Been on a LV plan since November 2022. FTP has never increased by more than 12 watts. Feels like an insane amount of work for very little reward.
I’m consistent with my workouts, get loads of rest. Is extra volume the obvious answer?
Very much hoping one of the TR mods can have a look at my account and give me their POV.
More volume is almost always better.
If you want input from the forum you can make your calendar public or upload screenshots of the last few months.
For me unfortunately the same thing happened and switching to mv didn’t make my real world performance any better (even though my aiftp went up to levels I couldn’t believe myself). So I concluded I had to try something else, so I decided to try a different method which focused not so much on ever harder workouts but mosterd just adding easy bits to the hard bits. I am stronger now than ever (well until I got the flu 2 weeks ago…)
Not an expert but are you saying you haven’t increased more than six watts since 2022 or you have not increased more than six watts between training blocks or AI FTP resets?
Have edited my original posts as - having checked - it was 12 watts.
But still… 12 lousy watts! 3 x workouts a week for 2+ years!
Nov 22 - 262w
Nov 23 - 268w
Nov 24 - 274w
Was that it, or did you supplement with rides at the weekend?
Can you clarify this?
If low volume already feels like an insane amount of work I’m not sure adding more is necessarily the answer
There isn’t enough context to advise anything, but a couple of thoughts.
Don’t know your weight, but assuming you are an average sized human, 274W is a good FTP. Alot of people work much more than 3 workouts a week to get there. So you already are doing well on LV.
Cycling is definitely a volume sport. LV is only going to take you so far. Assuming you are completing your 3 workouts with consistency and generally completing to plan, yes, it is time to add volume. That could be MV plan, or just add Z2 to your workouts, or add an extra day or two of Z2. Add slow and progress over time.
But also share the concern about your statement that 3 workouts a week is an insane amount of work. To most cyclists looking for push for performance…3 days a week on the bike isn’t that much. You likely need to square your expectations and your desire to increase FTP.
I don’t think @TomW86 is saying LV is an insane amount of work. But that it seems an insane amount of work to do to only gain 12W FTP in two years.
The answer to the question is probably.
If you have time to do more training and you use that time productively, you can expect to improve the aspects of your fitness that you train.
Not OP but according to intervals.icu I gained 6W in eftp from TR (but according to aiftp it was 37W but I found that hard to believe) but those TR workouts were hard and grueling and made me dread workouts weeks in advance! The workouts in the program I am following now are generally easier and if I occasionally fail one I don’t get a message I failed, just a lower workout score and the next week we just continue. According to intervals.icu I added another 45W to my eftp or 14W higher than my highest aiftp estimate but a number I can actually believe and hold for close to 30 minutes at least. And like said all without doing workouts I dread…
Thanks for the response.
Weight is 67-68kg.
Maybe time for extra zone 2 volume. Not sure where I’m going to find the time but that’s another matter.
And yes, three workouts a week is pretty modest but it’s the cumulative work over two years or so for fairly modest results.
I appreciate the frustration, but from the flip side there are lots of folks who would love to be ~4 w/kg on low volume.
Dr. Andy Coggin figures the average person couldn’t make it much over 4 w/kg even with years of dedicated training.
As others have said, if you’re looking at year-on-year gains, we need to see more info than your November readings. 
The “high water mark” varies for me each year, sometime it’s easy to see why, other times it’s tricky.
Did you add regular strength training last autumn?
@TomW86 if you have extra time, I recommend sticking with your LV plan for now but adding on some Z2 time at the end of your scheduled workouts and/or adding a Z2 ride on an “off” day. I think @ArHu74 is following a JOIN Cycling plan and I’ve done a couple. In general, their interval workouts begin and end with Z2 and seem to have fewer number of intervals than what we’re used to with TR.
For time-crunched athletes, TR’s approach of making the hard days really hard (and the easy days easy) usually results in improvements, but only if you can recover. This tends to lead to a pyramidal distribution of training across the upper power zones. However, some athletes respond better to a more polarized distribution such as what JOIN prescribes.
Here is a post I made about an interview with Dr Seiler on the Roadman podcast late last year. It might be of interest to some readers of this thread.
How to use ~8 hours per week over 4 sessions
The value of the longer (3h+) ride is underestimated by a lot of people
If you decide to add volume, and you don’t have one in the plan, I would consider adding a long endurance ride. 
@TomW86 I’m not sure I have any advice that is better than what you have already received from the forum. Just wanted to say the obvious thing: you’re doing good work. So let’s celebrate that a little. Looks like you’ve got good core fitness & more importantly good consistency. Good job.
@Twowkg suggestion that more volume is almost always better will probably be true for you. And you probably don’t have to go all the way to mid-vol to see some benefits. Try what @ArHu74 & add endurance minutes at the end of workouts but in a very deliberate fashion. Add 10 minutes of endurance at the end of every workout…I like to extend the workout by 10 minutes & once I’m in the 10 minute extended period increase intensity to 120 or 130 watts then add +5W every minute until the end (just makes it go faster). Do that for a couple of weeks then add an hour of endurance at some point in the week…pick an endurance ride that’s at or a little below your Endurance Progression Level.
You may feel like you’re not doing anything that will help but I bet it will help.
Hey!
I took a look into your Calendar and noticed a few things. First off, you’ve had a 12 Watt improvewment in 1 year. In February last year, your FTP was 252W, and in January this year, your FTP was 274W. That’s not nothing, but I do appreciate that it’s frustrating to feel like you’re putting in the work and not see the rewards you might hope for.
However, I did notice some things that might explain why you haven’t seen the progress you were hoping for.
One key takeaway is that consistency in structured training has been a challenge, particularly in completing all three structured TrainerRoad workouts per week.
Some key observations:
My suggestion for more consistent progress:
Stick to the plan as much as possible – Consistency is key to long-term improvements.
Commit to all three structured TrainerRoad workouts per week – Missing workouts has likely limited your FTP progress. Completing it consistently should help you see more steady gains.
If you do a TrainerRoad workout in Zwift or outside, make sure to associate it in TrainerRoad – This keeps your plan accurate and ensures you’re progressing in the most effective way.
Prioritize structured workouts – Training without a clear structure or periodization won’t guarantee results, especially when you’re already at a solid fitness level. Structured training is what drives real progress.
Focus on consistency before adding more volume – Rather than modifying your volume plan, first ensure you’re consistently completing all three prescribed workouts each week. Once that’s dialed in, you can reassess if you need more volume.
Key takeaway:
Stick to all three structured TrainerRoad workouts per week will likely make a huge difference in your progress. I’m excited to see the progress you’ll make with this!
Let me know if you have questions about any of this 
.
Most of us would kill to be 4w/kg on 3 days/wk of low volume training with moderate adhernce to structure.
4 w/kg on LV is more than most will achieve on LV. Simple as that
You are maintaining 4 w/kg at the moment with a pretty minimal load.
For me it’s pretty similar ~300 watts/76 kg, also ~ 4w/kg. Training load varies between 4 and 8 hours depending on the time of year and other stuff. (I can maintain this with 4 hours per week…) I have had peaks of 312, but that really requires more volume. Getting to 5w/kg will require WAY more.
I’m happy maintaining 300 watt throughout the year, with a small peak in the summer when it’s more fun to do more volume. I have accepted that a real improvement will take too much (say 10-15 hours) to get to 4.5-5 watts per kg.
(and if I compare with others… I’m got pretty lucky with genetics, so are you)
