Hi everyone,been using TR for around 5 years and found reasonable gains using SS base predominantly through the winter. Im now 60 yrs and retired and am able to train between 12 - 15 hours per week. I have been able to ride these hours outdoor through the summer and early autumn. I dont race and Ive identified my weakness when riding longer duration climbs. I want to use the winter period to improve my fitness and my sustained power. Im looking at doing the Mid volume Polarised base substituting the endurance rides for outdoors and adding an additional outdoor endurance ride to keep volume high. The 2 high intensity rides are threshold which understandably are part of the plan but my question is would it be a good idea replace them with 2 sweetspot rides to begin with it being so early in the base period ?
I think everybody responds differently, but I personally had a lot of success doing 2 sweetspot rides per week in base. Everything else as much done 2 as I could tolerate. I did longer intervals, working up to 4x20 @90%.
Thanks for the reply. Its been a while since I did any structured threshold work so I was thinking that sweetspot intervals might be better for a couple of weeks to begin with. Did you use TrainNow to choose the SS intervals or did you freestyle to get progression?
Why does everyone want to pay for a plan, and then immediately change the plan they pay for? 
Sort of kidding, but I am failing to understand why you are wanting to sub out the threshold rides? If they are just intimidating, maybe lower the watts by 10 for the first couple of workouts, or sub out 1 threshold for sweetspot and keep the other threshold.
I know what you are saying but the plan doesnt seem to take into account the time in my season. Im not sure I should be doing threshold work so early in my winter base training.
You could do a 4 week block of Traditional Base Low Volume and add endurance rides via Train Now before your Polarized Block. LV TB is one Sweet Spot, one Tempo, and one Endurance workout.
I actually don’t use TrainerRoad anymore. It was great for me as a beginner but I find it overly complicated and I didn’t have continued growth with their plans.
What I mean by overly complicated is a lot of mixed blocks without a core plan (threshold block, VO2 block). I’m sure a lot of people do fine with it, but my biggest gains were when I did dedicated blocks. And even the workouts themselves were overly busy. 3x12 @88-94% or something. Just give me a straight block @90%, I don’t need it to constantly change.
There is a group called “More SweetSpot” or something like that. It’s exactly what it sounds like. I just created my own workouts on ZWO factory. Progressing time in zone: 3x12, 3x15, 5x10….etc. Super simple. Once I hit 4x20 I took a recovery week, then did the same thing with Threshold. After that, a 3 week VO2 max block. Rinse and repeat.
I also got way better results with longer VO2 intervals. The short 1 min or 1:30 never really worked. So like the other guy said, why would I pay for TR and have to change the plans. I wasn’t getting much for the money I was spending. I pay for TrainerDay (like $4/mo) to use their workout player. It’s better than any other out there in my opinion. I also do Zwift in the winter to make some 2 easier to tolerate. And the occasional race is fun in the off-season.
Over the past year I’ve been increasingly taking a similar approach to what you describe of dedicated blocks, but within TrainerRoad, adjusting plans to suit myself. I found sweetspot progression blocks to be very effective, making use of the SS90 More Sweet Spot workouts you mention:
- “SS90” Sustained Sweetspot workouts from the “More Sweet Spot!” Team Library
Once I’ve completed my current VO2max progression block (all using longer duration intervals similar to you…) I’ll be starting a sweetspot progression block next month, aiming roughly for 2x SS90 workouts per week, and building out towards the (very) long intervals by the end of it, eg. 1x 40, 1x60, 1x75, 2x40, 1x90. Doing these over the past year seemed to give me good muscular endurance and resilience, very useful for doing the great big long (Alpine) climbs I was targeting.
I did tempo progressions also, using workouts such as these:
- Sustained 1-2hr Tempo workouts such as Pioneer, Cumberland, Phoenix, Gibraltar, Polar Bear
I like the TR suite of tools and find it convenient to use, so choose to do this within TrainerRoad, but as you say, you could take this progression block approach using a bunch of different platforms.
