I did SSB HV 1 np. Low carb. SSB HV2 I died in week 4. Ate carbs (racing weight program), no more diet and changed the last 2 weeks to SSB MV2 with some programming of my own or zwift in between. All fine now. To much 2 hour workouts is just killing imo. Also carbs added a lot to my performance.
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Also in 3rd season, I find similar problems in long o/u. Carp peak +2 is just massive step up going to 16 mins o/u from I think nothing more than 8 min previously. This year finished for first time but only with 3-5% reduction and a couple backpedals in latter sets. But longer work staying just below threshold or with short break eg Mary Austin -1, has been doable.
Point is even with multiple passes through ssb, it seems like it can still highlight very specific weak spots after you get past the eating, sleep, long term conditioning after multiple seasons indoors and mental improvements that are all great advice above.
My first season felt like what op describes - after the carp peak fail, I used improving weather as an excuse to ride outside more and abandon structure that I couldnāt do with a ftp that I now realize in hindsight was set a few watts too high. Donāt give up like thatā¦ Drop ftp targets to make most of them doable, and know itās ok if a few still arenāt 100% doable - they will tell you exactly where you still need work. My ftp has been flat for a couple years, but after better plan compliance, I can hold and repeat power near it so much better now. Thatās more useful than gaining a few more watts on a 5 min segment and being done for the day!
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This ā¦
Exactly my experience all well so far - 1 week left of SSB LV2 and only now starting to get my head around the longer high level SS intervals
Just tweak the intensity as needed to complete the entire workout - youāll still get benefit and also a bonus is the psychological boost of having ācompletedā the workout 
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Just lower FTP by 10 and go through them. Some of the hardest workouts are in SSB2
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This is my second year with TR. Last year, I think SSBMVII broke me mentally a bit. I started picking and choosing and kind of creating my own thing after it when it was build time, but of course that also corresponded with outdoor season picking up. I really didnāt see any improvement over the prior year, which was mostly outdoor rides with hill climbs, and zwift racing. This year Iām doing LV + more recovery zone rides (rather than endurance) hoping to be fresher. When I went into SSBILV, I thought I tested particularly low, but took the number, and completed no problem. On retest for SSBIILV, I went up 18 watts (to what was my āusualā in-form FTP) but again found it was beating me down, so Iāve knocked it down to roughly half the gain, and itās somewhat better, though judging by my performance on Disaster, Iām still lacking on repeatability and > 115% efforts.
I think failing workouts has been really bad for me mentally. I never used to bail at all, but sometimes Iāve found myself bailing now before HR goes red-zone. I even bailed on an outdoor hill climb this summer, something Iāve never done before in my life.
So I may knock it back even a little more, to have more āsuccessā and rebuild mental toughness.
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Like you have stated - workouts durinf SSB II LV are way harder but they mostly rely on mental aspect (especially during 4-5th week). But what I found fascinating that when your mind tells you to stop and you overcome this urge some of the workouts become āeasierā or at least not much harder. I had two workouts when my mind was telling me to stop, my HR was raised and my whole body was signaling that I will not be able to finish - but for me this is the normal part of any physical activity and the moment when the magic happens. Without truly pushing your body you there is no progress in your fitness.
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Iām in my second season where I failed ssbmv2 with a jump from 230w to 235w on completion of mv2.
This year I took the approach of ssblv with extending the rides with + versions where I had the time and felt fresh as well as outside rides at the weekend. This saw a jump from 225w to 250w.
During lv2 Iāve failed a couple of the Saturday workouts and dropped down to 245w to finish the program. Iām interested to see the results, I donāt think Iāll see any ftp gain personally as it was too brutal to add in additional volume.
Iām excited to see what build brings as it finishes just before a cycling holiday
Iāve been using TR for about 6 years. Iāve learned a lot about what NOT to do.
I think itās wise to NOT raise your FTP between SSB 1 and SSB 2. If you do, just do 1 or 2 %, but at that point, whatās the point??
Regarding VO2maxā¦adjust down or up if neededā¦to finish the intervals. Shouldnāt need to adjust down the 1 or 2 minute jobs, but the 3 min ones, donāt feel bad about dialing down even up to 5%.
Donāt adjust the sweet spot intervals. If you need to, your recovery, fuel, or FTP is off ( or a combo of the 3).
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Carpathian Peak +2 took my soul and stepped on its face this week. Three weeks into SSB2MV and Iām in a hurt lockerā¦ week 5 is gonna be a bear. 
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What were the outcomes that you had that make you suggest no increasing between the two? Do you test between the two base phases? Iām just starting TR but have been mountain bike riding 3 times a week or so for lots of years, just for fitness and group riding fun not racing. SSLVBase1 was super easy really, even Palisade. Kaweah, was a bit more difficult yesterday, but Iām going to chalk that up to too much holiday cheer this week. Iām definitely seeing some workouts in SSB 2 that have me intrigued since I donāt ride VO2Max style very much. Lots of long grinder uphills in our neck of the woods.
