TRAINING PLAN GUIDE

1Welcome

I built these plans to give you structure, direction and proven methods, whether you want to get faster on Zwift, complete your first century, or just build fitness you can rely on. This is not a generic one size fits all programme. It is the same structure I use with my coached athletes, adapted into a format you can follow independently.

What makes these plans different

• Built by a qualified coach (BSc Hons Sport, Fitness and Coaching)
• Used successfully by Team Evolve riders, a 300+ member community
• Flexible enough to fit around your life
• Clear guidance on when to push hard and when to back off

Take your time reading this guide. Understanding why you are doing each session helps you train smarter and get better results. Let us get to work.

2Before You Start

Before diving into training, make sure you are set up for success. This checklist helps you avoid common mistakes and get the most from your plan.

• Medical clearance. Consult a physician if you have health concerns or have been inactive for six months or more.
• Equipment check. Ensure your bike is properly fitted and mechanically sound.
• FTP test scheduled. Book time for the initial FTP test in week 1.
• TrainingPeaks setup. Create a free account at trainingpeaks.com and upload your plan.
• Training time blocked. Review the weekly schedule and block the time in your calendar.

Equipment you will need

Essential: a bike (road, gravel, or indoor smart trainer), a power meter or heart rate monitor (power preferred), and a device to track workouts (Garmin, Wahoo, or a phone with Zwift).
Recommended: an indoor trainer for controlled intervals, the TrainingPeaks app (the free version is fine), and a bike fit or position check.
Nice to have: a cadence sensor, multiple water bottles, and a fan for indoor training.

Setting expectations

• This plan will be challenging. Hard sessions are meant to push you outside your comfort zone. The discomfort is where adaptation happens.
• You will not complete every session perfectly. Some days you will be tired or stressed. One bad session does not ruin the plan.
• Progress is not linear. You might feel strong in week 2, then flat in week 3. That is a normal training response. Trust the process.
• Recovery is part of training. The easy days and recovery weeks are not optional. They are when your body adapts.

3Foundations First

Before we get into FTP, zones and intervals, one principle sits above all of them. Get this right and everything else in this guide works. Get it wrong and the cleverest intervals in the world will not save you.

The one rule that matters most

Consistency and volume come first. Your biggest, most dependable gains come from riding regularly, week after week, with a solid base of steady aerobic miles underneath. The intervals are the polish. They are not the foundation. A perfectly executed set of intervals will not take you far unless it is supported by consistent training volume built up over time.

Why the base comes first

Most of what actually makes you faster is built at low intensity. A bigger aerobic engine, more mitochondria and capillaries, better fat use, and the durability to still feel strong three hours in, all come from time in Zone 2, not from hard efforts. Intervals raise your ceiling, but they only pay off when there is a big room underneath them. Sharp VO2 work on a thin base is a roof with no walls. Build the walls first.

The priority hierarchy

When you have to make choices with limited time, protect them in this order.

1. Consistency. Show up every week. Four solid weeks in a row beats one perfect week followed by a blow-up. Momentum is the real asset.
2. Aerobic volume. The easy Zone 2 riding that builds the engine. Most of your week should be easy, and that is by design, not a lack of ambition.
3. Intensity. The two or three key sessions that sharpen what the base has built. Powerful, but a small slice of the whole.

Consistency beats perfection

A plan you complete eighty percent of, every single week, will transform you. A plan you nail for ten days and then abandon will not. Miss a session, shrug it off, and ride the next one. The riders who improve are not the ones who train perfectly. They are the ones who keep turning up.

Easy days easy, hard days hard

Most of your riding should be genuinely easy, easy enough to hold a conversation. Save the deep efforts for your key sessions. Riding your easy days too hard is the single most common way riders stall. It piles on fatigue without adding fitness, and it steals quality from the sessions that were meant to be hard. Let the easy be easy so the hard can be truly hard.

4Understanding FTP

Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is the maximum power you can sustain for roughly 60 minutes. It is the cornerstone metric for structuring your training, because most sessions in this plan are prescribed as a percentage of your FTP.

