Personally yes, outright short bursts perhaps less so in my case, but its the point where you would have bailed out before arrives later, or for the same perceived effort previously you are travelling faster in the first place.
That question is probably best levelled at those you would normally ride with to answer, when before I was mid pack, I’m at the front and not puffing.
Absolutely, without question, 110%: YES
started TR in sept, first time doing structured training. was racing cross most weekends so missed a lot of the weekend over/unders & longer rides. ~86kg
Sept SSBI: ramp tested at 209 but based on outdoor rides, bumped it up to 230W
Oct SSB2: ramp tested at 235
Dec SSB1 (back for another base set): ramp tested at 247! super happy with this jump, we’ll see how many workouts that lasts before i hate myself for such a good jump
So after the A-race (and only race) in August got cancelled, and then moved house on the 15th August, and work being off the charts, and having a baby due this Friday, I haven’t had any time to train, including gym work. I’ve been on my Brompton a couple of times a week commuting and got the odd MTB ride in.
Needless to say, ramp test this morning, some 19 weeks since my last trainer session (holy crap I hadn’t realised its been that long!)…
Dec 2019 - SSB1 LV - 68kg - 200W (-17%) - 2.94 W/kg 
Onwards and upwards I guess.
January 2018 I started working with a coach for the first time, I had registered for my first full distance IM. In April I did my 2nd 70.3 (1st coached) and had almost a 1hr PR and broke 5hr. I did another 70.3 in May and came close to the 5hr mark again (hot and hilly conditions). All summer I worked my tail off and got FTP to around 225 (160lb, about 3.1 w/kg). Then at the end of August I got smoked by a car going 55mph and it took me out of my last 70.3 and my full IM (it was in 7 weeks, after I finished just about all my heavy training). I started some light cycling in March, so 6+ months of recovery. But it was still hard and still had (have) some lingering injuries. Around June/July I picked up the intensity following the same 70.3 plan I did last year. I estimated my FTP to be around 195 heading into Augusta and i did that in 5:12 (2:38 bike).
Took a week or 2 off then decided to try a TR plan. First ramp test was 198 FTP, and I went right into SSBMV1 as a good off season starting point. I completed that hitting just about every workout (I missed some thanksgiving week, but those were all the easy recovery week rides). This morning I did Ramp Test #2 and it went up to 213. Happy with the improvement and looking forward to continued growth! I’ll go right into SSBMV2, and then base build 70.3 to add in some swim/running. And at the end of that, move to full distance specialty in the hopes of giving my first full another shot in Mont Tremblant (maybe).
I’m signed up for Gulf Coast 70.3 in May, so I have between now and then to get my FTP as high as possible, and see what I can do!
Lots of sweet spot work, a little FTP decrease but no issue, two ramps done as wanted to see how 4days of doing nothing but enjoying beers and food affected me.
Will have to look now into filling the gap between now and disaster day before starting a next plan.
Awesome record keeping, I’ve done a few tests in the last year, but going to put together something like this to keep track of the ups and downs - any excuse for a spreadsheet.
Just completed Sweet Spot Base HV1, FTP went from 226W to 248W (~ 10% increase) or 3.37 W/kg
I suspected after the first test I could have done a bit more but still happy to see the number go up. Short term goal is to get back to my April number of 266, longer term goal is 300W or 4W/kg, whatever comes first.
Moving on to HV2 now although likely to be fragmented due to travelling around christmas
Hi, i’ve just completed Sweetspot base LV 1 and my ftp increased from 231 to 235. Onto SSBLV2…
Long time racer just getting back into training after many years off. I actually possess a Cat 2 license but that fitness is now ancient history. This winter I"ve decided to get my act together and participate in the spring and summer crit and mountain bike series. I have a lot of work to do to get competitive and basically not embarrass myself. I am enjoying the journey so far.
I tested on 11/5/19 and scored 226, not my greatest FTP test by far.
Just completed an abbreviated SSB Mid Volume.
Today, I scored 240 watts so a 14 watt increase in one month time. Progress!! (but a long way to go!)
I should note that this past weekend, I couldn’t complete the weekend trainer rides scheduled. For each, my mental toughness was just not there but also…I was physically whooped having done a little too much extra work on the bike the week of Thanksgiving (finally had free time!!). I decided to take some rest early rather than continue to dig a hole.
I’ll do the scheduled workouts from SSB 1 this weekend then jump into SSB Mid 2 next week. I have a trip to warmer climates scheduled at the end of the month so I will have some time to work on tan lines and put in lots of SS work outside. It will probably mean another abbreviated block which is fine by me. I personally think the 5 week blocks are just too much to handle.
Long term goal is to get FTP back to over 300 watts. Short-term is to simply continue to see progress. As mentioned, I’m enjoying the journey so far. I’m eager to see what the next ramp text will produce after sticking with SSB 2 mixed with that mini training camp. Let’s go!
