I managed to get pretty fit using sufferfest angels in the past but is there a more structured programme I can follow over winter?

Don’t really plan to race, but do like getting faster over the loops I ride, which are usually around 90 min in length so I imagine training geared similar to if I was focusing on an xc race would be ideal.

Will be combining the turbo sessions with longer rides at weekends, however last time I focused on getting faster I found the turbo sessions really contributed to getting faster

Sweet spot base, Build and Speciality XCO then.

Thanks kryton, how long will those 3 take to get through?

^^ what he said. The only decision is then around general or short power build. Last year I did general. This year I’m focusing on my weakness and doing short power.

I think I have a free 1 month referral if you want to pm an email address. You can peruse the plans then.

Thanks crosshair but already a member as I use it with sufferfest

Ah cool!
I’ve only done Sustained Power Build mid volume so far but got great results for what I wanted.

I’d say Krytons route is the one.

I think it’s 12 weeks SSBase (6 each for 1 and 2), 8 weeks Build and 8 weeks Specialty for a full plan.

Indeed.

Get through that and smash your loops in March.

Cheers for the advice gents.

Won’t be getting through that lot by March if it’s gonna take me 6 months but at least I’ll be in good shape for my annual gt 7 excursion, which is the only time I ever put on a race number.

What kind of power increase can I expect? Right now I have none whatsoever probably about 210 ftp which is miserable. I was about 250 when I considered myself ‘fit’, not anywhere near race levels but sufficient for my purposes.

Ftp is irrelevant, use w/kg. If you want to be close to racing fitness at the sharp.end of regionals starting aiming for 4w/kg.

Of course you can race at any level and there’s more to racing than power.

I reckon 3-3.5w/kg is reasonably good for a fit weekend warrior? See what others think…

I was around 3.5 w/kg back in the day. No intention to race other than for fun and that use to get me top 3rd in the likes of gt 7 and ten under Ben when paired with similar folks. It also got me a top ten Strava time round gt red back in the day which I was most proud of, however I’ve now disappointed off the leader board!

My question is will following that plan get me an extra 50 or so watts given I’m starting with very little. Weight will probably drop by 5 kg or so as a biproduct, so that will obviously also help.

I’d say so yeah if you’ve been on the couch for a bit. 25% increase in ftp isn’t realistic if you’re already training, but if you’ve done 250 before and reckon you’re around 200 now after a lay-off then you’d see serious gains with a structured approach.

Kryton- Power is relevant. For 3w/kg for example, it depends if it’s 60kg and 180w or 90kg and 270w. The two will not even climb at the same rate- the guy doing 270w will pull ahead.

Play around on Bike Calculator to see.

Of course the more accelerations involved, the less true this is but it intrigued me when I first read it.

Edit- on the flat, there’s 5kph difference- all else being equal. But even up a 10% climb, the powerful fatty will go 0.4kph faster.

Kryton- Power is relevant. For 3w/kg for example, it depends if it’s 60kg and 180w or 90kg and 270w. The two will not even climb at the same rate- the guy doing 270w will pull ahead

Yes I agree – probably the wrong choice I words on my part – I was trying to get across that the op shouldn’t consider watts in the equation but w/kg for the reasons you state. More is better but none of us could tell the op that 250w ftp is “good” it might be if he’s 8 stone but not so much if he’s 15 stone.

Yeah agreed….
I just think if you need to resolve both sides of the equation then focussing on power or FTP and letting the weight take care of itself is better than trying to do both (which is pretty much what tpbiker said anyhow).

If you email them with what you want to achieve and how how long you have to do it in they’ll make appropriate suggestions.

(with all due respect to asking peeps on here for advice)

My normal winter routine is 1 x sweetspot 1, followed by 2 x sweetspot 2. Start mid October, and finish in March (18 weeks plus some disruption over Xmas period), ready to hit the spring trails. I supplement the three indoor sessions with a 3 hour road ride on sundays.

FTP typically builds from about 240 to 265 ish.

SS1 is fairly easy. SS2 is alot harder. I once tried the build workout but found them too intense for my liking.

Indoor training is boring, but I like the structure that TR provides. Better than going out in the dark and cold, without all the messing around getting kit on etc

I’ve been reading up on sweet spot base and there appears to be a few options, low, mid and high volume.

Realistically I’m not going to be spending 9 hrs a week on the turbo trainer.. Im looking at the low volume option which will at least let me get out for a ride on a Sunday. Better than nothing I guess and I’m far more likely to stick at it than the more intense options.

I’m doing bits of the low volume plan – usually do the two 60 minute sessions during the week and a normal ride at the weekend. It’s effective – fitness had definitely improved although I was starting off quite low.

I’d say from my very limited experience that you should err on the side of caution with the plans. I.e. if in doubt, go lower volume. I could find the time for high volume SSB1 I’m sure but I would grind myself into a hole in about two weeks I reckon. Mid volume is proving plenty tough enough but that extra day off on a Friday means the quality stays high.
I keep saying I will top up with Z2 if I get the time or energy but apart from an occasional extra cool down for five minutes, that hasn’t happened yet.