I’m new to any sort of structured cycling training. TR has definitely been eye-opening and even fun.
I’ve got two workouts left in Sweet Spot Base I. Should I go straight into Sweet Spot Base II, or is there some amount of planned rest between plans? I searched the forum and couldn’t find an answer.
Also, as I went through SSB I, I noticed that the workouts were getting “easier.” I also noticed that my heart rate was not getting as high during many of them. Is this because I’m improving, or is this just part of the training plan? If it’s the first (I’m hoping it’s the first), should I adjust my FTP up when it starts to feel like this?
Yes, go straight in. You will see that the last week in SSB1 is a reduced time and is intended as a recovery week, to prep for the SSB2 start.
You can see this and much more useful info in the Training plan bage under the “+ Week Tips” section. The info is accessible on the main Training Plans page,
Depending on your training history, you may well be improving. If you think you are not being challenged enough for a given workout, you can increase the Workout Intensity setting to see how it goes. If that goes well, you can manually adjust your FTP in the main app/site setting.
Be cautions about this because the SSB1 is a relatively friendly (easy it too strong of a word), and you need to be ready for more challenging work that comes in SSB2.
Thanks, Chad. I’ll see how SSB II goes before making any adjustments.
And I should’ve noticed the notes. Up to this point, I’ve been focused on getting the workouts done and have been paying less attention to the accompanying education. I need to do better with that.
Do spend the time to read those notes. Those are gold IMHO, along with the podcast. Most of my gains in the last year or two have come from better understanding from those resources, and applying them to myself, nutrition, recovery and training plan adjustments.
As far as SSB2, you will have a Ramp test right at the start, so you will get a new FTP and can go from there before considering manual adjustments.
It’s funny. I think I may be in the minority here, but I signed up for TR for purely “everyday fitness” purposes. I don’t love cardio, and as cardio goes, cycling is the least not fun. Then I started TR.
I started seeing some of my numbers, and I did some research to see what they meant. I found out I was in the bottom half of the population on watts/kg. That bothered me, and I made it a goal not to be (who wants to be bottom half). Then I realized that was harder than anticipated, mostly because I was in the bottom half of people who choose to measure watts/kg, and that is a sample of people who are probably in fairly good shape and fairly dedicated cyclists. Damn competitiveness.
I also started riding with some friends who I would have never described as “in better shape” than me. They were much more powerful cyclists with much better endurance capabilities. Again, damn competitiveness.
My new cycling-specific goals are: 1) get to 3.5 watts/kg; and 2) get to a point that I can keep up with my friends on a three hour ride. I’m close on the second; I’m not close on the first. I think they are complementary and achievable. And the competitiveness and seeing results makes it “fun.”
Once I achieve those goals (could take a long while), I will probably just use TR for “stay in shape” workouts, as opposed to “get faster” workouts.
That said, sitting on an indoor trainer is not the “fun” part.
