Build Me Up support thread

Build me up has 4 workouts for week one the max is 5. I think you maybe on a different plan

yeah just realised I was doing the 4 week FTP Booster - which still has the same issue - no rest days, just 4 weeks of none stop hard training :slight_smile:

I had to go back and review my yellow unicorn ride. I didnā€™t hit my max HR. I think these things are so individual though. So far in this plan Iā€™ve found that itā€™s my legs that have eventually been giving out rather than my heart or lungs.

I didnā€™t hit max HR on Orange Unicorn, just mega fatigue in legs. I only tend to hit Max HR either on an all out sprint or sustained FTP+10/20.

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Just finished week 8 (rest week with only 3 workouts). The extra time off has certainly been beneficial and I feel more rested and have a couple of days off before starting week 9. Bricolage was ok, but the last 10 minutes at ftp was tough, and then I clicked and thought, this is over my FTP. I did a ramp test in week 4 and it had raised my ftp and my failures in the last week I had backed it off again, but checking it now it is back up again, no idea how this happened.

My only top tip has been that any workout over 90 minutes I do the alpe as itā€™s like getting a free ascent of the alpe towards the badge that cannot be named and after doing this I finally got the wheels on my 12th overall ascent of the alpe, and then got them again on the 13th today!

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Quick update, not zwift related but done a gentle road ride for the first time in ages. I took it easy but attacked 2 climbs and took over 20seconds off my pb which is pretty good on a 2min segment. The 10weeks of training has definitely helped, I felt much stronger pushing a bigger gear rather than spinning up on lowest couple now to finish these last 2 weeks strong

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Thatā€™s great news Daniel, sounds like a real morale booster!

Week 10 Update

Finally finished week 10 and it went pretty well. I spread it over 8 days, mostly due to family and work commitments but think I probably benefited from it, especially as at my sadly advanced age recovery comes a lot slower. This week has 5 workouts with two 90 minute workouts so a pretty high total TSS. Anyway here are my thoughts on each workout:

  • Baffling Beau get through the first set of 40/20s and youā€™ll be fine. Short, high power intervals but loads of recovery time.

  • Examplar a low cadence sub-threshold 2x20ā€™ bizarrely described as one of the hardest workouts of the plan. Youā€™ll cruise it.

  • Potpourri mostly sub-threshold but not much recovery and some high cadence work builds up the stress.

  • Serrated in a word, brutal. One of the hardest so far, if not the hardest. The high power ramp-ups are long and really drain the tank and the 40ā€™ over/under afterwards will finish you. I had to take a 3 minute breather during the second half, not really sure whether I cracked mentally or physically but it was just endlessly grim.

  • Exigent a walk in the park compared to Serrated. Thereā€™s 30ā€™ total of Z5/6 but itā€™s all manageable with decent rest between efforts. The 2x15ā€™ Z4 afterwards almost feels like recovery.

Onward to the last week!

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Iā€™m very envious as I did the Alpe dozens of times to get the Tron and still have never won the wheels! Not sure I can face doing it again, I feel like I know every turn. Not done it IRL, maybe next summerā€¦

The Roval Alpinist wheelset is actually quicker up the Alpe than the Millies are now.

Donā€™t tell me that now!

Are they actually ā€œbetterā€ or just the same? On Zwiftinsider it says ā€œThe Roval Alpinist CLX wheels turned in an Alpe du Zwift time of 49:12. Thatā€™s precisely the same time as the Lightweight Meilensteins which have been the best pure climbing wheels ever since they were introduced to the game in March 2018!ā€

This is here: All About Zwiftā€™s Roval Alpinist CLX Wheels | Zwift Insider

I think they got downgraded a but after they were initially launched.

I hadnā€™t realised they did they same time now.

Just one more workout for me now in week 10, couldnā€™t have timed it any worse though with Christmas and the new year on the last 2 weeks of training, have had to do 4 sessions in a row so the legs are feeling pretty battered today

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Iā€™ve got 1 more on week 9 to go, which Iā€™ll hopefully do on Boxing Day. I did the first 3 on consecutive days so I can have Christmas Day off and finish week 9 and have a 2 day break before the 5 workouts a week start again!

Circus and malevolent have been very sneaky. With circus I got through the first 2 main sets ok, but the third set I was really struggling with the highest power micro surges or whatever he called them, but just got through it. Today with malevolent the last 3 surges with the short ā€œrestsā€ between them was really tough and I had to stand to power through the last one for probably half of it.

Anyway Iā€™m done now for Christmas, so have a merry Christmas for everyone who celebrates it, and have a good weekend for those that donā€™t. :christmas_tree:

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Done 3 of week 11ā€™s workouts so drawing to an end almost for me. Due to timings I done aspire yesterday then tenacity tonight and found that tough, although the workout shouldā€™ve been easy looking at the levels. Iā€™m putting the struggle down to the 2hours yesterday

So, Iā€™m thinking about starting Build Me Up in the new year. Trying to decide if Iā€™m gonna do 10 week or 12 week.

Main reason for considering 10 week is Iā€™m worried I might be away from home on week 11 or 12 (still not sure - but possible), and I do not think thereā€™s a way to ā€˜pauseā€™ the program (correct?). I would like to still do the week 11 and 12 workouts if I can somehow, (especially if I am home), but I donā€™t see them as selectable in the individual workout list (like you see for FTP Builder, and the advanced winter plan).

So I guess the question isā€¦ Is it possible to individually select the week 11 and 12 workouts outside of the plan? Also, if you choose the 12 week and donā€™t complete week 11 and 12 I assume that it shows you as not completing the plan, so in that case it makes more sense to just go for the 10 week version if you ā€œmightā€ not be around the last two weeks correct?

You can use these custom made BMU workouts to help get around Zwift scheduling idiosyncrasies. Just load them up into your workout folder from Mac or PC.

Credit goes to @Andras_Beck for making them available.

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That doesnā€™t work for iPad correct? Zwift crashes on my Win10 PC so Iā€™m using an iPad.

Copy the workouts to the correct library on the PC, start Zwift up. Even if it crashes, maybe it could sync the custom WO library. After that, youā€™ll have the workouts on iPad too (Zwift is ā€œcould syncingā€ the workout directory)

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