Working my way through sweet spot base, and feeling a little mentally drained from the redundancy of the workouts. Does anyone ever take a break between volume I and volume II. Maybe complete a phase of Build in between the different volumes?
I don’t think this would be a recommended approach. Build phase is a lot harder than the Base phase. SSB1 and SSB2 go together to prepare a foundation from which you can tackle the work in Build. The phases are a progression of work, each preparing you for the next until you peak at the end of Specialty (ideally coinciding with your A event).
I would say see how you feel once you’ve completed SSB1. The last week is recovery so you’ll get a good break, but if you still need more, perhaps just repeat that recovery week again to get your head right.
There is a notable shift in SSB2. It includes more VO2 Max and Threshold work, that server as much more variety than the more pure SS in SSB1.
Take a week if you need to, but there is generally good progression if you move from 1 to 2 with nothing extra.
So the plan for sweet spot base is to do two 6 week sweet spot builds? I’m glad I read this as I thought you went straight to build from sweetsop’s base
It’s a common question.
But the first line in the Base Phase aims to indicate you do two 6-week plans, back to back.
- “Sweet Spot Base has two consecutive six-week blocks: I and II. Time permitting, complete each block in order.”
You’re mixing up terms a little here. The progression is Base → Build → Speciality. Base has a few different flavors, but the most common is Sweet Spot Base which has 2 blocks (I and II).
So, let’s say I am new to structured training and I’m working up to a Century ride. I perhaps would select as my overall plan:
- Sweet Spot Base I (Low Volume - 6 weeks)
- Sweet Spot Base II (Low Volume - 6 weeks)
- Sustained Power Build (Low Volume - 8 weeks)
- Century Speciality (Low Volume - 8 weeks)
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Thanks Chad and Julian! I hadn’t paid enough attention to that, I’ll update my plan (on the new cool calendar) and see how that lays out with my races…I’m hoping for some good changes this year!
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Since we’re working on terms, “volumes” above should be “blocks” (see the pic I posted above).
“Volume” is for the difference in amount of time and days within any phase. The Low, Mid, and High Volumes are very different from the I & II Blocks for SSB.
True, good point. I should have said Blocks. I’ll edit it to avoid confusion.
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