Using Joe Friel’s Training Bible to plan your season

As a third-generation subscriber of Lydiard, Joe Friel’s application to most amateurs is definitely not something I subscribe to. However, I know it’s an easy to understand book that has many followers and I’m positive that these two spreadsheets will come in dead handy for those who would have otherwised used a quill. Hidden in the dark depths of Bikeradar, I found that in ’07 a user had created two excel charts to help you use in conjunction with Joe Friel’s book far easier than with a paper and pen. It’s automatic and does it for you based on how many hours, and working back from your prioritised events, just like you would in his book. Given it’s also digital and with the rise in smartphones, tabs, Dropbox etc, it’s much easier to access anywhere, edit, and won’t be lost.

Proficiency profiling 
The first one is the proficiencies profile whereby you are asked numerous questions on your ability, and it’ll provide you with a score on your climbing, TT’ing and sprinting ability. It also covers mental attributes and natural ability, as well as threshold and sprint power. The idea is you can then review and work on what your weaknesses are in the upcoming season.

Planning your season to periodise 
The second and probably more important one is the season planner. He’s created a great chart here. It’s laid out just like the template in the book, and you would use it in conjunction with pages 119-148 to plan your season and to periodise as initially laid out by Dr. Bompa. While Friel’s book pushes for linear periodisation, those who have a wider understanding will still be able to expand upon this and undulate or reverse periodise, dependant on what they’re training for.

Enter your annual training hours into the planner, enter all of your races and then prioritise them and work back as you would in the book and select which mesocycle of training you’ll be in. The chart then automatically crosses the box of which training sessions you should be doing that week. Go to ‘workoutpatterns’ tab and you’ll see what training session is prescribed on that day, and in the ‘workout’ tab a description of that session.

Got power?
I think on this tri website I may found the perfect complimentary spreadsheet to the PMC planning spreadhseet.

The TSS calculating spreadsheet has a lot of potential. Using TSS data already in your Trainingpeaks or from the TSS spreadsheet, if that data could be consolidated into workout codes, and then workout codes entered into the 52 calendar weeks (rather than a daily basis, I think that’s unfeasible for an amateur with a job/social life/kids etc), you could use the spreadsheet above I’ve just found to forecast with tremendous accuracy TSS, and thus the rise of your CTL and peak perfectly for your event(s). I would suggest adding to column H another list of races you have planned. You could also add in holidays, annual leave etc to help you plan from the one sheet.

Quantifying a training programme based on TSS and being able to actively modify it I think would make following a programme easier when you can actively forecast your PMC to periodise for as many peaks per season as you wish.

Fantastic excel charts!