How to Adjust Your Training Volume and Intensity.
Are you just starting out and don’t think you can manage the full program workload? Are you returning from injury or a long break?
Want to put as many Training Phases into your program as possible, leading up to your Goal Race other than the basic; General Preparation, Specific Preparation, Competition Phase.
All these are very important aspects of a Progressive Training Plan that you will need to work out before setting out your yearly Training Plan for your Major Goal Race.
The best Plans are the ones that can be flexible to bend with your everyday lifestyle but still have the firm guidelines to Progression and ticking off minor goals along the way.
These Minor goals are the motivational steps to your major Goal, and are very important to you reaching that success of your Major Goal this season.
So like they say take baby steps or walk before you can run, this is in my opinion, the best way to having a successful and injury free season.
After much feedback from my Progressive Monthly program athletes in 2018, and my passion to make every trainer not just a better trainer, but a better personal coach, I have put my Just Paddling Methodology into a simple Management Plan that I’m calling the VIMP (Volume Intensity Management Plan)
This simple to follow 4 step Plan sets the Volume and Intensity in easy to manage progressive stages, so that the trainers don’t get over loaded or injured and still gain the adaption in every step to move onto the next step within a reasonable time frame.
The real success of a training Program is the balance between the Volume and the Intensity of each Interval and each session over time, every week and month.
Here are some options for you to adjust the program and gradually ease your way to full volume and intensity.
Step 1– Reduce Volume and Intensity (2 – 4 weeks)
- Reduce volume by just completing sessions 1, 2 and 4 each week
- Reduce intensity by eliminating any Training Zone (TZ) 5 and replace TZ4 with TZ3
Step 2– Reduce intensity, add volume (2 – 4 weeks)
- Add volume by completing sessions 1, 2, 3 and 4 each week
- Reduce intensity by eliminating any Training Zone (TZ) 5 and replace TZ4 with TZ3
Step 3– Reduce volume, add intensity (2 – 4 weeks)
- Reduce volume by completing all 4 sessions, but reduce the repeats by approximately 20% (eg. 5 = 4, 10 =8)
- Add intensity by using all 5 Training Zones
Step 4– Full program