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So I just progressed to Sustained Power Build from SSBMV2. I had a big jump in FTP and the first week has crushed me pretty bad. The Tuesday V02 workout was the instigator that set me up for destruction/failure. I dialled back the subsequent workouts in order to make it through them and keep excellent form.
Lesson for me is adjust accordingly to keep good form and make the end of the sets. Failing isnāt a bad thing but you want to be on the cusp of failing I feel for sustained build. For SSB you probably want to be completing the workouts even a little easier.
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Your on the same plan as me. Tomorrow I start and Iām super pumped for it. And I canāt wait for my ramp test tomorrow.
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There is a really chance Iām approaching TR and the workouts incorrectly but I honestly believe that SSB 1 is the Taster and SSB 2 is where Coach Chad discovers what he and you are working with. SSB 2 brings a lot of riders back to earth with a bump. If you open your mind and accept it as a learning curve, you can isolate your weaknesses.
Personally Iām not a fan of people saying they failed. Did you give the workout 100%? If so, youāve learnt something valuable and that is success. Next time you face a similar session, you can with prior knowledge, tweak how you approach the session.
Failure is not even trying.
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Yeah, with you on that. Iām not keen on the āfailedā term either. Youāre training, itās not a frigging exam.
Also wonder if people would feel the same about workouts if they were working with a face-to-face coach. Lets say the coach is sitting on the bottom of the hill, asking for hill reps. At some point, you shake your head and canāt do another one. Would you go home and say I failed? Or would you go home an say, I trained really hard today?
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Iām on my second week of SSBLV2, I found week one pretty easy TBH but it may be that the workouts suit me. The workouts in SSBLV2 are a bit more varied than those in SSBLV1 which were mostly Sweet Spot work so it may be that you specifically struggle with VO2Max workouts.
My FTP rose from 241W to 242W in the Ramp Test last Monday so no earth shattering improvement there. As above FTP (in Trainerroad terms) is just there to align your abilities with the workload in the workouts. The ramp test FTP is actually 75% of your Maximal Aerobic Power whereas the 8 minute and 20 minute FTP tests match points on an idealised power curve so your predicted FTP is 95% of the 20 minute test value and 90% of the 8 minute test. Depending on your physiology and previous training history one is likely to be more accurate than the others. Even then thereās a bit of 'settling" as you fine tune things, your FTP may not be 75% of your MAP for example.
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Really valid point. A coach āmightā be able to give you pointers with regards to your nutrition, rest and even cadence for each session. This is why I find the Podcast to be such a valuable resource. Itās almost as if your able to pick Coach Chads and Coach Jonathans mind.
End of the day, if you start TR and fly through Base, Build and Specialty, there is equally something wrong and you could well have wasted 4-5 months of training.
Wellā¦ this is so good! āFailedā last night Juneau -1, SSB MV 2. Got dehydrated and could not get past the last sweetspot interval. last 9 mins. So frustating. Anyway, for me is not a failed workout but as @PusherMan said, learned a bunch of things for this. Plus i got pretty close to the end.
itās probably the fan issue, but lots of athletes struggle with these intensities indoors. Itās pure training and not as fun as being outside IMO, so anything over 15 mins or so seems to draaaag on.
Keep the intensity up, but take a 2 minute break to refocus. It wonāt hurt the adaptations, and this way youāll still nail all the Time in Zone and the Intensity needed.
Hopefully that helps you so that you continue progressing!
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I start SSB LV2 tomorrow with the ramp test. This has got me nervous for the next 6 weeks or so! First year on TR but did my own structured training last winter for the first time. I donāt think I pushed myself too hard mind when I look back, hence trusting these plans 
I get @bsladics point about not raising the FTP between the two looking at it, seen as a lot of the workouts go from sweetspot in SSB1 to threshold (95-99%) in SSB2. Upping FTP would raise the actual output a lot more if there is an FTP bump from the test.
Well I had success today.
- I got good rest yesterday since it was Sunday.
- Ate lots of good food, veggies, fruits, nuts, rice and some beetroot juice
- Went to bed slightly earlier.
- Dialed back my ftp to what it was in SSB1
Todays workout was Bluebell. Itās has 3 groups of 6x1 minute 120% FTP efforts. I think I could have done it even if I didnāt dial back my FTP. I think my weakness is more the longer sustained efforts near FTP. My max heart rate got up to 173 which is pretty manageable for me. Maybe if the workouts continue to be sustainable Iāl raise the FTP back up for a bit but Iām going to continue to focus on good behavior off the bike as well and monitor things!
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