Are there any mere mortals on here?

I’ve found my people in this thread :star_struck::star_struck::star_struck:

Sitting at 2.5 w/kg with a good chunk of weight to lose. If i can figure that out, hitting 3.0+ w/kg could be doable.

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The easiest way to have a high w/kg is to be light or loose weight. It sounds simple but in itself hard/complex haha. When I was at my best cycling fitness I was 130lbs @ 5’9" and had 2-2.5% body fat.

The thing to remember is just because you have say a 2.5w/kg ratio doesn’t mean you cant punch above your fitness level.

That is the beautiful thing about cycling, there is so much tactics/passion and will power. Now that I am heavier and have all the experience I can dish out 1300-1400 watt sprints… Something scrawny ass me could have never done.

I just have to make it there and if you ride smart its possible.

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another mere mortal here with big (read unrealistic) ambitions to get to 400 (“yea right” as per inner critic…)
got into cycling 2014, got into training in 2017, first FTP test 178, current FTP 302 mid 30s, still under 4W/kg :frowning:
just need the scale to go a couple of kgs down or my ftp a few points up

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I will leave this quote from Christoph Strasser here

“The joy in reaching a goal lasts only briefly," Strasser says, “real satisfaction comes in the small daily steps on the way there.”

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Yes, for me to get to 3 watts/kg would be a dream come true. I’ve been training steadily for 3 years, and am stuck below that number. To add to the irony, 12 years ago when I was racing, my FTP was well over 3 watts/kg. Don’t take 9 years off. Age conspires against us.

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I know lots of people who do really well on the trainer but it doesn’t translate outdoors. I know others who are superstars at practice but come race day struggle. On the flip side there are those who seem to underperform at practice but race great. Then of course there are those who are good at everything.

Numbers are fun and I am definitely a stat guy. Just can’t dwell on them and reach to better YOUR numbers. The rest is noise.

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And looking down past your post, some 4W/kg riders that can’t help themselves and posted in this thread :thinking:

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I tried to hit 4w/kg (didn’t quite get there) a few years back but that took an unrealistically low body weight for my frame. My overall weight was within a few lbs of what is roughly my current lean mass and I wasn’t 2% BF… New(ish) Dr last week mentioned I probably had Red S and wasn’t surprised at all that it broke me. At one point he actually said he was shocked at my abilities given that I am “genetically challenged” for endurance sports. Might be one of the only times that was said as a compliment :slight_smile:

Sitting at 2.8 right now but weight is trending down and power is trending up so should be over 3 again sooner than later. When I break 3.0 I’m confident I’ll be a better overall cyclist than I was at 3.8 or whatever I got to before. My training isn’t focused on FTP, I’m not starving myself, and because of those two I’m more consistent and committed than I was before. Have a w/kg I think I can reach at my goal weight but it isn’t a target.

The Irony is that if I didn’t focus on w/kg in a detrimental way a few years ago I likely would have a higher w/kg than I currently do. So even with goals of getting from 2-3 or whatever else you might be trying to do, make sure it is healthy and sustainable.

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Maybe a little gender bias in the perceived number of 4.0w/kg posters around here.

I’d imagine a higher than 50% of posters around here are men, and if you check the bell-curves from the other thread, you’ll see the significant difference between the men and women TR users.

Either way, don’t get discouraged by it, stay consistent, enjoy the process and the accomplishments when you hit each 0.25w/kg or each (round number) increment in raw watts.

I intentionally cut off my raw watts FTP when I post in the “workout’s today,” not because I’m insecure about it, but because anyone else comparing their workouts to mine is then going to wonder how much I weigh and then wonder what the W/KG calculation actually is.

Comparing yourself to others is what racing is for, and what group ride sprints or attacks are for. This forum is to learn, discuss and encourage.

I’m just short of 4w/kg, but I sure feel mortal when I intentionally compare my 1s, 5s and 30s power in w/kg to anyone on intervals.icu…

I do feel like a superhero when comparing 20 minute power in raw watts (something to do with being 6’-3" and 88kg)

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I’m still sitting right around 2.5 W/kg. Started with TR around at around 2.2. Power has gone up a bunch in the last couple years of (mostly) structured training, but I have a lot of work to do on the kg side of the equation. My goal is to get to 3.0. Seems tough, but reasonable. I really, really like riding bikes and talking about bikes. That’s why I’m here.

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I’m the opposite, always look at w/kg, never raw watts :rofl:

w/kg - 73-86% for 5s, 60s, 5min, eFTP :ok_hand:
raw watts - 48%-70%, with only 60s above 60%

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Why shouldn’t they?

I default to 4.0 w/Kg after I put in some riding, that might be annoying to some that are closer to 3.0, I get it. I’m annoyed at my faster friends who default to 5+w/Kg with 5 hours a week.

I didn’t get to 4.0 through TR either, I did it by riding bikes consistently for 20 years…

Biggest lesson we can find in cycling is that there’s always someone faster than you, and that by comparing yourself to others you steal joy away from the process of becoming a better cyclist than you were the day before. I’d say the guys and gals at 4.0 have plenty to offer the OP…

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No biggie for me, but the original poster wanted to hear from other ~2W/kg athletes with a goal to hit 3W/kg.

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I’ll feel mortal as long as Alex Wild uses 1 sec power outside and Keegan is dumping 300w average for 10+ hours.

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Go to the TR “Career” page and it’s displayed there. No need to do your own calc.

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Lots of great comments above. It’s also really important to remember that we’re all on different power meters getting wildly different readings. Don’t worry too much about the specific number. Just focus on finding ways to improve it over time.

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Best thing about these charts is I’ll be at the top of the graph in a months time and can only improve!

Although I never imagined getting older would allow me to be better than average!

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@rebeccamcshane this thread is proving that the phrase ‘mere mortal’ is in the eye of the beholder. FWIW, off the couch my sister has a 90W FTP and moves up to 100+W with some consistent riding/training. That is something like 1.7W/kg. She ignores the numbers and just rides one of her bikes (3 of them). No power meters except for her Hammer trainer. She loves the simply joy of riding a bike.

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Love threads like these. Too many posts around here show people not only bragging about their FTP but going on rants about “FASTER AT ALL COSTS”. We need more posts like these and others about how flippin’ fun riding a bike can be.

I moved from roughly 2.25w/kg to 3.0w/kg over the past year. I used TrainerRoad over the winter to stay in shape and due to a bout of COVID ended up about the same spot I was power wise at the start of it. Most of my gains has actually been from unstructured outdoor rides (I know, gasp! around here). To be fair, I might not be as powerful or “well-rounded” as if I stayed on structured training but I ride for fun so spinning away on a trainer when it’s a beautiful day outside sounds like torture to me.

Also have been keeping a calorie deficit to drop some weight (and was a big part of getting to 3w/kg) which has been it’s own struggle. I love eating what I want but my ego knows that number goes up if I drop a few more lbs. Been doing a lot better at ignoring watts vs calories/weight.

This place, and my love for data, drives me to push myself more than I like (or is probably mentally healthy) but I went from not being able to climb some of the more steep hills around here to hunting out steeper ones and nailing them. As much as my ego wants me to increase my FTP the rational side of me would be more than happy where I’m at, just out and enjoying my bike.

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4 w/kg is just a marker, a nice number that is all.
I am 278 ftp at 80Kg.
I could grow my FTP to 325 - which is highly unlikely given that I train reasonably well already.
I could drop to 75kg and get my FTP to 300. Doable possibly
Or a combination of both.

But to be honest I am not really bothered about an arbitrary rating.
I would much rather get a PB on a couple of Strava segments that I have my eye on.

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