Plan Builder FAQs – TrainerRoad

General

What is Plan Builder

Plan Builder creates a custom training plan that brings you to peak fitness for your goal event or discipline. Plan Builder takes into consideration your current training volume, how much you want to train and when, all of the events on your training calendar, and the demands of your goal event to give you a truly customized training experience

Why Plan Builder?

Plan Builder accounts for all of the unique variations in your training schedule, event schedule and lifestyle that might affect the progression of your training plan. By adjusting your training plan in accordance with your needs your plan will be easier to follow and ultimately more effective.

Where Do I Start?

If you don’t have a training plan, you can jump straight into Plan Builder.
1. To start constructing your custom training plan, first, go to your online career.
2. Select the Training Plans tab in the navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. Select Plan Builder in the drop-down menu.
4. Select Build Your Plan to launch Plan Builder.
If you already have a training plan added to your TrainerRoad Calendar you will want to delete this training plan before you build your custom training plan. For detailed instructions on how to delete a custom training plan check out this help center article: Delete/Unschedule a TrainerRoad Plan. When you build and add the new plan to your Calendar select the start date of the first training day in your season and not just the most recent training block.

Is Plan Builder available in the TrainerRoad app?

Athletes can build their custom Plan Builder plans via the desktop apps or the TrainerRoad Website.
To use Plan Builder from within the desktop app, make sure you're on the latest app version, then go to the Training Plans section of the app.

How Plan Builder Works

Why are you asking how many hours per week I have trained in the last six weeks?

Plan Builder uses your current training load to recommend a training plan volume. We advise choosing the recommended volume; however, you can bypass the recommendation and choose any volume at your own discretion.

Should I include only on-the-bike training in the hours per week that I have trained in the last six weeks?

Only include on-the-bike training. If you are a triathlete, the right amount of running and swimming workouts will be included in the training plan that aligns with your cycling volume.

How did you come up with the recommended training volume?

The recommended training volume is based on the amount of training you have completed in the past six weeks.

Which experience level should I select?

Select the experience level that best reflects your experience with interval training. Your experience with interval training helps determine where Plan Builder should add or subtract training weeks when you have more or less time to complete an entire training progression.

I want to start my training plan in the past. Can I do that?

Yes! If you have already started training you can backdate the plan by selecting the date you started training this season.

Why didn’t Plan Builder suggest the Base, Build and Specialty phases in order?

It is very rare that your available training time will perfectly align with the length of a Base, Build, and Specialty Phase training progression, so adjustments need to be made. When these adjustments are needed, Plan Builder uses the latest sports science research and millions of training data points to create the ideal training progression to bring you to peak fitness.

Why is Plan Builder suggesting I go back to the Base Phase in the middle of my plan?

In many cases, athletes with less experience doing structured interval training benefit most by spending more time in the Base Phase. Additionally, a mid-season return to base training can allow the body to recover from more strenuous forms of training, and reach new heights by entering a base phase with a higher FTP.

Why is Plan Builder suggesting I go to a Specialty Phase in the middle of my plan?

Plan Builder strategically uses different training phases to increase fitness and freshness in order to make you as fast as possible for your goal event. In many cases, the Specialty Phase can be a great opportunity for the body to increase freshness without losing fitness. This is particularly true for athletes with a lot of experience doing interval training and serves as a great mid-season reset point for any rider, especially during long training progression

Why is Plan Builder suggesting I do more than one Build Phase?

Athletes that have a moderate level of experience with interval training can benefit from more time spent in the Build Phase to fully reach their potential. Doing too many weeks in a row of Build training can be extremely fatiguing, so Plan Builder will split up excessively long Build Phases with a Base or Specialty Phase.

Events

What if I don’t have any goal events?

No events, no problem! Plan Builder creates a training plan based on your primary discipline and how long you’d like to train this season. You can choose an end date for your training plan, or if you don’t want to choose an end date TrainerRoad will build a year-long training plan.

What if I have multiple priority events?

You can add as many C events and B events as you’d like, but A events (priority events) must be spaced eight weeks apart. Anything less than 8 weeks between goal events won’t allow you enough time to recover and rebuild sufficiently to reach peak fitness once again.
If you have two priority events within 8 weeks of each other, evaluate which event is not as important and make one event an A event and the other event a B event. You will still have rest allocated before the B event but you will only have a taper and a peak for the A event.

What if my priority event is a multi-day event?

If you are training for a multi-day event, mark your event as a ‘Stage Race’ when you categorize the discipline of your event

My stage race includes multiple disciplines. Which should I choose for "targeted discipline"

Mark the event you’d like to prioritize as the targeted discipline. You’ll taper for the entire stage race, but your Specialty training will be geared towards your targeted discipline.

