30 points FTP gain, Can it be done?

thanks this is what I’m after

1 Like

100% I know I could stand to lose a few pounds and they will shed off once I start the training and also after many responses here and some more research I will not be doing the high volume. thanks for the input

1 Like

That’s easy for you to say…

2 Likes

Add the user name at the end, IE replace stars with the username you are looking for

Log In to TrainerRoad*****

3 Likes

I recently wrote a short piece for my team’s website about my experience with TrainerRoad this past season during which I gained 35w FTP. For anyone interested, here’s a link to the article:

https://42x21atq.cc/chasing-teddy-bears

tl;dr

I used TR for 28 weeks from late October to early May. I structured my training (all mid-volume) as follows:

  • 12 Weeks Base (I chose Sweet Spot I&II)
  • 8 Weeks Build (I chose General Build)
  • 8 Weeks Specialty (I chose Rolling Road Race)

By the numbers: I increased my FTP during these roughly 6 months from 290 to 325 at 65kg. These are solid improvements, but to be fair, I’ve been riding for about five years and using TR on and off for nearly half that time. I’m expecting more modest gains this coming offseason (3-5%), but 30 points was doable in my first year fully committing to the mid-volume program.

Good luck to everyone starting out!

11 Likes

If you’re using a desktop browser:

image

I don’t think there is a similar option on the TR software for mobile. So maybe that’s part of the confusion. Anyhow, the links are all the same, only the names will change.

Same. It keeps me honest. Plus I spend a lot of time scraping data from TR. It’s only fair to share my data, too.

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

What volume SSB did u do?

no! don’t put a limit on your capabilities. Esp cause lots of athletes can have FTP breakthroughs 2 years after, it just like clicks and steamrolls.

Find a good plan, be consistent, and enjoy those rewards!!

Cheers!

1 Like

All mid volume. Base, build, and speciality.

1 Like

Nice, I’m pretty much planning to do what you did last season. I’m doing SSBMV1/2, then MV general build, and then climbing road race.

I’m currently 66kg and a little pudgy, but my race weight is normally 64/65kg. I just started SSBMV1 and my FTP was 274 which is low for me, so I’m hoping to get it back over 300 from my best years from 5 years ago. I’m not sure if it’s possible, but I’m going to give it a go. So far my workouts have felt easy at 274, and I’m actually 5-10w higher for all my intervals without feeling like I’m pushing too hard - I just finished week 3, so I’m curious what my next ramp test result will be.

Good luck this off season!

1 Like

The guys on the podcast emphasize time and again: consistency >> volume. Plus, you are setting yourself up for failure, which is demotivating.

1 Like

That’s still a pretty good starting point, especially if you’re bumping up intensity and finishing the workouts this early. I’m starting in a little less than two weeks. Best of luck to you too!

If you want to maximize FTP gain, do mid volume. In my humble opinion, the high volume is not going to get your more FTP gain than mid volume. Unless you are 21 years old and have time to train like crazy and sleep 9 hours a day.

I tried doing the high volume SSB last year, and wish I just did mid volume. I burned myself out. For more volume I could have just gone and done longer rides outside on the weekend.

I work full time and the week day workouts were just destroying my work/life/training balance (the 2 hour long workouts).

I did get some FTP gains doing the HV workouts, I went from 265 → 285, but then plateaued since then because I was buried from the workload. I bet that I could have gotten that same increase with MV and I would have been able to build on my gains.

Good luck!

2 Likes

Yes, it can be done. 30W really isn’t that much, especially if you haven’t done much training.

2yrs ago, i was probably around 280 (pre-structured training). 2 years later around 350. It gets harder as you get closer to your ceiling. I found after 4.8 or so w/kg every watt seems like an achievement. You can still continue to make gains, its just slower.

2 Likes

I can corroborate your experiences, I went from 277 W (about 3.7–3.8 W/kg) to 323 W (4.5 W/kg) over the course of 1.5–2 years. Gains surely get harder the farther you get, but it is totally possible.

When you are at the higher end of the power spectrum, things like health, training consistency and nutrition become much more important. For me the limiting factor is sickness. I have a young child, and I have spent almost 2 months on-and-off sick. Most of the time I was not sick-sick, but I was not healthy enough to train.

Maybe, maybe not but hopefully… not really enough information provided to be able to gauge.

What is your training history?
What is your current load? Hours and TSS
What is your goal? Race type and requirements etc… FTP isn’t everything.
How far away is your goal?
etc
etc

Looking at your career it should be doable. You got where you are with little consistency (lots of outdoor riding) and you are at 90 kg. At that weight 300 W is not a stretch.

Do mid volume and stay consistent! With structured training i gained ~60-70 W in a year. This number is an estimate because i changed power meter and Trainer :joy:

Hello everyone, first of all greeting from Turkey and sorry for my English (i may make some speeling n structure mistakes).

I am new in TrainerRoad and so excited. I have some questions to ask but do not know where to post it. So i decided to ask them under this title. Hope it is ok.
Some info be4 my questions=
I have been riding road bike for 3 years (2 years with powermeter) and in Turkey we have lots of gran fondos (i guess they are different from yours. Our fondos about 100-130kms long and including some deciding climbs) and we have many riders with 4- 4,4 wkg riders and we do not have cat systems like u have. So if you want to be in top ten or fifteen you should be over 4 wkg at least.

I have 298w ftp and my kg is 79 (1.88cm). So in fondos i can ride with front group until the climbs. When the climbs begin they hit big watts i am dropped by poeple who are 4 or over 4 over wkg :expressionless:

So this year i want to follow TrainerRoad plans and hit over 4 wkg ftp. And my questions start here:

1: i know everyone is different and has different cells but talking in general: this season i will follow sweetspot base 1 n 2 high volume and after that build with general build high and choose speciality phase (again high volume) and cycle this process so is it possible to hit r and over wkg? Beacuse it seems huge ftp for me even though i am somewhere 3,77 wkg now.

My second question i also want to loose some weight. I am 79 now i want to be 74 kg because as i said in our country if you climb well you race well (in fondos nobody chase front group. If you escape in the climb you will most probably win the race). So i am trying to make calori deficits about 400-500. And in the popcats TrainerRoad coaches say you should not diet on the bike (i see why) but i burn 600 calories per hour (approximately) and if take 100 gr carbs per hour it makes 400 calories. So i make 200 deficits. So is it ok? Or should i take extra 200s.

I know that was looooong but thanks in advance and sorry again if i did any mistakes.

I think you should be able to hit 4+ w/kg even with your current weight if you train consistently. Trying to lose weight while doing that might be difficult, because you also need to fuel your recovery / improvement. Definitely Don‘t go into build phase with a caloric deficit!

At your height the weight is also not bad, Try to understand what your optimum weight is. If you are more of a sprinter losing weight might be detrimental.

1 Like