Did Sustained Power Build HV and tested w/ 305FTP at completion (+6%).
Did SSBHV2 and tested w/ 305FTP at completion.
Starting Sustained Power Build HV again…should I modify any of the workouts, esp. the threshold (95-99%), to longer duration intervals?
I know I’m carrying far more muscular endurance into the plan than when I did it the first time around, and even with the increase in power, the shortish intervals (once again) might not force enough adaptation.
The same kind of things happen to me quite often. I found that a quick checkup of non-cycling related stuff in my life is generally more beneficial than changing anything in my training.
I go through my cycling block (4-6 weeks data) and ask :
a) did I sleep enough ?
b) did I eat enough and decently ?
c) did my family, life or job stressed me too much ?
Generally if one of those things go bad, I don’t improve much no matter what I do on the bike. So, I try to take care of that first.
Might not be the case for you, just a general thought.
Perhaps try the 20 minute test rather than the Ramp test for your FTP. It seems it might deliver more relevant data for your TT goals, and the test itself is good training for those goals.
That’s what I’d lean towards. Whenever I see a plateau in people across any type of sport, it usually means they have been doing too much of the same thing.
What @stevemz said. And what have they said in the podcast about raising your VO2 ceiling to make gains in ftp? Your cup may already be full, and by varying the stimulus (ie. Gen Build) then you can get a bigger cup that you can then fill again.
First time through Sus Power Build I did 5 workouts/week instead of 4, thus shortening the plan from 8 weeks to 6; zero workout substitutions. I think I added 2-3 extra workouts.
During SSBHV2 I did pretty much the same amount of work laid out in the TR plan, just at longer durations.
During my first time through SPB, I upped my FTP to 300 during the 3rd week, so basically I did most of the plan with the same FTP I currently have. What I’m questioning is if doing the same plan with the same FTP going to result in lesser improvements than doing the plan with some modifications.
At this point I’m satisfied with my duration capabilities, I’m now looking to improve my power.
You said SPBHV was compressed from 8 weeks to 5, by eliminating a rest week and moving workouts. Your TSS chart shows 6 work weeks.
As of the first week of January those were no longer TR plans. They weren’t even periodized plans as far as I can tell. They appear to be make “TSS go up and to the right at all cost” plans. I’ve never seen any plan eliminate recovery weeks that are crucial to adaption. Maybe you changed things in Jan/Feb? I’m confused.
Yup. Doing ~4hrs a week didn’t require I take a week off. Plenty of rest built into the plan.
Yup. I did a pre-plan week coming off being sick and a rest week, but 5 weeks of work.
Last pre-season, as stated above, I did 3x Threshold and 2x VO2/wk for 12 weeks (w/ 3 failed workouts). I know what my body can handle but that’s not the question.
The question is: will doing the same plan with the same FTP produce any increase in power or will modifications be required to induce adaptations?
I believe mods will be necessary. Having finished 3 months of nothing but Threshold and Sweet Spot work, I’m a bit stimulus stagnant. Perhaps I’ll give the VO2Booster plan a go before moving on.
You already know this, there isn’t a single correct answer. Personally I’ve seen different power gains with same FTP and same plan.
Folks have already commented you would likely benefit from different stimulus for this block. If it was me, most likely would do general or short build and toss in a 2 hour ride (1 hour threshold + 1 hour tempo) on the weekend. Going off my best season, I’d actually do two of those a week on 2/1 week blocks.
Back on the periodization topic, even though your last post strongly signaled you want to shut down that thread of conversation:
This isn’t semantics, look at your latest TSS chart:
That is 6 weeks of work starting the last week of November.
Here is a typical periodized schedule for a 4 week block:
overload week1
overload week2 with more TSS
overload week3 with even more TSS
adaptation week by dropping weekly TSS by at least 50%
And your current plan going forward has 7 weeks without a real adaptation week:
My biggest gains in FTP actually came from super overload - averaging something like 500-600 TSS work weeks and tossing in a 800-900 work week (century) - coupled with periodizing cycles of 2 weeks on / 1 week adaptation (low TSS or not riding at all). Why 2/1? Didn’t feel like I needed 2/1 because my body could handle it, the 2/1 happened because I travel for work. And then later I looked at data and realized I had fallen into a 2/1, and the extra adaptation weeks appear to have pushed my FTP higher. My 2 cents FWIW.