I know most if not all who frequent this forum are interested in maximizing performance. For the last 10-15 years I have as well, but as I approach 50 years of age my priorities have started to change. I am less motivated to chose an event to train for annually; this will be the only the second year in the last 15 that I’ve not trained specifically (the other was the first year of the pandemic). I am more interested in training that cultivates resilience, and the ability to break out of whatever training produced these qualities to quickly transition into specific training for an event if I get the urge.
I’ve lost the email, but some years ago @prof and I briefly discussed the idea of leveraging the unique qualities of different training modalities to generate such a schedule: long aerobic work and recovery on the bike; shorter aerobic work and tempo sessions by foot, and intensity on the rower - all mixed with the appropriate dose of strength training. I might have the mix a bit wrong, and some might want to swim instead of row, but I do wonder how many would be interested in this sort of training? It seems like such a program would be highly correlated with longevity as well. I guess this might not be dramatically different from triathlon training, and I’ve thought about selecting a triathlon plan and replacing the swims with rows, but I’d be interested in what others think.
I have tried to define something similar in my own program and experimented a bit. I tried choosing a triathlon plan and replacing swim workouts with rowing via Workout Wizard, but I encountered a limitation— not all workouts could be substituted by rowing. Additionally, triathlon plans do not account for rowing, so I was concerned about what would happen if I consistently skipped or replaced swimming. Strength training, which I regularly include, was also missing from the triathlon plan.
What suits me best so far is choosing a rowing plan that includes aerobic/recovery cycling and strength training. Usually, this means three strength workouts and two cycling sessions per week. I have also modified the plan by adding an extra cycling day. From rowing, I follow the main sessions (HIIT, MIT) and decide based on how I feel whether to swap shorter aerobic rowing sessions with running through Workout Wizard.
Ideally, it would be great if Athletica allowed selecting cross-training as an additional discipline and choosing which sports should compose the plan, so that training plans could be customized accordingly.
i would be very interested in that too. I’m still interested in racing competitively but i like to mix training’s in off season to maximize other modalities. One 12 week block with increased strength and run. Another with increased strength and bike and without swim, etc. I will have couple blocks like this until triathlon block will start in March. I’m currently on Hyrox plan but still need to do some manual modifications. I like @Lurk suggestion.