Great to hear the updates! Don’t worry about having a bad week every now and again! Life happens and you’ll get back on track next week. Be disciplined and keep the faith!
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Haha, thanks for checking the thread out! This was a big part of why I decided to track the training, I couldn’t find anything documenting the journey from my level to something higher.
I’m really curious about the growth too, because I can already feel a huge difference between how I felt on the bike for the first time in September/October and now. Although I don’t wanna get my hopes up too much, Im motivated to kick that ramp tests butt!
I 100% feel you on the indoor vs outdoor performance, ended up going on a couple of longer group rides with the local club and it was definitely a LOT more effort than I was anticipating.
Although for me this actually motivated more even more to dedicate the time to training so one day I can complete one without having to either slow the group down or a get a push when I’m struggling 
Hope your riding is going well since getting your bike in July!
Hey @nickcs I’m using the small ring at the front and the 5th or 6th cog on the back. In my earlier workouts it has often been smooth, even with the same gearing but there are these times where cadence will jump around and power/resistance doesn’t get to the target with a higher wattage.
I’m going to check out the tacx forums to see if others have similar issues and maybe try a factory reset. In the meantime I’ll try to be as consistent as possible regardless!
One other idea I had was to try and boost the intensity and check whether it is better at higher wattages.
Im using big ring and mid range cog for work ( higher cog for cooldown between intervals ), helps keeping your cadence around 90 rpm ( where u should be at all times ). For warm-up and cooldown im going for small ring. ERG will match power everytime. I`m using a Tacx Vortex Smart, but i calibrate before every workout after 3-4 mins of spinning. ( i calibrate with both Tacx Utility first, and TrainerRoad app second )
Watch the cadence, as it is stated every workout, it should be at 85-95 rpm for most people.
here’s my ramp test after completing mid level ssb1
https://www.trainerroad.com/career/sweepmoggy/rides/68029092-ramp-test
165 FTP with a 10 pound weight loss , happy enough with that onto low level ssb2 now for 3 weeks before a holiday
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That’s awesome! Congratulations on the FTP increase and weight loss 
Are you happy with those results? Did you have any targets in mind when starting out?
For me, I’m hoping for an FTP increase, but do t really have anything to base the number on so I’ll be happy with anything tbh. I’m also trying to lose some weight as well but progress on that front has been pretty non existent haha, will save that for the sweet spot II
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Thanks, prior to the test I thought 165 was what I’d get & turned out a pretty good guess but I’ve no idea really, as never trained for anything before.
I started out in July losing weight (was 224lb now 190, calorie counting +1 for myfitnesspal) started doing some rowing & then bought a smart trainer on a whim (already had a road bike I’d bought on Ebay years ago & barely used), enjoyed using it a lot more than the rowing , started using Rouvy (free trial with the trainer) did an FTP straight away without much clue & got 113 a month on there messing about with workouts/riding routes before a week on Zwift before starting here.
Hope to do some outdoor riding once the weather improves but mainly just enjoying hard workouts especially the feeling of completing a 100+ TSS when you’re on the limit. 
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Long time no update!
Sorry for not updating over the last few weeks of the SSBI plan, in the end I felt like the updates didn’t really give much detail because ultimately it’s just me doing the workouts and keeping consistent, which is great but a bit boring. With that said, although I didn’t stick with the updates, I did stick with the training 
So here I am, after six weeks, FTP test to FTP test to give you the results of my training! (so far)
Over the last weeks, I could definitely feel the improvements and got more and more comfortable on the bike. My legs are starting to get a bit of definition too, which feels nice 
However I could tell that the targets were a bit low so it wasn’t as effective as it could be. So I’ve been really looking forward to the FTP test, not only to get the training back to a higher level, but also because I really wanted to see if I had made any gains.
So here it is, my test results - Log In to TrainerRoad
152 > 168 = 10% increase
I’m pretty happy with the outcome as I had no expectations going in, I just wanted to give it my all and see what happens, although I felt I had a liiiiiitle bit more in the tank but hey. It’s also cool to see @sweepmoggy and my progress so in line given we’re following a similar plan at the same time!
Now it’s onto SSB II after Christmas and I can’t wait. For the SSB I, I focused mainly on just riding. Making sure I got on the bike and stuck to the plan, without much attention to any of the other aspects like diet, rest, etc. So I can already see so much room for improvement going into the next six weeks. First off, weight. While my sole focus is not to become skinny, I didn’t end up losing any weight during this first stage as I was enjoying the fruits of my labour too much So in the next stage I will aim to focus a bit more on my diet, what I’m eating and when.
The second focus for me will be introducing a little bit of strength and conditioning into my week. This is something I haven’t done for a very long time, but would like to begin not only for cycling but also general health.
So yeah, that’s it. 6 weeks down, 10% improvement in FTP and some solid goals for the next 6 weeks. Looking forward to sharing my progress once again for anyone who might find it useful 
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Enjoyable thread and thanks for sharing! Make sure you inject some fun into your process, I would put a premium on getting outdoors when weather allows. I’ve found a strange addiction to indoor workouts myself, but I know from experience (for me) that it can wain come spring and that’s where I have to be careful about not losing motivation. For some, that time is in the summer after hard blocks of progressive training loads. Basically, be aware of burnout.
I never thought I would participate in focused indoor training, let alone share it with others, but I enjoy participating in the “what workout did you do today” thread. It’s cool seeing others’ process and it encourages me to make notes on my workouts which can be really helpful when reviewing in the future. Little insights that we can use to help guide in the future.
Keep it up! You’ll continue to see the biggest gains this first year if you stick with it, so enjoy it.
10% improvement is awesome! Congrats.
I wouldn’t worry too much about weight just yet - eat healthy and you’ll be fine. Trying to underfuel workouts or drop weight on hard days usually ends in disaster! As your fitness increases, you’ll probably end up dropping excess weight just by having a stronger body more tuned to using the calories in. Especially in winter, I don’t worry about weight, knowing that getting more fitness will mean you’re able to do more work in the spring, when long outdoor rides become possible. That’s when I typically see weight loss - long 4-5 hour rides outdoors with the fitness to go out and really put the power out.