Nothing elitist about it, it is simply a statement of fact: it is difficult to achieve significant improvements in endurance sports on such low volume. The sooner people accept that reality, the happier they will be.
Please, folks, donât feed the troll. As you can see here, he seems to have zero interest in actually helping the OP or have a reasonable conversation: heâs just looking for an argument and will constantly shift to new lines like commuting or what âisnât trainingâ just to try to score points in his mind.
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That is not remotely similar what you said the first time.
It is precisely what I conveyed the first time. The OP isnât doing enough to improve, something made obvious when you compare their exercise habits to physical activity guidelines.
Be cautious with the MV plans. They have a lot of intensity in them. Iâm in a similar situation as you - in my 40s, FTP gains hard to come by.
After some trial and error, I concluded the TR low volume plans had too much threshold workouts (in combination with my outside rides which were also reasonably hard because I live in the mountains). I replaced the threshold workouts with sweet spot. I find I can do more hours per week because Iâm not as fatigued, and have better endurance.
Iâd recommend listening to the podcast referenced in this post. The concept of a HR cap during sweet spot workouts has worked well for me.
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I think you missed my pointâŚâphysical activityâ is not restricted to exercise or âtrainingâ. We donât know what his day job is, how much walking he does throughout the day normally, etc. As I said, unless he is literally just sitting on the couch the entire time he is not on a bike, he is likely adding to his âphysical activityâ time.
While I see what @old_but_not_dead_yet was trying to say, the phrasing was, how shall I put it, at best unhelpful. Iâll leave it at that.
@Marked I obviously donât know your work/life/free time situation (my apologies if it was clarified earlier in the thread), but I wonder if there is an argument here for some old-fashioned long, slow base mileage over the winter?
Yes, itâs a different approach and I donât know if itâs practical, but I might consider simply trying to up my time on the bike, and limit intensity (at least most of time) to facilitate recovery.
Very unscientifically, when I was a CX rider and runner in my late teens, that was what my old coach always recommended over the winter or when intervals seemed to produce more fatigue than results; get in as much time as you can (at my age now, also as my joints will tolerate) and lower intensity to make it sustainable.
Just my 0.02, and good luck.
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@Marked, that was good for a chuckle!
One thing is for sure: you got your moneyâs worth out of this thread! 
Where is ignore found? (Iâve been looking.)
Click on thier profile. IN the upper right corner of their profile there is a box that says âNormalâ. If you click on that, youâll see options to either âMuteâ or âIgnoreâ.
Simply scroll past the post. Or scan the post, shake your head with whatever conclusion about their state of mind, and move on. No need to perpetuate cancel culture.
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Putting someone on âIgnoreâ on an internet forum is hardly âcancel cultureââŚit is simply avoiding someone that you would rather not interact with.
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TL;DR: More endurance, more sweet-spot, more/better recovery, focus on process not outcomes.
@Marked, youâre doing bloody well to maintain 3+ W/kg in âreal lifeâ as youâve been doing. My comments below come from a very analytical and learning-obsessed mindset, since Iâm a guide to families in business together, but I have only a year of cycling experience. So, consider my advice but know its limitations.
From this thread, I think whatâs primarily limiting your growth are the group rides. 50 hilly miles at a good clip, 2-3 times/week, is hard work. You are really using your current fitness, but that doesnât leave you with enough recovery, or just simply enough time, to improve your level of fitness.
I have four suggestions for you, two of which are about building a better, stronger base on which to build future improvements:
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The TR LV plans are great, and fast group rides are fun, but both are intense. So neither one is helping you grow your endurance: and as Coach Chad has said often, the physical adaptations you get from long, sustained Zone 2 (endurance) work are very hard to get in any other way. Itâs that endurance which will form your base, which youâll need in order to grow further. Make it a priority to schedule some long Zone 2 rides regularly, at least once a week. 60% of FTP or thereabouts. Harder is NOT better.
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Build your endurance at sweet-spot power levels and it will hugely help you reach the end of the group ride fresher, and increase your power reserve for when you need it, and help you just overall do more work. The Sweet-Spot Progression thread is an amazingly useful read, and Iâd recommend you do some of this as well.
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Ensure youâre getting sufficient recovery, sufficient sleep, and good nutrition. We grow stronger and adapt during recovery, not when totally knackered out. You cannot improve long-term if you do not rest.
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On a âbig pictureâ note, donât focus on the results. To point out the obvious: not seeing an improvement you hoped to see is discouraging! But there are many reasons why you might not improve, and not all of them are in your control. So instead, focus your attention â and derive your satisfaction â from the PROCESS. Look at what you do, when you do it. And then, if youâre learning, thinking, trying different things, and putting forth a lot of effort and doing a lot of work⌠be happy with what youâve got, because itâs the result of your best efforts. Sure, you can always try to do better⌠but focus on what youâre putting IN rather than getting OUT.
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Donât follow any path to the point of failure. If you feel youâre getting fatigued, or if you feel something is too much for you, adjust: reduce the time, the intensity, take a day off⌠do whatever you need to make sure you donât bury yourself.
Hey old, you might be headstrong and set in your ways however please read this article and mentally replace âOpen sourceâ with âTrainerRoad forumâ
There are other articles out on the Internet, its certainly not the best or most comprehensive it just came up first in my search.
Iâm going to paraphrase the conclusion in the last paragraph of that article âWhen you break the rules of common courtesy and disrupt the order you will be seen as a hindrance for the growth of the community.â
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Please point to where you think I have broken any rule of etiquette.
Just read some reactions to some of your posts, and engage in some self reflection. Or choose to ignore me and others. Ball is in your court, not ours.
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The reactions of others - calling people names, touting their use of the ignore function, etc. - is simply an indicator of their own inability to suppress their emotions and deal with facts.
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From his reply, you see that he doesnât get it.
Letâs see:
user asks for help
Old tells him that heâs not even âtrainingâ.
This is after a lot of people already suggested more volume to him.
Old, do you not see how your comments are insulting to the OP and donât help WHATSOEVER?
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No he doesnât, and Iâm not going to spend any additional time trying to explain it.