All TR’s plans need to be heaviliy tweaked and customised at some point (and yeah I spent years following them to the T)
Or more generally
Users would be a lot happier and less burned out if they realized the actual individual workout doesn’t really matter, it’s about just putting in the work. I am constantly changing workouts, using alternates and moving things around based on how I’m feeling. Plans are a loose guideline, the individual can and should adjust per their needs/wants.
Do what works for you and stay consistent. Maintaining threshold stuff may mean that you can’t be consistent (injured, worn out, wrecked motivation, etc). IMO staying more consistent is better, if that involves dropping the intensity of a work out so be it. Whilst I’m only 48 myself in summer, when I do too much riding outdoors (if you call boosting your mental health too much!), I drop the intensity of the middle of my three workouts (Tu,We,Th) to an endurance one which may in turn be substituted for an outdoors ride.
Hey @Freddy2255!
If you are trying to improve your fitness and sustained power but would like to do SS Workouts for your Base Phase, you may benefit most from the Low Volume Sweet Spot Base and add in your unstructured riding on top of it.
Changing the Polarized plan with what you’re describing would defeat the point of it, and essentially you’d be creating your own training, which you are welcome to do, but it may be more reasonable to follow the SS Base.
The interval training will improve your fitness, while your unstructured endurance outside riding will build your sustained power.
By looking at your training history, I bet you’re pretty in tune with your body and can assess how much extra TSS to tackle outside of the training plan to accomplish 12-15 hours per week. 
Indeed, although I can really understand why people would just trust the system. I too in my first years just did the workouts as prescribed as I really believed that was the superior training method.
After many and many hours of research (incl. podcast etc) and experience now I see every general training plan for what it is…merely an indication of what to do in that period.
OP, you already have some really good responses. As said, you’ll essentially be making your own plan, but that’s not a bad thing. You are 60 and as noted consistent training experience and probably in tune with what you need.
The idea of a low key base period is nothing new. Pretty much every HS program does it (summer running) before the season as you work into shape. There are even TR plans that are entirely endurance rides… which again is a common form of structure coming back from an off-season.
I say do it. Make your own plan. Try it out. If it doesn’t work make adjustments and move to the more traditional polarized plans (or maybe try a masters plan that will hopefully be out by then). After you do this come back and let us know what you chose and how it goes. Best of luck to you!
But threshold work has nothing to plans, phase etc - it’s just aerobic training. Is it better than sst work? Probably (per unit of work), can you use sst work instead for some time? For sure - just go longer than threshold work. You can mix them if you want.
Personally I like to do threshold all year round, because I like it. If I am tired or want variation I swap it into sst work or sst with bursts. It’s all aerobic engine. Your volume is pretty high so can tone down intensity if you want or if its too much for you.
A lot of good answers here already, but 12-15 hours with 2x extensive sweet spot or tempo rides each week is a fantastic plan IMO.
That said, at age 60, I would do a higher intensity session every other week or so to maintain VO2max a little bit better. I’ve had good success with my super-masters athletes doing continuous VO2/MAP work throughout the year. Doesn’t have to be every week, but some regular training will help.
Thanks Caro. I’ve always done the SsB low volume plan but found that at my age 3 workouts each week led to burn out and regular illness. Unfortunately I’ve now accepted getting old and decided to just do 2 workouts each week to supplement outdoor endurance rides. If I did the SsB LV plan which would be the best workout to drop?
I’ve actually been wondering this as well for the upcoming base phase.
Is it worthwhile to include vo2 in the otherwise tempo ss base weeks or it can wait?
In general I agree with you…IF you know what you are doing. But if you start taking the intensity out of a polarized plan, well then you no longer have a polarized plan. And if you are ok with that and understand the consequences of that, great. But the number of questions I see here on the forum tell me many people don’t understand that.