Your graphs look ok to my eye, and some of the advice given by my coach. FWIW I have similar HR numbers except RHR is 58-60, HRmax 175, LTHR 160. And just turned sixty.
Its pretty steady. With your background you know responses can vary. Is erg like power on an endurance ride really important? Or strict adherence to z2 power? Well, maybe, but are you planning on doing some experiments to find out?
Here is how I look at it pragmatically. If I get mentally psyched out thinking those hills are killing my endurance workout, then do them on the trainer. Ease your mind. If my brain is chill and, like, whatever I’d rather ride outside, then keep doing that. I’ve make a game out of it, its kinda fun trying to make a line on the 2-minute power graph of my Garmin 530. Or you might find it frustrating, like how some like working on their golf game and others get frustrated with the slow progress.
Try Coggan HR zones? Remember Coggan said those were loose guidelines. Whatever system you use, going forward try and do similar endurance workouts and figure out what is normal for you.
My HR was almost always in z1 during z2 rides on a trainer. To move into z2 I had to do the tempo. Outside it’s usually normal but on the trainer z2 hr is only when I was very close to LT1. Now, then all the fitness is gone HR is z2 during z2 rides - poor blood volume, poor vo2 max and stroke volume. So to give you an answer - it’s ok
It likely depends on your weight and gearing but you should be able to keep below 185W on a 12% grade unless you are on the heavy side. It’s not the quickest but can be done if your balance is okay.
I’m running a 50/34 in the front and a 11-32 in the back. I suspect the problem here is the definition of Zone 2. For me, with a pitifully low FTP, zone 2 tops out at 142 watts. I invite any of the previous posters to climb a 12% hill at 140 watts or less. Those with higher FTP’s will automatically have higher zone 2 watts.
I’ve been trying to raise my FTP for the last 3 years… I quit racing in my mid 50’s with an FTP of about 3.5 watts/kg, and took 9 years off the bike before picking it up again at age .65. Note to all posters on this forum: If you are “finished with racing and training” don’t stop riding, you may want to start up again…
I ran 50/34 and 11-34 as soon as possible. I’ve done endurance rides on 10-12% grades and at 90-92kg I vaguely recall having to put out 230+ watts. With ftp of 260+ I treat these as over-unders at zone2.
11-32 has been a game changer for me, and my new bike has 12spd AXS with 46/33 + 10/33. Can climb even more easily on that at a higher cadence. Hoping it helps on my 12,000ft double century in June
Same here - I used to ride an 11-29. I switched to an 11-32 and then proceeded to break all my PRs on the big climbs in town just because I could spin a little more. I might be tempted to try an 11-34 next.
This is the best gearing I’ve ever had. One reason is not having to shift out of the big ring on group rides. It’s much better to cross chain a little in 52x28 or occasionally 52x32 rather than shift the front chainring in order to get over a little rise.
Been there and done that but I quit riding a lot in my 30s only to take it up again in my very late 40s. I have added about 75-80 watts to my FTP in the last 5 years but it’s been a hell of a lot of hard work.
I highly doubt it would be good to do SS in every single ride. But you most likely would need to add more of it compared to someone who is riding 12-15hr/week.
I think one thing that lots of people get lost in is trying to progress SS intervals all the time instead of just using it to add some training volume. One thing that my current coach did throughout the later base phases is to have rides (say 90min) with like 2x10 SS or 2x15 Tempo. It was not fatiguing or even challenging in anyway but was a nice way to just add a bit more to these rides. And it definitely wasn’t every ride either, just once or twice a week.
90% for 3 hrs (3 x 60) is really high level stuff.
It will definitely “get the job done”, coupled with Z2 and Vo2 max work. 85% would be slightly better for recovery but the basic formula stands…as long as it is progressive in nature. Even without Vo2 you could build a pretty strong base with just Z2 and 3 x 60 at Z3…especially done twice per week…if you dare.
I agree that a preoccupation at progressing SS is probably going in the wrong direction. The higher you get toward VT2 the less time you should attempt to spend there…because it is extremely taxing and hard to recover from. Probably better is to work 3 x 30 at tempo pace and instead of trying to progress time just slightly increase the wattage every two weeks or so…coupled of course with Z2 and Z5. If you need more TIZ then just add a second 3 x 30 tempo session in the week.
You haven’t said anywhere in this thread what your training goal is - why are you following a plan at all? Without this information and an idea of the needs of your target event(s) its impossible to suggest anything further.
If you want to ride a fast century then you have different needs than if you just want to ride 3hr social rides with a c offee stop with your mates.
In that ride you posted above, what was the av power and % FTP? It says 2hr 46m z2 but honestly, that should be a walk in the park really and doesn’t tell us much, and without your goal its got no context. If you’re aiming for a 200km sportive in the hills you have a long way to go but if you never ride more than 50km with your friends it might be enough???
There is more than one way to get there. Adding a long endurance ride on the weekend can be beneficial if you have the time to do it. If you don’t, then the regularly TR scheduled workout is good too. Just what you have time for and what you enjoy doing.
You could get your FTP to 3.5 W/kg tomorrow if you were willing to lose one or more body parts you’re not using for cycling.
The point being, numbers are rarely primary motivators. Why 3.5? Why not 4.0? But, more importantly, why not “so I can climb that big hill better” or “so I can be comfortable on that group ride” or “so I can be more competitive in that race on Zwift”?
