Total Hours: 60
The Century programs include fewer maximum-intensity intervals and focus more on building power at lactate threshold. The primary goal of these programs is to increase the pace you can comfortably sustain for your long rides, meaning you’ll be doing more SteadyState and OverUnder workouts and fewer PowerIntervals. The OverUnder workouts are especially important because they will help you handle the changes in pace and power demands that come with riding in pacelines and over undulating terrain.
The categories are further broken down into “New” and “Experienced” programs. The differences between the “New” and “Experienced” programs are subtle, but reflect the fact that more experienced riders are generally able to handle a higher workload because they have more years and miles in their legs. If you’re an experienced cyclist who has been riding for 5, 10, 15 or more years, you’ll be happy to know that even if you’re currently not riding very much, the training adaptations from all those years of riding haven’t completely disappeared. Your current fitness may be quite low compared to what it once was, but riders who have several years of training behind them are able to handle greater workloads when they initially return to more structured training, and they adapt quickly and regain a greater percentage of their former fitness more quickly.
Experienced Century Program
There are a lot of new and experienced racers out there, but there are lot more of you who have been cyclists for many years and either have no interest in racing or are quite happy being former bike racers. This is the program that will give you the ability to complete your favorite long rides at higher average power outputs, or bump up your average speed for your next century. If you are preparing for a multi-day tour, like a Tour de France camp, this is also the program we’d recommend. The workouts in this program are designed to increase your sustainable power output, and even though it includes a healthy dose of PowerIntervals, compared to this program, the structure of the Competitor programs will develop a greater ability to handle repeated maximal efforts.
This program features 4 workouts per week (2 weekday workouts and 2 weekend workouts) and no more than 6 hours on the bike each week.
After purchase, your plan will be available in your own private online training log account. You'll enjoy these benefits and more:
Sample workouts:
Planned Time: 1:00:00
The CTS Field Test for Fitness is essentially a time-trial that is repeated two times during the same workout. In other words, you need to ride as hard as you possibly can for each time trial. CTS will be looking for the following data to be recorded from the CTS Field Test: Time of each effort. Distance covered. Average power output from each effort. Average heart rate during each effort. Maximum heart rate during each effort. Average cadence. Weather conditions for the time trials. Perceived exertion for each effort. CTS can tell a great deal from the data collected. We can assess how quickly you recover between efforts, the drop-off of average power and time for each effort, and your average heart rate between efforts. We can also look back at past field tests to help us understand how you are progressing. As you collect this data over a long period of time, you will learn more about how your body adapts to training, and we'll use the accumulated information to better structure your training programs. Here are the instructions for your CTS Cycling Field Test: Step One: Find a test course Locate and measure a flat three-mile course or a two- to three-mile climb. Try to keep the course on roads that aren?t too busy -- a semi-residential area of town or a large city park. Try to always choose the same time of day to conduct your CTS Field Test. Repeatability is always important for testing, since reproducing the same test conditions ensures that comparison of results is as accurate as possible. Try to conduct the CTS Field Test when the wind is relatively calm and temperature is warm but not hot. Conditions are usually more favorable in the early evening. Step Two: Fuel your body properly Your last main meal should be 2-3 hours prior to your field test. During the last 40 minutes prior to testing, drink a sports drink that is high in carbohydrates to help with hydration and fuel replacement. As always, eat the same as you did during the last test.
Planned Time: 1:00:00
1-1.5hrs EM w/ 3x8min SS 5min rest between intervals
Planned Time: 1:00:00
1-1.5hrs EM w/ 3x8min SS 5min rest between intervals
Planned Time: 1:30:00
1.5-2hrs EM
Planned Time: 1:30:00
1.5-2hrs EM
Planned Time: 1:00:00
1-1.5hrs EM w/3x10min SS w/ 5min rest between intervals