Yep! Listening to your body is key. I might also add that, presuming you are using an HRM and have it displayed on your screen, you can monitor how long it takes during Rest Intervals to drop from your threshold HR to endurance HR (you won’t get to resting HR, because the RI is usually about 40% of FTP). It’s a good indicator of how fresh or fatigued you are. And it takes longer as you age so it is good to monitor. Before power meters, it was one the key metrics of fitness - recovery speed.
1 Like
I love GCN, however last year it was all ZWIFT this and ZWIFT that, now its Sufferfest due to Dan Lloyds 10 weeks ambition to get fit and no doubt getting a free Sufferfest coach, free Elite trainer and free Training plans in return for the advertising…so the rest of the GCN crew are on that band wagon (BTW I think both of those platforms have something to offer so not against them).
I believe TR achieves the same outcomes providing one picks a sensible set of plans aligned to personal goals… using FTP as a reasonable base line … and for me its a really good measure of my improvements, but i am not a racer more generalist doing many disciplines for fun… but as i understand it you would not focus on Sprint type power measures as a TT’er… ?
1 Like
For anything other than a time trial, it is about repeatability! Having big numbers is nice but being about to make efforts over and over is equally important.
Ed
This is also my key tactic this winter, training almost exclusively on the TT bike.
Regardless of whether you are a racer or not, as your goals get more specific, you begin to realize that FTP is not sufficient as a metric and becomes nothing more than a data point for setting your training zones. For example, if you want to stay mid-pack on a fast 3 hour group ride that has climbs of various lengths (e.g. 20mins to 1h our) plus long, flat/roller sections, then just having a high FTP likely won’t cut it.
1 Like
How to judge progress? Comparing goals you set vs. actual results you achieved.
FTP is a number, and no i dont want to start the whole FTP is dead debate. But its a single number and does not define your cycling. There is a lot more than FTP that goes into many of our cycling goals, some of which having an increased FTP may play a factor.
These will all be individual, but having a goal and assessing against it will be a good way to see if you are progressing and what gaps you still have left.