bigfred 

The Pro's require a greater base. They spend much more time on the bike each week. Even at a lower percentage of total milage, their time spent at high intensity levels will equal or exceed what a recreational cyclist will attain when high intensity represents a greater percentage of their total.

A year ago I would have pulled out one of my old training books and began with lots of long slow distance and base building. And in fact, that is more or less what I did. But, I started reading some of the stuff from kiwi and aussie coaches that suggested "serious recreational" cyclists, who have limited time to train, are better served by spending a greater percentage of their time concentrating on high intensity speed and strength work and using their weekend rides to attempt to consolidate those gains. Then I saw Carmichael suggesting a similiar approach.

The idea that, to ride faster you need to practice riding faster made sense and I started really pushing for intense speed and strenght work.

Of course there are pro's and con's to both approaches. As already mentioned, the gains of a high intensity program can be difficult to maintain long term if you don't already have a pretty good base. Also, you need to be aware of your body and not injure yourself. It also involves plenty of rest and recovery. You're either "ON" or you're "OFF", with the exception of one weekend ride that for me is a distance at tempo ride. It's probably not the right choice for someone who wants to train more than 3 to 5 days per week. Or, for those who can't afford to return from their rides in pieces.

On the flip side, programs that focus on a greater percentage of tempo riding will also see gains and may build a better base. However, the speed and strength gains may not be as great (less of a concern if you're on flat land, more of a concern on hills) and you may be prone to reaching a plateau earlier than you might if you're spending more time alternating between high stress and recovery.

To be honest, I wouldn't "sell" what I've been doing to everyone. I'm seeing scary fast gains. BUT, I feel I'm more susceptible to illness and injury than I've been in the past. And have suffered a couple of forced "off" periods. I also spend a significant amount of time feeling sore and spend quite a bit of time stretching throughout my days.

I knew that speed and strength to weight issues would be my limiting factor to reaching my goal. So, that's what I'm focusing on. If the OP or anyone else has different priorities or issues, a different approach would be equally warranted.

Basically, if you get out and ride "hard" and "push" yourself beyond your comfort zone, you're going to see gains. How those gains manifest themselves will be representative of how they were achieved.