Sweet Spot Base or Traditional Base after long break?

Your speculation fits pretty well with my N=1 if it helps! Up to about 8-9 hours/week I do well on a diet of mostly SS, once I get beyond that I need to start swapping SS sessions for longer (usually outdoor) endurance and lower end tempo sessions. I find I end up with similar FTP on 8-9 weeks of SS as I do on 12-15 hour weeks which are about half SS and half traditional base. But the 12-15 hour approach is more enjoyable (I love long outdoor rides when I have the time), less risky in terms of overdoing it, and sets me up better in ways beyond just the FTP measure. E.g. I find it easier to trim weight with more volume at lower intensity, I think it also lays a good foundation for doing some big block weeks later in the season.

Unfortunately I don’t always have the luxury of being able to fit in 12-15 hour weeks, let alone the 20+ hours I suspect I would need to drop the SS work altogether!

1 Like

Agree, this is what I’ve always been told, read and learned about. However, my n=1 experience is different. I came off of my XCO season in 2018, granted after recovering from an injury, with a 260 FTP to begin Traditional Base MV 1 (Oct 23, 2018). As expected my FTP went down, 250 (Nov 20, 2018) when I started Traditional Base MV 2. Then it started to climb back up, reaching 265 (Dec 18, 2018) beginning Traditional Base MV 3. At the end of Traditional Base 3 my FTP was 287 (Jan 15, 2019). So, I put some decent gains on my FTP reaching an all time high, though I’m not sure what exactly my FTP was at the end of Specialty since I didn’t’ test before my last race in 2018.

This is what I think is so important. As I described above at the end of my XCO season and Specialty, I was so sick of high intensity and intervals. I was waiting for things to calm down because I dreaded pushing hard again. I was unmotivated to train anything that resembled what I had been doing and Traditional Base was a great fit. I recommend Traditional Base MV to get you back into it. Then when your’re craving a little more intensity move over to Sweet Spot Base.

I will say that by the end of Traditional Base MV 3 I was so sick of long slow boring rides that I was anxiously waiting for intensity by then!

which is exactly my point… you can achieve gains on TR mid-volume traditional base, and the specific results will depend on a lot of variables. Wonder how much further you could have moved the needle on 12-20 hours/week? Questions without answers :wink:

1 Like

@Mikeferguson1980 The 4 key components I’d recommend (that worked for me):

  • SSB MV
  • Long Ride
  • Strength training
  • Flexibility/mobility training

Sweet Spot Training: Of all types of training, sweet spot training is the best bang for your buck. You asked about “articles”. I suggest reading the relevant sections that discuss this topic in:

  • Joe Friel’s - The Cyclist’s Training Bible
  • Allen/Coggan/McGregor - Training + Racing with a Power Meter

Plenty of quality info there to better understand.

SSB MV is a great program for this. FWIW: The adjustment that I needed to make was to make all sessions either 1.25, 1.5 or 2x the length as I came into TR a year ago with a CTL in the 90s and didn’t want to detrain/loose fitness doing it.

Long Ride: Long rides have 3 important benefits:

  • Training your body to burn fat as a fuel source
  • Dialing in you nutrition
  • Building mental toughness (to sit on your butt for several hours)

For me, they range for 4-8+ hours, but your time will be dependent on your goals and fitness level.

Note to above: As Joe Friel emphasizes several times in “Fast after 50” it is important (regardless of your age) that your training include both - intervals and long/endurance rides.

Strength Training: It’s hard to underestimate the value of strength training on cycling, including lower body, upper body and core strength. Serious strength training takes a toll on your body as do bike rides, and consequently its TSS toll needs to be accounted for in order to properly recover. FWIW: I use TP Premium, including its calendar and PMC chart to plan out all of my rides and strength workouts to make sure I achieve proper recovery.

Flexibility/Mobility: This is particularly critical as we age. For example, the ability to stay comfortably in the drops and deliver power for an extended period of time comes from the core and flexibility training.

4 Likes

I’d go traditional. Your body was just thrashed and 9 months off is a LONG TIME.

While SSB would be faster, that might be too fast for you. You only used to train 4-7h a week which is not low low, but it’s not high.

Bake the cake the right way and don’t rush it.

Let us know how it goes!

2 Likes

Traditional Base (60-70% FTP) is way easier on the body than Sweet Spot training, it just takes more time. So if you have the time, do Trad Base…with a caveat:

I’ll add that Trad Base is a life-long training strategy. Not only does it take 12+ hours/week to reap the benefits, but also compounding multiple years of doing such training (think 30-year old pros who started doing long slow rides when they were 14…). You’ll definitely get some benefit out of those long endurance rides, but all that work won’t really be pronounced until a few years down the road. Sooo…my wonky advice is really think about what kind of riding you’ll be doing in 5 or 8 years. No use spending a bunch of extra hours doing Trad Base if it isn’t going to serve you.

That’s what you get for asking the internet for advice! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

1 Like

Maybe it is better to say “to reap the maximum benefits?” I’ve seen big gains doing a lot of long 3-6 hour rides, with only 11 weeks out of ~180 weeks with 10+ hours. Y’all just convinced me to change my upcoming base to traditional, because 2019 has seen loss of fitness while fixing non-cycling issues.

2 Likes

Y’all just convinced me to do more 5 hour Foghats, because 2019 has seen loss of fitness while fixing non-cycling issues.

This bus is gettin’ crowded! :wink:

2 Likes