Start with the right amount of training.
Three versions of the same 28-day Orientation block — Low, Moderate and High volume. Same structure, same lessons, same controlled intensity. The only difference is how many hours a week it asks of you. Each block deliberately sits at the low end of its range — roughly 3.5, 5 and 6.5 hours a week — because the first month is about learning the sessions and building the habit, not piling on hours. Volume builds from your next block. Not sure which one fits? The 60-second check below will tell you.
Which volume is right for you?
Answer four questions honestly — about the week you actually have, not the one you wish you had. The recommendation leans conservative on purpose: the first month is about building a habit you can keep.
Between two? Pick the lower one. Stepping up after a week or two is easy; digging out of fatigue isn’t.
Compare the three blocks.
Fitting training around a full life
3–4 hours a week. You are new to structured training, or your week genuinely has very little slack in it. The smallest dose that still builds something real.
You already have a training habit
5–6 hours a week. You are already swimming, riding or running most weeks and have some hours to give it. This is the right choice for most people.
Coming in with an aerobic base
7–9 hours a week. Transferring in from running, cycling or swimming with real training history behind you. More frequency, same controlled intensity.
What you will need before day one
Wrong volume? Change it any time.
Picking a block isn’t a commitment. If the first week tells you it’s too much — or not enough — remove the rest of the block from your TrainingPeaks calendar and apply a different volume from the day you’re on. Same structure, same lessons, just a different dose. A busy month at work, a sick kid, a trip away: step down, then step back up when life settles. Nothing to restart, nothing lost.
Why blocks, not a static plan.
Most training plans are a fixed 12- or 16-week file, written for an athlete with a perfect schedule. Miss a week, add a race or get sick, and the plan doesn’t know. You either force yourself back onto it or start over. Training Blocks works the other way round: structure a month at a time, rearranged whenever your season changes. The Orientation block is your first one.
Load a month, then decide
Apply a four-week block to your TrainingPeaks calendar. When it ends — or when life changes before it does — pick the next one based on where you actually are, not where a plan assumed you’d be.
Or build the whole season
Stack blocks into a complete plan around your race calendar: base, build, race-specific, taper, recovery. Two races? A spring and a fall peak? Build it once, then move any block when the calendar shifts.
Change it whenever you need to
Swap a block, repeat one, drop to a lower volume for a busy month, or pick up again after a break. Every current and future block is included, so adjusting never means buying another plan.
What it costs after the free month
Training Blocks: $9.99 a month or $99 a year — every block, current and future, plus the Training Plan Builder.
TrainingPeaks Premium: get a special offer on Premium when you sign up. No card is taken for the Orientation block — you decide once you’ve done the work, not before.