The 9 Day Training Cycle: I Switched...Should You?

[@oilesquire]

I am a recent convert to a 10-day training cycle. I'm 56. Reasons were the same as Mark's - rest and recovery. It makes management of my "recovery budget" much easier to cycle thru a month in the shape of "X" strength workouts a month, "Y" intense cardio workouts and "Zzzz" Zone 2 workouts a month. Works great, steady improvements in every metric and seldom any nagging pain or fatigue. Mark Q: when in the cycle are you strength training?

[@LifeMaximus]

Hi Darrell! Yeah, I'm enjoying the extended training cycle a lot. I'm even experimenting with doing 2 quality workouts a week, one on Monday and one on Thursday. This gives me plenty of time to recover and get some good zone 2 work in along with 2 dedicated strength days on Tues and Friday. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@jennabruns3164]

Hi Mark, I'm a cyclist (63 years old) and I am considering a 9 day cycle. Thanks for the video, it was very informative! I think I'm going to try this.

[@LifeMaximus]

Hi Jenna! Glad you enjoyed the video and found it helpful. A 9 day (or any other more extended) training cycle can be a great benefit because it gives extra time for recovery, which is key as we get older. Let me know how the new training cycle is working for you once you have had some time with it. Happy cycling!

[@Burps___]

Hi Mark. I mentioned my 9-day cycle in a comment and you replied that this video was coming…great job on telling the world our secret. 😂 It’s better for me in all the ways you mentioned. For sone odd reason, I can wrap my head around it better even though it’s “off calendar”, in a sense. These little three day blocks are easier to think about since they’re all the same easy/rest x2, then quality sesh…and, to be frank, I think I run my easy days easier because I can better visualize the little micro-block for it’s intended purpose…can you relate? 😃 Personally, the only downside has been my running club runs here in Illinois; they follow a 7-day program and, especially their weekend long runs which are full of motivational camaraderie, often fall on my easy day. I tweak a bit on those days to accommodate them sometimes. Do you have a running group and hit the same snag with scheduling?

[@LifeMaximus]

Yeah, I guess I spilled the beans! I agree with you that the 3-day chunks are really nice because it's easy to plan the recovery/easy days. I don't run on a regular basis with a group so no real issue for me, but it can be an issue if you do.

[@Shevock]

Maybe when I retire. For now I like a 14 day with 3 hard sessions.

[@LifeMaximus]

Yeah, the biggest drawback is the shifting of days. I'm fortunate to have good control of my work schedule so I can set aside mornings for back office work and exercise. With you doing the 14 day schedule, do you always do long-runs on the weekend and then fill in the workouts around that?

[@Shevock]

@Life Maximus Yes. When I stick to this routine it is a long run one weekend, a hard interval session the other weekend, and then a fartlek in there during the week.

[@erichill5328]

Great move 👍🏻.

[@LifeMaximus]

Yeah, I'm really enjoying the extra couple of rest days between the harder workouts. I have more time to recover and reset and I am more ready to do the actual workout. So far it is working well!