Don’t be too discouraged ,you’ll get it back quickly!
The second half of the year has been good for me. After taking most of the summer off I got back to ssb1 at 220 ftp and rolled through ssb2.
Once I finished that base phase it put me exactly 28 weeks out from my A race, Belgian Waffle Ride.
Just finished up another round of ssb1. This weeks ramp test for ssb2 has me up 21 watts since August and I’ve managed to drop 38 pounds in the same time frame. Currently sitting at 241 ftp.
Ron
I am a runner, switched over to cycling spring 2019 after an overuse running injury (post-tibial tendonitis that refuses to fully heal. I had picked up my injury around late December, and it really picked up on a hilly run in the Bay Area early February. Continued to run and basically finished myself off with a 1:47 half marathon in -20C and marginal (or worse) conditions for traction. Took 3 weeks off to heal, but the pain didn’t subside much.
Started off cycling in March with a few 45m unstructured efforts on my old hybrid just to keep the aerobic engine going. Purchased a road bike in April, and started riding 3-4hrs/week, again with no structure. Did well in a local duathlon series (4 races in May, placed 1st/2nd has in my AG at each race). Due to no structure, no cycling base, and a continued push to always ride hard, ended up with a knee overuse injury in June. Took time off the bike, and hardly rode until September. Finally got into swing of things a little more, and raced 3 local cat 5 cross races.
Bought a smart trainer, joined TR, and started SSB LV October 14. FTP was 192 3W/kg @ 64kg), subsequently adjusted to 195 after a 1hr Zwift race (not sure how/why it got adjusted). Completed the plan with almost 100% compliance. Only switched one indoor ride for a longer outdoor ride as weather cooperated.
Aside - was in Las Vegas for the Rock and Roll half marathon for my birthday. Set out without any expectation to run it, and only really wanted to pace my partner for as long as I could hold out, and help her for her PR goal. Managed to hold her pace for 8-9km, then had to slow down. Still ended the run at 1:58, which is respectable considering I put in approximately 50km in the last 9 months! Tendon felt better, and was not sore the next day at all, but still definitely not 100%.
Started SSB2 MV Nov 26, and got 213W on the ramp test (3.3W/kg). So far no problems with the volume, though definitely harder to absorb the extra TSS. As I was adding in an extra ride during the LV plan, the MV plan isn’t as large of a jump as it would have been otherwise. Plan is to continue with MV plans for build phase after SSB is complete.
Lesson learned - build a solid base, then go for speed/power. Made the mistake with running, and am still paying for it. Made the mistake cycling, and finally my knee has stopped the minor pains over the last week or two.
Tested on Tuesday of this week after finishing MVSSB2. Went with the 8 minute FTP test again as I feel it gives me the most consistent results. Mentally the 20 minute test is difficult and I always find I start to flounder a bit on the ramp test when it comes up to the 19:30 mark.
My FTP stayed exactly the same!!
This was quite disappointing as I expected SSB2 to push it up by 3-5W based on all of the VO2 max work. One silver lining is that my weight has dropped about 1kg to 74.9kg so while my FTP is still 308W, my W/kg has increased from 4.05W/kg to 4.11W/kg.
For my next phase I am mixing a hybrid of MV & HV general build. HV is scheduled but I will take out the odd endurance ride and shorten some of the 2hr rides to 1.5hr when I feel tired or fatigued. I am still doing one long Z2 ride of 3-4hr every weekend, but as the new year approaches my racing team will start incorporating some tempo efforts also.
Mountain biking for 4 years now and this is my first attempt at training. Just completed SSB LV 1.
Nov 2019 - Start: 208 ftp
Dec 2019 - Completed SSB LV 1: 215 ftp
I did LV since the weather was still decent around here for the occasional outdoor mtb ride. However, the cold, snow, and mud will be around for awhile so I’ll likely do MV for SSB 2.
1 year and a few weeks into TR.
Started at about 215.
Current FTP has me around 258.
Max FTP was 266.
Have a few new PRs in the past weeks.
Thanks TR.
Looking forward to my fitness in May/June.
Out of curiosity, how tall are you? A lot of your numbers since you started riding are similar to mine.
I’m 6’ and have been between 152 - 154lbs over the last two-ish years. While I try to be relatively healthy, it’s mostly accurate for me to say “eating whatever” like you did. I saw that 7 lbs drop (way to go!) you had from '18 to '19 and was curious for that height context. Way to go on your improvement and good luck for 2020.
I’d love to get this as well, my FTP has been stuck for a bit and thinking about sprinkling this in closer towards the road season. Thanks!
Did you make this tracker and can I have a copy please? Think is way cool.
It’s just a .xlsx spreadsheet with some conditional formatting. No problem emailing you a copy, there’s two pages, page one is a ramp test target guide and zones, just enter weight and FTP. Page two has this results recording table on it. PM me your email and I’ll forward you a copy.