Definite win. From early October I did 9 weeks based off TBHV 2&3, phasing in a few SST workouts in the 2nd half. I also added longer Sunday rides, working up to 4.5 hours. I think the benefit was just from more time in the saddle pushing the pedals. I got a high of 879TSS, which would destroy me if done as higher intensity workouts.
I’ll definitely do another base period like this in future. Might even stick a few more weeks on next time
That’s a lot of TSS even for TB. Can i look to your workout list? I’m currently doing modified TBHV 3. I’m swapping the SS kind of workout with some threshold or Vo2max workout and hovering around 690 to 700ish TSS.
My calendar should be visible. I did a couple of SST workouts the last weeks, which will have bumped it a bit
I’m having a tough time with the longer workouts too. I have no excuses as I have a flexible job that allows for enough time to train 10 hours or more. My limiter is my aerobic fitness and my lack of durability. I think even low volume hours at z2 has a positive effect assuming it’s a different stimulus than you’ve previously attempted.
I’m not only tracking FTP but efficiency and HR decoupling (even with short-for-endurance 1.5 hour rides). I’m tracking fatigue and being honest with how much volume I can handle every week being very careful not to extend hours too quickly.
My hope with my first ever experience with a true base phase is improved durability, less fatigue in later phases, and better aerobic and muscular endurance. I’m a bit surprised at how fatigued I feel today though after 4 hours of TR endurance work and one spicy 2.25 hour group ride during this week. I need to weigh the cost benefits of my weekly group ride as it’s never a slow roll.
I did something similar. Few weeks just doing whatever at the end of last season, then from mid-Oct to mid-Dec mainly just rode lots in z2 with a weekly hour tempo and 2x20 SS on the turbo, following Joe Friel’s plan, then started SSB.
Pre-Covid I was a regular long distance commuter and something of the quickest guys I know had similar commutes.
It’s easy to forget cycling is primarily an endurance sport and therefore volume is king.
Another update:
after completing TBLV1 with extra Z2 (all of that was probably a bit too much tss, 500 instead of my average 270) i needed some weeks off the bike.
I started SSLV1 now and despite having loaded carbs over the last weeks I did not really feel good and juggling the insuline probably wrongly I ended up having a hypo after half of todays workout.
I went on doing 30 min Z2 and will probably return to TB - just with less tss than last time. I simply cant ride 4x2h per week, too much.
So i will settle on 2-3x 1-1.5h at Z2 and have one or two longer outdoor rides on the weekend. (If lockdown rules allow this).
We will see how that works out.
I am wondering now: due to health reasons higher intensity seem not to shit me well. In tendency I might just stick to pure Z2, not sure if a TR subscription still makes sense then at all?
Just had a look at that and it seems to fit in in with the type of riding that I do. Do you know if there is a way of putting it into your calendar without all the running & swimming stuff cluttering it up?
Maybe coincidence but I did TB this year followed by a modified Short Power Build to reduce hard days. Only 3 short rides outside this year but already blowing my last year performances on the same loop out of the water
Welcome to the 1% club!
Just wish I was as fast as the 1% but I’m too heavy 
n=1 but I did mostly TB workouts this winter and am now doing SS workouts. The Sweet Spot workouts feel a lot better than in the past. It’s still pretty cold outside so I haven’t tested on the real road, but so far so good.
Good to hear you might have figured out something that works for you 
Hopefully it will be with some variation later on either with changed basal/bolus dosage or nutrition or timing.
I, personally, would still use TR for the plans and calendar. Even if I do a lot of Z2 I still schedule at least one intensive ride a week to keep some kind of top end, and if it is just one ride the blood sugar hit will be more OK in the grand scheme of things.
I just completed TBMV3 with one extra week attached, and even though it do have some threshold and SweetSpot, there is nothing really intense in it and I still saw an 15W increase in FTP, so getting some kind of increase without doing OU, Vo2 etc seems to work well. Again, for me.
Without TR I guess I would save some money, and I can use intervals.icu together with Zwift to cover the stress and indoor workouts. But I have grown used to perusing all the workouts and pick out the ones I have not tried yet.
All the best.
I’m a bit surprised at how fatigued I feel today though after 4 hours of TR endurance work and one spicy 2.25 hour group ride during this week.
Assuming sufficient time for both, is there a ‘better’ option?
My experience with SSBMV is not great. Setting FTP from a ramp test inflate my FTP effectively turning SS to threshold leading to overtraining. It is a very demanding plan so for the best outcome you need good sleeping and nutritional habits. Trad base MV is a much safer option in that regard.
If you set your FTP conservatively either would probably work well. Why not doing both and see which gives best results?
Traditional Base works. I got a 20W bump in FTP earlier this year from TB after a couple of years of SSB
One thing to consider is how long do you think you can tolerate being on the trainer at a time - both mentally and comfort-wise. TB is an excellent plan if you can do the longer rides outdoors. But long rides indoors can be challenging, and SSB may be a better option if you can only handle 60-90 minutes.
Better is in the eye of the beholder. TB MV worked better for me, but might not for you.
I’ve done several cycles of TR plans, and I’ve always done Sweet Spot Base in the beginning (one cycle at low volume, one at mid volume plus, the rest at mid volume). My FTP tests were either spot on or a tad on the low side, meaning workouts were easier than I thought they should be.
The last iteration of the plans released this year is significantly easier than the previous version, again, almost too easy for my taste, but YMMV.
Traditional base requires a significantly larger time investment and at least for me the main “difficulty” is simply boredom. I prefer to do such long Z2 rides outdoors rather than indoors.
On the topic of sweet spot sessions;
I’ve decided to ditch the ramp and 20min tests for FTP and actually do an exhaustive FTP test. A recent ramp gave me an FTP of 299W so I used that as a stake in the ground for pacing my Time to Exhaustion test.
I could hold 300W for 40min, 305W for 30min, 308W for 20min. So, depending on how long your target events are, and SS intervals, the ramp may be suitable for setting FTP. Now I know I want TTE to be closer to 60mins I have a valid reference point to where it is now @ 40min/300W. The downfall of ramp and 20min tests is the unknown how long can you hold your new shiny FTP? 20mins? 30? 60? Psychologically this would leave a black hole with regard to how hard can I go or planning to pace an event beyond the duration of a 20min/ramp FTP test.
Those who did the traditional base plans, was it worth the time invested? I’m back and forth going through the TB plans.
I was thinking
TBlv2 plus 5 - 6 hours zone 2 added
TBMV2 plus 3-5 hours zone 2 added
TBMV3 with 1-3 hours zone 2 added
Then go through the SSB1 and 2
Or I’m thinking doing Polarized base MV with extra endurance; repeat the block 2x, for a total of 12 weeks.
Any advice is great advice!