What if I already have events on my Calendar?

If you already have events on your TrainerRoad calendar Plan Builder will accommodate these events. If you’d like to start fresh you can delete the current events on your Calendar and add them when you use Plan Builder. For more information on how to delete events check out this help center article: Editing Your Calendar

What if I need to add events later on?

New events can be added at any time. If you would like to add additional events to your TrainerRoad Calendar go ahead and check out this help center article: Add A/B/C Priority Events

What if my goal event is more than a year away?

Plan Builder will create a training plan for any event within two years of the day you’ll start training.

What do you mean by A, B and C Events?

Categorizing your events as A, B and C events is an easy way to prioritize the importance of your events. For more information on prioritizing events go ahead and check out this help center article: Prioritizing Races (A, B & C Races)

Do I need an A Event for Plan Builder?

If you plan on racing, at least one of your events should be an A-priority event. If you aren’t sure which event you would like to make your A event check out this help center article on prioritizing events: Prioritizing Races (A, B & C Races)

What if I want to train for a whole series of events instead of just one event?

If you are training for an entire series, we still recommend you make one event within that series an A race, and marking the rest as B races. This will allow Plan Builder to bring you to peak fitness. Plan Builder will build in tapers, rest and openers around the existing events, so your training will be kept on track.

I don’t know what sort of event my race is. What should I pick?

If you don’t know what sort of event your race is, select the discipline that is closest to the type of event you plan on racing.

I am training for a time trial distance other than 40k. Does Plan Builder work for that?

Yes. When creating the event, enter the event duration and intensity and Plan Builder will take care of the rest.

Adjusting Your Custom Plan

What if I need to take time off?

When you need to take time off you can edit your Calendar to adjust for time spent off the bike. For detailed instructions on how to edit your training plan check out this help center article: Editing Your Calendar

What if I have already started training?

You can use Plan Builder even if you are in the middle of a training plan right now. First, you will want to delete your current training plan from your Calendar. For detailed instructions on how to delete a custom training plan check out this help center article: Delete/Unschedule a TrainerRoad Plan
When you add your custom plan to your TrainerRoad Calendar go ahead and choose the day you started training for your current season. When your custom plan is added to your Calendar, it will include the workouts you have already completed this season.

How do I start over, clear my calendar, and create a new Plan Builder plan?

If you already have a training plan added to your TrainerRoad Calendar you will want to delete (or unschedule) this training plan before you build your new custom plan. Note that this will only delete planned workouts - any workouts you have completed will be saved. For detailed instructions on how to delete a custom training plan check out this help center article: Delete/Unschedule a TrainerRoad Plan

What happens to my current training rides if I delete/unschedule my current training plan?

When you delete your current training plan to add a custom plan all of your completed workouts will remain on your Calendar.

What happens to my A/B/C priority events if I delete my new plan?

If you delete a plan created through Plan Builder, any events that you added to your calendar via that plan will remain on your calendar. If you create a new plan, you can add these events to your plan by clicking the "Include" button in the Existing Events section of Plan Builder.

Should I take the Ramp Test before I start Plan Builder?

The Ramp Test will automatically be the first workout in any training phase or plan. If you are just starting a TrainerRoad plan, we definitely recommend starting off with this workout. If you have recently completed a Ramp Test in another training plan you can skip this Ramp Test at your own discretion.

I don’t have much time until my goal event. Can Plan Builder create a training plan on a short timeline?

Absolutely! Plan Builder will build a training plan for your goal event, as long as you have at least one week until the event.

I want to train on different days than Plan Builder suggests. Can I change that?

Definitely. You can customize the schedule of your training week during the "Schedule" section of creating the plan. Simply drag and drop your training days.

Can I decide which days I want to train outside?

Yes! When you create the schedule for your training plan you can mark specific days in your training week as outside rides. You can do this one by one, or adjust this per training block when building your custom plan. After your plan is made, you can change any workout to be an outside or inside workout on the fly.

Can I change my training volume for specific parts of my plan?

You can change the training volume of each training block when creating your plan, and at any point after Plan Builder has made your custom training plan. To change the training volume of your plan after it has been built, follow these steps:
1. Go to your online career.
2. Select the Calendar tab in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. Navigate to your current training block, or the block you are about to start.
4. Select the Block on your Calendar:
5. Below the title of the block, select the plan volume you would like this block to be.
6. Select Update.

Can I make changes to my training plan once I’ve added it to my calendar?

Absolutely, your training plan can always be edited. You can add additional events, swap workouts, edit training weeks and even delete workouts. For detailed instructions on how to edit your Calendar go ahead and check out this article: Editing Your Calendar