More Base Training...?

Hello team,

Starting on March this year, I went through Sweetspot Base High Volumen 1 and 2.

Then, due to COVID-19 my A event was canceled so I arranged a new one and repeated SSB2.

And yesterday, I got the news that ALL races in my country are canceled until March 2021.

So I am thinking about just doing SSBHV 1 and 2 over and over until it is time to go into Build and then Specialty.

I had never done a proper base training before and this four months have been tremendously important for me, as I have become really good at sustaining high power over long periods of time.

This is why I am considering to just keep working on my base, and the other reason is that I will not need the adaptations that Build and Specialty provide until races begin again…

But I also do not want to get stuck. I want to continue to improve… I figure that if I improve my FTP, then I would continue to get better even if I just go on with SSB as planned… Correct?

What are your thoughts on this plan?

I have had great gains with SSB HV1 and SSBHV2, I would do those over and over until you start to see diminishing/no returns.

Once/if that happens or if you are needing something different (SSBHV is all super similar workout to workout and week to wee so its easy to get burned out doing the same thing over and over) I would consider doing a build phase.
Just something to mix it up a bit, especially if you start seeing less gains after a few base phases it will be worth it to try something different and you will probably see some hopefully big gains.

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Base-Build-Base-Build would be a better use of your time

Speciality is best saved for when you want to be sharp for a race, but build is not and should accompany each base phase

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Thanks so much! So would you recommend that I do SSBHV1 and SSBHV2 alternatively or just SSBHV2 over and over again? The first one has a bit less training stress so not sure if I should go back to it…?

Thank you! So when you say Base do you mean phases 1 and 2 or just one phase? On a normal situation, I would do phase 1, phase 2 and then build, but my situation this year is different…

One of the recent podcasts suggested speciaclity was still a good idea, then returning back to base, as it drops the TSS for a while which can be beneficial. I suspect it is in this section [unable to listen right now];

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Definitely a risk of getting stale, both physically and mentally, if you keep on doing Base/Build without a proper break or without a taper to have some fun actually using that fitness when you’re fresh.

Approach I tend to do is just have a period where I’m still riding nearly every day but completely unstructured and just for fun. Normally ends up being 1-2 weeks where I ride pretty short and easy, and then as the freshness comes back I end up doing something similar to traditional base training with some long z2-3 rides. I find that even if those weeks are pretty high TSS, then the mental freedom of not having any kind of plan or structure, plus the relatively low intensity of keeping it nearly all below sweet spot, is enough that when I get back into structure I’m pretty fresh but having lost little or no fitness.

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I would do both. Phase 1 of base has a bit less intensity, so it keeps things different and gives you some time to take it a bit easier. Phase 2 of base and all of Build are quite demanding so that first phase of base can be a nice respite, while still keeping you working in a structured way

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Ive been going through the same dilemma, I think another point in the ‘pro list’ for repeating base now is that it might be one of the few times you get to see how your body responds to it. I’m going to try repeating base and see what happens, even if FTP gains drop off I’m just going to assume that the base is even more solid (bro science to feel I’m not just wasting my time :wink: or more seriously, progression isn’t linear so who knows what might happen in later blocks?)

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I would do both, adds a bit of variety and if I remember it right part 1 has a lot more pedaling/aero drills in it if you do those.

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(Assuming you have the time and mental capacity) is there any benefit to doing SSB1 & SSB2 and then switching to traditional base plans?

hey Daniel, sorry to hear about the races ;-/
+1 to the comments below; I wouldn’t go back to base, as that’s going to leave you with a REALLLLY long base season and no need for that. As you said, keep improvement and hit that FTP work and if you stop making gains, switch it up with a VO2Max block, then hit FTP after that.

Good luck with the training!

Brendan

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Thank you, Brendan :+1::+1: