I’ve been happily using a Kickr and TR since November with a steadily rising FTP set using the TR Ramp Test when prescribed. I have created a Plan which all leads to a trip to the Alps in Sept.
Lately, I have been struggling to complete workouts well; they either degrade over the final third/quarter or I tap the % to drop the power needed.
Question: should I focus on good power and cadence form over a whole workout or should I stay true to my FTP that the workout is set at, and let the form suffer?
Late reply, but generally speaking, power is the goal with TR workouts. But keep in mind that you should be training in ways that reflect how you expect to ride and perform on any event you have planned. So don’t just give up on form altogether. There is a balance to be struck.
That said, if you are suffering enough to turn down workouts routinely, there is likely need to dig into the reasons behind it. I have no prescription, but you have to look for and find the reasons behind the lower performance or inability to meet the prescribed targets. Too much work, not enough recover, nutrition concerns, life stress and numerous other influences may be involved.
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Might depend on the type of workout, for example sweet spot versus vo2max. Which workouts?
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Thanks for your response. I’ve looked across my completed sessions for the last few months - it would seem to be ‘VO2’ types I struggle with and ‘Threshold’ I’m good at sustaining the Quality.
My poor form seems to have been triggered by a particular FTP increase. As I say, I’m good at doing Ramp Tests now, but struggle to carry the new FTP level through to consistent completed sessions.
I have found a good TR post which I am going to work through:
Save Your Workout From Failure
Embracing the struggle, plus, having an eye towards fueling too.
VO2 workouts are special, because % FTP will vary across people. For example TrainerRoad will default to say 120% FTP for a 3-minute interval, but some people can easily do it at 130% and some struggle at 110%.
If you look at the workout description of Spencer +2 (3-min intervals) it states:
Adjusting the % to tune the power is normal, but make sure you are struggling to finish each 3-min interval.
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Thanks for your help & advice. Easy week this week but I have a ramp test on Monday, followed by ‘Washington +4’ (threshold) on Wednesday, … so I’ll see how I get on, and report back …
Ok, … I’m heading backwards.
I have been diligently using TR since the end of November, approx. 3 times a week. Over 6 months my FTP has gone 193, 225, 249, 254, 248, 243???
Have I seen all the improvements I’m going to see, from TR?
Depends on several factors. It’s possible you have reached a cap of what you can get from a Low Volume plan (3 days per wee). But that is only one possible issue.
Learning more about your ability to fully complete the workouts, along with your nutrition, sleep, recovery and other training influences is necessary to offer any real advice. Essentially, you need to cover more than the info provided to do more than guess at what may be an issue or suggestion for future changes.
I rode the Crater (Threshold 4.0) workout last night over 1:15mins and it was much better - really hard but I had no loss of form acheiving 100% across all the metrics.
I think the lower FTP is better for me (and I’ll try less hard in future ramp tests!)
Thanks for your help
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