Just completed SSB1 mid volume, SSB2 high volume. No meaningful FTP change. Not saying I’m upset, this is what I expected. I guess base is base. I can say I “feel” like muscular endurance is up massively. And the ramp test probably does a poor job of reflecting that. One minuters at increasing intensity feel foreign after 12 weeks of sweet spot. Anyone else finish recently?
Well, I’m almost half way through ssb2 high volume (just started week 3) so at least halfway through the 5 weeks of hard work. Technically, I got worse after SSB1 lol. I started with a 275w ftp (which I had all year and didn’t really adjust) and tested 268 before ssb2. Of course, I knew this was wrong, so I bumped myself up 10w to 285 and it feels just fine. If I were you, I’d go back and, if you’ve been tracking HR too, go back and look at how your HR was for intervals in the early parts of SSB and see how the HR is for similar efforts at the end of SSB2. If you’re generally seeing a lower HR for those efforts you likely improved your FTP at least a little.
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I actually tossed my HR strap at the beginning of this one. Saw it as a limiter. I think an 8 min FTP test is a better gauge for me, especially after sweet spot work.
Same for me. Tested on Monday and no increase in front after ssbmv1. Just did the first session based on the ftp. HR barely going into zone 3 after 90 mins sweet spot.
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I suspect that someone like me, who is totally new to training, would be much more likely to see an ftp gain from base training than someone who’s been training for years and already has a pretty solid base. I’m coming to the end of ssb1 mv and am hoping for a bump, seems pretty likely.
Weren’t there any changes on your FTP?
I saw the title of this post and thought to myself, “I wonder if I made the podium”…
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I did a single short vo2 max workout near the end of the deload week that ends the base plan, 3-4 days before the ftp test at the start of the next plan. Worked kinda as an opener, but I think the bigger effect was that it prepped me mentally for the later parts of the ftp test when you hit vo2. That was just between SSBHV1 and 2, but I’m planning on doing the same between 2 and general build.
The mid volume plans have a bunch of ftp over-unders which more directly target your ftp but probably leave less gains on the table for the build phase.
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I saw great gains with mid volume vol 1. Now into vol 2, I think its the best plan to target all areas of your physiology. .
So it gives you the best bang for your buck, and gives you the best chance of achieving a decent FTP bump via the ramp test.
It may not be best for an 8 minute or 20 minutes test, but I really think the notion of FTP as ‘hour power’ is increasingly irrelevant. think of it as simply a set reference point to work against.
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I was new to TR late last year. Didn’t read enough about the plan progression and chose SSB II for me rather than SSB I because I thought II looked more challenging than SSB I. At the end of SSB II, I took a ramp test and felt like I failed it. My low end was definitely stronger but my high end power was seriously lacking. Once I got 20 watts over my FTP my body acted like I was in foreign territory and I rapidly declined from there.
So I decided to repeat SSB II. This time I swapped out a handful of workouts and added some intensity like Spanish Needle. I also rode outside and tried to bury myself on a couple of sustained climbs. Essentially just trying to shock/ready/prep/train the systems that would be used for the next ramp test.
That really was a difference maker for me as the second ramp test I was able to add a sizeable gain to my FTP (over 10%). The first test I died at 18:08, the second I made it to 20:29 and I had done workouts (including weights/deadlifts) the prior three days so I was far from “well rested” when I took the second ramp test. I am certain that some of the benefit came from simply repeating SSB II again, but I also was more comfortable pushing higher power because I had trained that a bit more the second time through.
I think a good parallel is weight training. If you do nothing but squat, your max squat weight will will go up over time. You will also notice that your bench press will also improve, even if you don’t bench press (for someone relatively untrained that is) because squatting improves your overall strength, not just your squatting strength. But if you really want your bench press to go up, you do both, squat and bench. That way your are hitting the system you intend to test and you are gaining overall fitness. To me that’s what SSB II is all about. It’s going to push up your overall fitness but it isn’t focused on training you for a test that is all about power above FTP. So to test well, hit that system a few times and even if it’s only psychological, it seems to make it easier.
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I finished SSBMV 1/2 a week ago.Saw a 31W increase over the 12 week period, 13% gain in tested FTP, 7% 1 and 6% 2. Didn’t come in untrained or inexperienced with structured training. Just four weeks off the bikeentirely.
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I posted above when I was partway through SSB2, and now I’m pretty much done with SSB2 HV (on recovery week), and REALLY hoping I’ve got another 10w increase from the 10w I went up after SSB1. Based on my RPE/HR toward this final week of SS work, I’m feeling this could be the case, but we’ll see! I’ll be over the moon if I can have a 295w ftp (and my goal now would be 300w by the end of build)
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Long story short… trained with a coach for a year, was riding around 4w/kg. Horrible injury March of 2017, mtbing, lower leg shattered, foot dislocated, ambulance, ER, surgery, 12 screws and a plate, recovery etc. Also had a few other “life happens” moments (second daughter! vasectomy! more surgeries…). Finally had my last surgery and had the hardware taken back out of my ankle Dec 7, 2018.
