I’m new to TR and have been using a Wahoo Kickr over the winter months but have recently been riding outside. During structured workouts I was getting positive gains in FTP tests and was feeling good. When transitioning outside I still fell great and have been thrilled to be getting PRs on segments that I’ve ridden a hundred times or more. This week the weather was poor and I got back on the trainer. I happened to have a Ramp test scheduled and was bummed to see my FTP results drop by 25% over the last month since my last FTP (292 to 218) m. I retried the ramp again a day later and hit 240 after troubleshooting some things on my Kickr). Is this normal? I was at 4.0 w/kg prior to switching to outside workouts and now I’m down to 2.97 w/kg in less than a month despite consistent riding. When I did both FTP tests I felt good going into them and believe I was well rested. I know outside rides are not as structure as TR workouts, but I don’t feel like I’m on joy rides staring at all the flowers as I pedal around…
I ended up dropping my FTP down to my original FTP (277) when I started TR and tried to do a workout last night. The first time I did the workout with ease but last night I couldn’t make it through the warmup interval. Getting very frustrated trying to decide if its a rapid decline in fitness or I’m wondering if I’m having a device issue… Any insight will be greatly appreciated!!
@Mike_Freeman something sounds squirrelly to me. I had a nasty infection in early 2020 that caused my blood pressure to drop, my temp to go up, my breathing skyrocket, and my doctor to freak out. Didn’t do any training for a good long while.
Why I got back on the trainer my ftp drop was almost exactly what your is.
There is probably some mechanical/software issue screwing up your results.
What’s your cooling/fan situation for your indoor setup? I find cooling and air flow to make a dramatic difference in my workouts, especially as outside temps start to rise. In the winter with my trainer in the garage and a big fan, my indoor and outdoor power numbers are very close. Not so much in the summer.
I’ve been riding in my garage since I started and it’s been cooler temps. I do have a fan that I have setup on my bench that moves a lot of air but The temps have been cool enough that I’ve needed to use it yet. Generally temps are in the 40s or lower in the garage.
Get a power meter and compare the numbers. If you’ve been waiting for reason to buy one, here it is. Don’t think of it as an unnecessary/surprise expense. Instead, think of it as something you were eventually going to get anyway, and you’ve simply bumped it to the head of the line.
Also, leave open the possibility that the 292w was a faulty number, so don’t destroy yourself trying to claw your way back up to it.