Training Planning
Training planning is the process from diagnostics through periodisation to the weekly plan, turning load, recovery and goals into an executable structure.
Definition
Training planning is the entire process by which a goal is translated into concrete training sessions: from evaluating a performance test, through long-term periodisation, down to the weekly plan and the structure of each session. It is the planning part of training control, whose remaining steps are execution, recording and analysis.
Planning usually proceeds from large to small. First the periodisation is set, traditionally across twelve months or across the preparation phase for a specific event. It contains cyclically structured phases (training cycles) that at the lowest level resolve into weekly plans with a clear focus and a day-by-day structure.
| Level | Time horizon | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostics | starting point | thresholds, zones, performance benchmarks |
| Periodisation | 3–12 months | sequence of phases, target events, load progression |
| Block planning | 3–6 weeks | focus (base, threshold, VO2max), loading and unloading |
| Weekly plan | 7 days | sessions, supplementary training, recovery |
| Session | 30 min – 6 h | structure, intensity targets, control metric |
Why it matters
Without a plan, training emerges from daily form and habit, and both drift towards medium intensity: too hard for base, too easy for a real stimulus. A plan ensures that load and recovery stand in a ratio that allows adaptation, and that the intensity distribution matches the goal.
The level of detail can vary widely. A session can be planned roughly («60 min run»), with a performance target («60 min run in HR range 135–150») or fully structured («3 × 12 min at 250–265 W, 5 min rest»). Depending on the mode, a training plan is either a rough guideline or a specific, personal set of instructions for the physical and mental work around the sport.
How obseed measures it
obseed builds the plan on the stored performance benchmarks and derives the intensity targets of every planned session from them. The planned load progression is shown as TSS per week and as projected CTL, ATL and TSB, so that build and taper are visible in advance.
After execution, obseed sets plan against recording: planned versus actual intensity distribution, planned versus actual TSS. For these comparisons to mean anything, the benchmarks must be current. obseed recommends metabolic testing as the starting point of planning, because an estimated FTP systematically shifts every target derived from it.
Example
A triathlete plans 16 weeks towards a middle-distance race. The starting point is a spiroergometry with VT1 at 165 W and VT2 at 230 W on the bike.
The periodisation has three blocks: 6 weeks of base at 350–450 TSS/week, 6 weeks of build at 450–550 TSS/week with a threshold focus, 3 weeks of specific preparation at race intensity, then 1 week of taper at around 250 TSS. Every third week the volume is cut by 35 percent.
A key session in block two reads: 90 min bike, including 3 × 15 min at 215–225 W, just below VT2. The target rests on the measured value and not on a percentage of an estimated FTP.
Categories
- Trainingsplanung