I started SSBmv2 Jan 2, 2019. Ramp test put me at 3.32w/kg.
After completing SSBmv2, I had an 8% increase in power.
As blood volume and glycogen stores and muscle activity increased, I added on 2kg, and currently I am at 3.51w/kg.
So, an 8% increase in power, a .2 increase in w/kg from Jan 2 to Feb 4 (I skipped the rest week and went right into General Build Mid Volume). If you could continually get 8% faster per month…we’d be reading about you shortly!
As you all know, numbers only tell part of the story, and I feel SO good on the bike right now. So, numbers are good, legs feel good, I’m 15 days into the build phase and excited to see what’s in store.
#fivestars
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I just finished SSB HV 1 & 2 a couple of weeks ago and agree. Only a relatively small improvement in FTP, (~3%, small compared to improvements I made last year doing 8-minute tests) but I definitely feel stronger and better equipped for my build phase compared to how I felt last year. (In fact, I just did my first O/U workout last night and, while challenging for sure, felt great.)
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I’m a little disappointed in my results as I am finishing up the last work week of SSB 2. I have been Halfway between the low & Mid volume plans, no easy ride and I don’t always get in both the long weekend rides. I did have 10 days off over Christmas/new years due to family obligations but I called that recovery week. I used my trainer for power data last year but am using my powertap hub this year. My FTP is down 15 watts from last year but I think that is just a difference in the way the power meters read. Still I hoped to be higher this year.
Last year I used the Sufferfest Plan. This year I am almost two months alcohol free and my training load is higher. Combined with the ‘better’ trainer road plans and I thought I would see an improved FTP over last year. According to my CTL/ATL I am in a pretty big hole at the moment so I am hoping that the upcoming recovery week brings some improvement.
The Sufferfest plans don’t have any kind of base, the are pretty much all high intensity interval workouts, so I still hope there is a chance that actual base work in the trainerroad plans will allow for higher gains in the future.
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At the start of SSBMV1 got 199 on the ramp test. Increased ftp to 207 in SSBMV2 just based on the workouts and how I was doing, and skipped the ramp test then. Retested for the start of General Build and got an ftp of 204 
out of anger, I increased my ftp to 209. Did Carpathian Peak two days later and suffered, but got through it. So suck it ramp test!
Anyways, 10 watts in 12 weeks on the trainer…not overjoyed by that.
However, just before the final recovery week of SSBMV2 I had an all time 20 minute PR of 232 watts, which gives me an ftp of 220, which is a couple watts higher than my ftp at the peak of last season and I only just finished base. So there’s that 
Just finished SSB1MV and gained about a 10% increase in FTP. (230 this week vs. 204 6 wks. ago). Prior to starting the first block, I’d been off the bike since Nov. ‘18, so I am happy with the results. This is the first time I’ve ever done such structured based training in my not so illustrious racing career of 15 years (master 50+). My goal is to get closer to 275 FT P for my mid-summer “A” races, which I realize is a pretty ambitious goal. This will put me closer to 4 watts/kg which I think should make me a lot more competitive this season.
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Finished ramp test after SSB LV1 and LV2. My FTP increased from 141 to 165 Watts at end of LV1, but is stagnant after LV2.
I will start GEneral Build next week (and redo ramp test - just because it’s part of General Build).
I gained 10 watts to my FTP on Mid Volume SSB1.
I did the high-volume Sweet Spot this last season but I notice I now have a little extra time for a mental break. So little more recovery time with the sweet spot base mid volume.
I’ve just finished SSBLV2. My FTP for SSBLV1 was 241W, the Ramp Test at the start of LV2 saw that “go up” to 242W. After the first couple of weeks of SSBLV2 it was apparent that I’d tested low so changed my FTP to 250W at which point the workouts “felt right”, i.e. over-unders were actually stressing me on the over part and I was recovering on the unders which is as it should be.
I had 100% compliance on SSBLV2, no back-pedalling or lowering of intensity. I didn’t manage that on SSBLV1 because at the end of week 4 I caught my first cold in over six years and the next workout (Tallac) nearly killed me! So I pushed the following workout into the next week and by that time I’d got over the cold.
I’m doing the low volume plans because that way I can get outside at the weekend. Even if my FTP hasn’t gone up that much I feel like I’ve better muscle endurance even though I’m not doing the outdoor rides at a high intensity.