N=1 Series Part 5 Polarised Training and Masters Training Plan

Introduction
This is part 5 of 10 of the N=1 series of becoming a stronger cyclist for less than a cup of coffee a day. In this series I am going to take you through my journey from my local Masters C to Masters A in the space of 18 months, at the age of 57.

If you are reading this series for the first time, you can go back and read
Part 1, where I start with a daily smoothie and Creatine.
Part 2, where I incorporated sprint training into a weekly Zone 2 ride

Part 3, where I introduced strength training

Part 4, where I started using sodium bicarbonate

Following the Tour of Bright in early December 2024, I decided that I needed to put the fun back into cycling and take a break from structured training. In fact from the beginning of December until the end of March, I only did 5 indoor rides on the trainer. I just rode my bike wherever and whenever I liked. Road, gravel and even some track. I wasn't working at the time, so I would occasionally ride two crits a week (Wednesday & Sunday) and ride the rest easy. This looked something like 1hr 45min to 3hrs of racing and intervals, 10-12hours of easy riding Zone 2 heart rate or lower and 90min (avg. 2x45min sessions) of strength training.  Every second week, I would try to ride back to back hard days, with a hard group ride on the Saturday and race on Sunday, knowing I had plenty of time to recover. To be honest, my results were improving and I felt like I had cracked the code. Before we dig into the results lets have a look at what polarised training and masters training plans are all about.

A polarised training plan for cyclists is a method of structuring workouts based on the 80/20 rule, where roughly 80% of training time is spent at a low, easy intensity and 20% is dedicated to high-intensity efforts. It is a stark alternative to moderate-intensity programs like sweet spot training and is used by elite endurance athletes to improve performance while minimizing the risk of burnout. In my case, my training intensities were close to spot on the 80/20 rule.

A masters training plan for cyclists is a program designed for athletes over a certain age (often 35 or 40+) that prioritizes recovery by including fewer high-intensity workouts per week and more endurance riding. These plans also often incorporate strength and conditioning to support aging bodies, along with regular rest and periodized training cycles to avoid overtraining. The goal is to maintain or improve performance while accounting for slower recovery times and other life commitments. At the beginning of March when I was building up my annual racing plan with two A events, supporting B events and more frequent C events (crits), the TrainerRoad plan builder suggested I adopt a Master's training plan. Previously I had worked off the standard TrainerRoad plan of 3 days intensity and 3 days recovery, with every fourth week being a recovery week. This time around I opted for a High Volume Masters' plan, which consisted of 3x90min midweek rides (2 recovery, 1 effort) and 1x60min ride. Weekends were typically 2x2-3hr rides (1 effort and 1 recovery), bringing the total up to about 10hrs per week.

🚴 Purpose

As a masters cyclist, I wanted to test the effectiveness of a polarized training plan—an approach that emphasizes mostly low-intensity sessions with a small proportion of high-intensity work. Polarized models have gained traction for their ability to build aerobic capacity while minimizing burnout, especially in endurance athletes. My goal was to find out whether this structure would help me maintain consistent training, reduce fatigue, and still sharpen race-day performance.

 👤 Individual Focus

I'm a 57year old competitive cyclist balancing training with work and life responsibilities. I typically ride six days per week, and before this experiment, my intensity distribution was more of a “pyramid”—lots of moderate work, less clear differentiation. Switching to polarized training meant redefining my sessions:

- 80–90% of weekly time spent in Zone 1–2 (low intensity)

- 10–20% in Zone 4–5 (high intensity)

- Avoiding the mid-zone 3  or Tempo “grey area” that often leads to overtraining without gains

TrainerRoad tailored this model based on my fatigue patterns, recovery capacity, and racing goals—primarily rolling road races and hilly gran fondos.

 🎯 Control and Measurement

To ensure consistency and track outcomes:

- Training structure:

  - 4 sessions/week at Zone 2 (endurance pace)

  - 1 high-intensity group ride with surges (VO₂ max or threshold)

  - 1 or 2 races per week

- Monitoring tools:

  - Power meter and heart rate monitor

  - Weekly Training Stress Score (TSS)

  - Race and PB benchmarks:

  - Compared race performance before and after the 12-week polarized block

 📊 Data Analysis

By the end of the experiment, several trends stood out:

- Endurance efficiency: My Zone 2 power increased noticeably at a lower heart rate—a sign of improved aerobic adaptation.

- Peak performance: High-intensity sessions felt more productive, with less fatigue spillover.

- Recovery: Resting heart rate and sleep quality improved, especially compared to past blocks with frequent threshold work.

- Race impact: I felt fresher and more explosive on race days; able to manage surges more confidently and recover between efforts.

- Most weeks felt manageable, and my motivation stayed high, despite higher TTS, but lower overall intensity.

Weekly TSS and 6 Week Avg TSS

 ⚠️ Limitations

As with any N=1 experiment, there were important constraints:

- External stressors: Life and weather still affected training quality and execution.

- Duration: A 12-week block may not be long enough to assess long-term adaptations or peak season outcomes.

- No scientific controls: Subjective bias, no blinding, and lack of alternate training methods for comparison limit objectivity.

- The other interventions may have contributed to the improvement in power numbers

The Results

As I said in the previous blog. the results have been positive and I have been more competitive and less fatigued during races, efforts, sprints and 20min climbs. FTP up 4.2%. Best ever power numbers from 7.5 - 23min and a record 20min at 338 Watts or a FTP of 321 Watts, just over 4.15W/kg. Not my highest, Watts/kg, but I beat my PB on the local benchmark Kinglake climb. This time around I compared the 3 month period from October - December 2024 with January to March 2025 as a before and after comparison.

- Sprint results:  As you can see, most of my sprint numbers did improve to the point of being PBs

Sprint

- Endurance results: Again I have compared my power numbers from the previous 3 months, to the 3 months after periodisation was introduced.  January and February racing only consisted of criteriums from 45-60min, and March a couple of road races out to about 1hr40min. Essentially most of my times from 1min to 23min were all PBs.

Endurance

- Race Results: On the racing front, I picked up a few crit wins, which earned me a promotion to A grade with Eastern CC. Prior to that I had only managed a third placing in B grade.

The Cost

It's arguable that anyone could adopt the polarised training model for zero cost, but I do have a TrainerRoad subscription which costs be $0.89 per day, so it's included.

Reflection

7 years ago when I first started racing, I recall hitting a fatigue wall when racing a handicap and getting spat out after one 25km lap of a 75km race out at Balliang. I was racing on the weekend, doing the hard group rides during the week and failing to keep up in races. It was around this time my mate Gareth, himself a former junior racer said to me, when you race, you don't need to train that hard. How right he was and how slow I was to learn that message. More recovery does equal better performance and another mantra I constantly remind myself is that it's better to go in under done, than over done. So many of the conversations I have with recreational riders who do a lot of bunch riders is that they are constantly fatigued. It's probably more likely that those bunch rides are hampering, rather than helping your overall fitness gains, but that's a topic for another day.

Journal Articles

Polarized training has greater impact on key endurance variables than threshold, high intensity, or high volume training

The Effect of Polarized Training Intensity Distribution on Maximal Oxygen Uptake and Work Economy Among Endurance Athletes: A Systematic Review

Polarized vs. Pyramidal Training — Which is Better For Your Athletes?

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#masterscycling

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#polarizedtraining