Just finished SSB1 low volume. Possibly underestimated my FTP going in, since most of the rides left me not fatigued. Generally I also added an extra ride (indoors, gym, power metered spin bikes) each week, and these generally were fairly intense, 60-90 minutes total. Realistically, I have time for 4 rides per week.
Trying to decide between SSB2 low vs mid volume. If I do low volume, I’d add one ride per week, as I did with SSB1. Generally would be a 60-90 minute, high-ish intensity ride.
The other option would be to do SSB2 mid volume, and cut out one ride per week. The dropped ride would likely be one of the endurance-y rides.
Great question. I’m in the same boat. I was on the mid-volume, and dropped to low. I found that the mid-volume was just barely too much. I tried for weeks, but never quite adapted. I’m much happier on the low volume plan, but my FTP has plateaued. Not a major concern this time of the year. I’m much more concerned about burn out.
I’m happy with the low volume SSB2. In fact, I enjoy adding an outdoor ride or an unstructured training session once per week to keep things fresh.
I hope you get more feedback, as I’m curious as to what others are finding.
I’d go low volume and add your ride. You’re still going to get all the intensity you need with LV, and I find that once you start skipping rides it can be really easy to justify doing it for other rides thinking you’ll make up for it in the future. In addition, the MV plan adds the longer sweet spot ride on the weekend, which seems like what you’re basically doing with your added ride anyway.
I really like the Mid-Volume Plan minus the Wednesday endurance paced ride. This combination gets me nearly all of the TSS and structure as intended by the Mid-Volume plan, but it works much better with my schedule to train only 4 days per week.
What is important to consider is that you want to be able to consistently complete your week’s training. It is important to feel like you were able to fully accomplish what you set out to do at the beginning of the week, as this will help boost your motivation and keep you on track.
If you aren’t sure you can consistently complete the modified Mid Volume plan, then it would be better to do the Low Volume with an added ride. However, if you can stick to the plan and consistently complete the four toughest workouts from the Mid-Volume plan, then that would be the best approach
This is what I normally do.
------------2018
SSB LV1
SSB LV2
------------2019
SSB LV1 (+1) - I throw in an extra ride (either last ride of week -1 variant or something else for fun)
SSB LV2 (+1)
SSB MV1 - I’m experimenting with this spare 6wks I have in the plan. This might change to something else
Sustained Power B LV
Specialty (Century) LV
I keep to LV plans because come spring/summer, I like to drop in outside rides instead.
Giving a second life to this thread, I’m looking for some advice. I’m 3 years into cycling, I’ve never done formal structured training, but my FTP plataued this year. I used to Zwift a lot (around 4-6hrs/week) in the winter and just ride outside rest of the year (around 5-8hrs/week) and I saw some newbie gains this way until now, at around 285w-300w @ 70kg. I’m going into SSBII with a 5 days available and 2 rest days back-to-back (Friday and Saturday). I would be training 2 mornings (easier workouts), 2 evenings and 1 longer workout on Sunday. Can someone would be able to give me some advice on how should I arrange my training schedule and workout orders? Thanks!!
