Training advice - Traditional Base HV followed by Sweet Spot HV

Greetings,
Last October I decided to get serious about training after several years off (kids). I got a power trainer and started into Traditional Base HV I, II, and III. My FTP went from 232 in October to 291 now (after Traditional Base HV I, II, and III).

My “A” race this year is going to be the Dirty Kanza 200 and I’d like to get as close to an FTP of 340 as I can.

Per other advice on this forum, I’m starting in on Sweet Spot Base HV I then II, and then Sustained Power Build.

But…the Sweet Spot Base doesn’t appear to have any long training sessions…nothing longer than 2 hours. Would it be appropriate to swap out some of the prescribed SSB training sessions for longer endurance sessions? Any thoughts?

Everyone is different. However, this is not necessary in my opinion. Last year my ‘A’ race was a 200 mile very hilly event (16k ft climbing) and I never did any TR sessions over 2hrs in length. Got through the event without any issues having just done Mid Volume Sweet Spot and Build. Obviously I can only speak for myself but I think you’ll be fine as the prolonged stress in a TR 2hr session is way over what you’re likely to experience on the road/gravel.

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For an athlete completing the Dirty Kanza, we do recommend swapping the prescribed Sunday Rides for longer endurance paced rides. You can find our recommended long endurance rides in the Weekly Tips of the Training Plan. You can view the Tips at this link:

https://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/plans/149-sweet-spot-base-high-volume-i

These Tips are not yet convenient to view within the Calendar, however, we intend to resolve that issue in a future update :slight_smile:

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Bryce,
What do you think about not doing SSB I and II and instead doing Traditional Base HV II and III again using my new FTP? I had a lot of progress on Traditional Base. What would the pros/cons or downsides be? Any thoughts? I thought the progressive workload on Traditional Base was really good and forced adaptive growth. I’m worried I’m going to slide backwards on SSB I and II if they don’t provide enough stress.
Dave

I would recommend doing Sweet Spot Base over Traditional Base a second time.

The reason that periodized training is so effective is through the use of phases that prevent your body from becoming too used to a certain type of stimulus. The idea is that by gradually progressing and changing the stimulus, it keeps your body in a constant state of evolution. This state of evolution manifests itself as getting faster :wink:

Sweet Spot High Volume should provide plenty of stress for you to continue progressing, but if you find it too easy, you are welcome to add endurance paced riding to the ends of your workouts to bump up your Weekly Training Stress :slight_smile:

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That seems like a good way to go - stick to SSB HV, but add in a 1-2 hour endurance session after the main workout session 3-4 times per week depending on the duration of the main workout session. Thanks for the advice.

I’ve done 200 mile events before…so I’m not in it “to finish”…I’m looking to beat the sun with time to spare…but who knows, it’s January…

I would do the Sweet Spot en do a long endurance ride on Sunday (4hrs+). Then switch to build

Thanks Mark. I think I’m going to mix it up and drop in some 2 hour endurance/tempo workouts on a couple of days each week immediately following the scheduled Sweet Spot session (usually only an 60-90 per the workout plan from TrainerRoad), and then swap out a work out every other week with a 4+ hour session. I live in NY and we are into the heart of the winter now so…all indoors for the next 4-6 weeks.

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I am in the same boat. I do all rides indoor. A 4 hour indoor ride is tough but very benificial, since no rest :grinning:.

Do not underestimate SSBHV …

Hi Bryce

So, what’s the idea to have a traditional base training plan in TR if the recommendation is SSB ?

THanks!