Training Plans
14 methodologies, plan generation, periodization, and plan management.
On this page
A training plan is a structured, multi-week program that periodizes your training from where you are now to peak performance on race day (or whatever your goal is). Plans are built around one of ENDURE's 14 methodologies.
How Plans Work
Every plan has:
- A start date and end date
- A methodology (the training philosophy governing workout selection and intensity distribution)
- Phases (blocks of 3-12 weeks, like Base, Build, Stabilize, Peak, Taper, Race, Recovery)
- Weekly targets (hours, TSS, and intensity zone distribution per week)
- An adaptation engine that adjusts the plan when you miss workouts, get sick, or crush everything
Creating a Plan
Navigate to /plan and click Create Plan. The Plan Wizard walks you through:
- Select Methodology — Choose from 14 options (see below). Each shows a description, philosophy, ideal athlete profile, and example workouts.
- Select Events — Pick which race(s) you're training for. The plan will be structured to peak for your A race.
- Set Schedule — Weekly hours available, which day your week starts, and any schedule constraints.
- Review — See the generated phase structure, weekly hour ramp, and intensity distribution. Click Create Plan to finalize.
Once created, the plan auto-generates workouts and populates your calendar.
Plan Templates
ENDURE includes a template library at /plan/templates with pre-built plans you can browse, preview, and activate. Templates are organized by methodology, sport, and duration. Featured templates highlight popular plans for common goals.
The 14 Methodologies
| # | Methodology | Philosophy | Best For | Hours/Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polarized | 80% easy, 20% hard. No middle ground. | Athletes who need mental freshness, VO2max limiters | 8-15 |
| 2 | G-Spot | Training at 88-92% FTP — the "gravel sweet spot" for maximum FTP gains per hour invested. | Time-crunched athletes, rolling terrain, gravel racing | 5-10 |
| 3 | Pyramidal | High volume with progressively less time in harder zones. Classic periodization. | Athletes with 12+ hours/week, ultra-distance goals | 12-25 |
| 4 | HVLI | High-Volume Low-Intensity. Massive aerobic base building with almost no intensity. | Beginners, ultra-endurance (200+ mile events), base rebuilders | 15-30 |
| 5 | Threshold | FTP-specific intervals (2x20, 3x15, over-unders). Laser-focused on raising FTP. | Time trialists, FTP plateau breakers | 6-12 |
| 6 | HIIT | VO2max and sprint-focused. Short, brutal intervals. | Time-crunched with intensity tolerance, criterium racers | 6-10 |
| 7 | Block | Concentrated loading: a hard overload week, then a recovery taper, then a peak. Repeat. | Advanced/elite athletes targeting specific peaks | 10-16 |
| 8 | Reverse | Intensity first, endurance later. Opposite of traditional periodization. | Advanced athletes, specific event preparation | 6-12 |
| 9 | MAF (Maffetone) | All training below your MAF heart rate (180 minus your age). Pure aerobic development. | Recovery from burnout, beginners, aerobic base deficiency | 8-15 |
| 10 | Norwegian | Double-threshold sessions. Elite-level lactate clearance training. | Advanced/elite cyclists, race-ready athletes | 8-14 |
| 11 | Time-Crunched | Maximum adaptation from under 6 hours per week. All intensity, no junk miles. | Athletes with less than 6 hours/week available | 3-6 |
| 12 | Autoregulated | Daily workout selection based on HRV and RPE. No fixed plan — the plan adapts every day. | Athletes with HRV data who want maximum flexibility | 6-14 |
| 13 | Concurrent | All energy systems trained every week. Balanced development across zones. | Athletes with varied event goals, multisport | 10-18 |
| 14 | GOAT | Gravel-Optimized Adaptive Training. Event-specific intervals combining durability and speed. | Gravel racers with 7-12 hours/week | 7-12 |
Plan Phases
A typical plan progresses through phases:
- Base — Build aerobic foundation. High volume, low intensity. Mostly Zone 1-2.
- Build — Introduce race-specific intensity. More threshold and VO2max work.
- Stabilize — Hold training load constant while the body converts accumulated stress into fitness. Fatigue plateaus (3-4 weeks), fitness continues rising (months). Workout specificity increases within constant load envelope. Duration: 3-10 weeks. Triggers when ≥70 remaining days before peak with a non-autoregulated methodology. Each of Endure's 23 methodologies has a stabilize configuration with methodology-appropriate signature workouts, duration ranges, and intensity shift strategy (specificity or transmutation). Autoregulated is the only methodology that skips stabilize, using HRV-driven daily adjustment instead.
- Peak — Highest intensity. VO2max intervals, race simulations. Volume drops slightly.
- Taper — Reduce volume significantly while maintaining some intensity. Fresh legs for race day.
- Race — Race week. Very light training, activation openers, then race.
- Recovery — Post-race. Easy spinning, rest days, gradual return to structure.
Each phase has its own intensity distribution target. For example, a Polarized Base phase might target 80% Zone 1-2 and 20% Zone 4-5, while a Threshold Build phase might target 60% Zone 1-2, 25% Zone 3-4, and 15% Zone 5+.
Weekly Targets
Each week in the plan has specific targets:
- Hours — How many hours of training this week
- TSS — Target Training Stress Score
- Intensity Distribution — Percentage of time in Zone 1-2, Zone 3, and Zone 4-5
You can view and edit weekly targets from the plan detail page. The plan generates workouts to meet these targets.
Plan Adaptation
Life happens. ENDURE's adaptation engine handles it:
- Missed a workout? The plan adjusts subsequent days. It won't try to cram two hard days together to "catch up."
- Feeling great and over-performing? The plan may nudge intensity up in the next week.
- Readiness drops to REST for multiple days? The plan reduces load and may extend the current phase.
- You get sick? Mark yourself as ill and the plan backs off, then ramps back gradually.
Adaptation suggestions appear as cards on the plan page. You can accept, reject, or modify each suggestion. The plan also supports manual replanning — click Replan to regenerate the remainder of the plan with updated parameters.
Plan Compliance
ENDURE tracks how well you're executing the plan:
- Session compliance — Did you do the workout? Did you hit the power targets?
- Weekly compliance — Total hours and TSS vs. target
- Phase compliance — Aggregate over the entire phase
- Compliance grade — A (90%+), B (80-89%), C (70-79%), D (60-69%), F (below 60%)
Compliance is visible on every activity card in the calendar and in detailed form on the Compliance tab of the activity detail.
Block Reviews
After each training phase (block) completes, ENDURE can generate a rule-based block review. The review uses template scoring (execution score, adaptation score, combined grade) — no LLM. The review includes:
- Execution Score — Percentage of workouts completed as prescribed
- Adaptation Score — How well you responded (e.g., FTP change percentage)
- Combined Grade (A-F)
- Key Metrics — Before/after values with percentage change
- Compliance Summary — Overall trend (improving or declining)
- What Worked — Areas where you excelled
- What Didn't — Areas where you struggled
- Recommendations — What to change in the next block
- Coach Notes — If your coach has added commentary
- Data Sources — Number of sessions analyzed, weeks covered, FTP tests, and RPE data points used
- Caveats — Any limitations in the analysis (e.g., insufficient data)
Block reviews are generated on demand from the plan detail page. Coaches can review, annotate, and publish them to athletes.