Why we test

• Makes sure your training zones are accurate for your fitness level
• Gives you a baseline to measure progress against
• Prevents training too hard (burnout) or too easy (no adaptation)

How to test

Your plan includes a 20 minute FTP test in week 1:

• Warm-up: 15 to 20 minutes easy spinning with three or four one minute efforts building to threshold
• Recovery: 5 minutes very easy
• Test: 20 minutes all out, paced as evenly as you can from start to finish
• Cool-down: 10 to 15 minutes easy

5Training Zones Explained

Each zone targets specific physiological adaptations. Knowing what each one should feel like helps you train more effectively. These are the same colours you will see on the intensity meter on every plan.

6Using Your Plan

A typical week

The table below shows a typical week. It is an example of how a plan balances hard days and recovery, not a fixed template. Rest days vary from plan to plan, and some plans include more than one full rest day, so always follow the days as they are scheduled in your own plan.

Priority hierarchy

If you need to skip or shorten sessions, protect them in this order:

• Interval sessions (Tue and Thu) drive the adaptation, protect these first
• Long endurance ride (Sat) builds your aerobic base
• Mid-week endurance (Wed) maintains consistency
• Recovery and easy rides (Mon, Fri, Sun) skip these first if needed

7Adapting Your Training

Life happens. Here is how to modify the plan intelligently when you need to.

Adding volume

• Extend endurance rides by 30 to 60 minutes at Zone 2
• Lengthen warm-ups and cool-downs on interval days
• Never add volume during recovery weeks or to recovery rides, it defeats their purpose

Reducing volume

• Skip or shorten recovery rides first
• Shorten endurance rides to 90 minutes minimum if possible
• Keep the interval quality intact. Short and sharp beats long and slow

Training breaks

• 2 to 3 days off: resume where you left off
• 1 week off: do an easy week first, then resume
• 2+ weeks off: go back one to two weeks in the plan
• 1+ months off: restart the plan from the beginning

8Nutrition & Recovery

Training is the stimulus. Nutrition and recovery are where adaptation actually happens. Get these wrong and you will underperform, overtrain, or both.

Fuelling your training

Daily nutrition principles

• Protein: 1.6 to 2.2g per kg of bodyweight daily, 20 to 40g per meal. Essential for repair and adaptation.
• Carbohydrates: your primary fuel. 5 to 7g per kg on hard days, 3 to 5g per kg on easy days. Do not fear carbs, they power your intervals.
• Fats: essential for hormones and recovery. Olive oil, nuts, avocado, fatty fish. Go easy on fats close to training.
• Hydration: drink to thirst, aim for pale yellow urine. On the bike, 500 to 750ml per hour depending on heat and sweat rate.

Recovery priorities

• Sleep: 7 to 9 hours a night. Your most powerful recovery tool.
• Eat enough: undereating while training hard means poor adaptation, illness and injury.
• Active recovery: easy rides, walking, yoga. Low intensity movement aids recovery.
• Manage stress: training is stress. Too much life stress plus training stress equals overtraining.
• Listen to your body: elevated resting HR, poor sleep, low mood and constant fatigue mean you need more recovery. Take 2 to 3 days off.

9Frequently Asked Questions

10Terms of Use

Please read carefully before beginning. By following this training plan you acknowledge and agree that:

1. Medical responsibility. Exercise carries inherent risks including illness, injury, or in extreme cases death. You have been advised to consult a qualified physician before beginning, and confirm you have no known condition that would prevent safe participation.
2. Voluntary participation. You follow this plan of your own volition, aware that it may include high intensity exercise and riding on public roads.
3. Assumption of risk. You expressly assume all risks associated with following this plan.
4. Release of liability. You agree that Evolve Coaching, Bryn Griffith and associated parties are not liable for any injury, illness, death or property damage during or after training, except in cases of recklessness or intentional misconduct.
5. Personal responsibility. You agree to train within your capabilities, listen to your body, and seek medical advice when needed.
6. Intellectual property. This plan and guide are the intellectual property of Evolve Coaching and may not be reproduced, distributed or sold without written permission.