I used Sufferfest from roughly 2013 to 2018, about half of which just watching their videos on a dumb trainer, and the other half trying to follow their structured training plans, the last bit with 4DP and a smart trainer. (During this period my wife and I had 2 children and dealt with countless daycare-sourced illnesses, so take my experience with several large grains of salt.)
Random bullet points to give my thoughts:
- The videos were great, and were the toughest part of deciding to cancel.
- I couldn’t finish many of the workouts, especially when using their workout player where you were held to the power (erg) akin to TR. This was after a Rubber Glove or Full Frontal fitness test, so in theory, my zones were accurately set.
- Following their 12 week plan(s), I did gain FTP, but it left me with little desire to ride my bike, and anecdotally, the fitness felt transient(?) … like I gained some high end power, but was left struggling whenever I needed sustained power, as in a group ride. The experience with TR sweet spot base plans has been the opposite.
- The ‘Full Frontal’ 4DP test was the most mentally damaging fitness test I’ve ever done. I swore I would never do it again. I said as much in my exit survey. The graphs and fitness “type” were interesting, but I don’t think I got any real value out of it. The TR ramp test is “easy” by comparison… I almost look forward to it.