare Fusion.

My favorite thing about Training Peaks is the Annual Training Plan. With a paid account you can use the ATP wizard. You first answer some basic questions about sports and training time, then enter your planned races and prioritize them A, B or C. The ATP wizard generates a plan for you which you can adjust manually. I was reading Base Building for Cyclists by Thomas Chapple when I started using Training Peaks. Chapple uses a similar approach to Joel Friel, who developed Training Peaks. The ATP was very helpful for backing out base building from goal events. The ATP and Friel’s “abilities” are very similar to Rob Sleamaker’s SERIOUS training for Endurance Athletes and the way he breaks up training time over the 7 SERIOUS components. I read Sleamaker’s first edition nearly 15 years ago and used a complicated Excel spreadsheet to allocate yearly training hours. The ATP wizard makes the process much easier and, if you haven’t done manual edits, you can play around with different variables to look at different plans.

Once you’ve set up an ATP you can use the Virtual Coach to recommend workouts. The VC only recommends bike and run workouts for me. Since I am doing a lot of skate skiing for base training (and fun!) I haven’t used the VC much yet.

I also really like the CNS score, developed by coach Rick Crawford, which is in the daily log section of the Classic version of TrainingPeaks. I am probably not using its full potential, but keeping track of those 6 subjective factors gives me an idea about how well I am balancing stress and recovery.

TrainingPeaks has a free trial if you’re interested and I highly recommend Base Building for Cyclists. It has more discussion of training for ultra-endurance events than any general training book I’ve read, which is not a lot, but a lot more than a single passing reference (or no mention at all), and it has a couple sample training segments for ultras. To me the big difference between Chapple and Carmichael, compared to older books like Sleamaker, Eddie B and Lemond, is not the idea of a training progression or training different skills for your sport, but the emphasis on low intensity base training. Chapple’s entire book discusses how to structure this part of your training year.