It was wonderful to stumble across this link. I’m 52 with an FTP of around 220. I’ve always picked multiple goals through the year over the last few year. I’d train for a triathlon, then train for a run an lose cycling fitness then come back to cycling for a few months. Recently I’ve been really focused on cycling and was wondering what sort of FTP target to chase. I have always been poor at judging a pacer effort on ramp tests so I have amazed by AI detection in TR. I work 69-80h/week so the platform has really fit into my life well.
Thanks for the chatter this thread generated! It’s inspired me to target 240 for Christmas and 25-60 for Spring! If all that comes of that is consistent structured training…. I’m pretty ok with that.
I’d shoot for an FTP of around 250. That’s where I land at age 57 with a little dedicated training on the bike trainer. 2 x 20’ workouts work well for me.
Wow - This thread is great - blast from the past 8-6 years ago. Its also funny to read back to some of the complaints.
We have to ping some of the names who still are active to provide updates, I just grabbed those that I recognized. After a few more years, any tips or thoughts on maintaining your FTP or WKG as you get older?
Well Im 57 now, had both knees replaced in 2020 & 2021. I was up to 280 earlier this year after a full base., build, specialty cycle but then I had to take 8 weeks off to have a PNI removed from a saddle sore gone wrong.
I’ll be 57 this year and I matched my all time high FTP (314) and I think it was more like 320 at the peak of the season. More importantly, I hit lots of power PR’s in racing and training this year and had some solid race results. Did a 3+ hour race early in the season with NP over 280. 5.5+ hour race at 255 NP. Unbound was over 220np for almost 12 hours. Also, for the first time in my life I actually knocked out a 1+ hour effort at over 300w average power (probably could have done it in the past, but just never had the desire/motivation to try). It’s the strongest I’ve ever been on the bike, at least from an endurance standpoint. I’ve probably lost some snap over the years, but never had much anyway and all my target events are long and that’s what I train.
I’ve dramatically increased my training volume over the past couple years and that’s what has led to the improvements. The FTP hasn’t really moved much, but the endurance and repeatability has really improved. And I haven’t been that disciplined in my structured training, mainly just riding a bunch (peaking at 20+ hours and 1000+ TSS per week). I retired a couple years ago, so that’s what allows all the training time. All that said, I think I probably hit my lifetime peak this year and may never see those numbers again. And that’s OK. I was probably pushing up against some over training this year and running into some health issues (which have totally cleared up after winding down after the season). Day after day of 5+ hour rides in the Texas heat probably isn’t healthy for an old dude and I was feeling it by the end of the season. I’ll likely take a more conservative approach next season, health is more important than striving for power PR’s and podiums.
train as much as you can, and go hard 40+ times a year. Hard meaning over FTP. Maybe get 50 days of 90-95% FTP power in.
So sweet spot base and then some really hard days. Fill in the hours with easy stuff. Basically, just train following general pyramidal+linear periodization like you did when you were 20, but do less total volume.
At 57, AIFTP has my FTP at 296. This FTP is down a bit from previous years (2023 = 313, 2024 = 312) due to lower back issues that took me away from training for 2+ months.
Background: While I’ve cycled off and on throughout my life (solo rides, triathlons, and plenty of touring), I started structured training 2.5 years ago. With this new fitness, I’ve done a combination of crit racing, gravel racing, and race paced group rides. I absolutely love getting out there and cranking out the watts!
My quandary: bicycle watts vs. general long term health. No doubt I’ve got a better aerobic engine than I’ve had in years and it has its own set of benefits & joys. But, in pursuit of this fitness I’ve found myself regularly choosing cycling over strength workouts as my body only has so many high intensity training minutes in a week before I tip into overtraining. While I continue experimenting with my recovery and lifting, it is increasingly looking like I will need to let the higher performance on the bike be secondary (i.e. less cycling hours) so that I can build my overall strength that I know I need as I quickly approach 60.
None that are positive. Currently 59. It only gets harder.…
Just kidding! My FTP peaked a few years ago at 250 after a winter build cycle. I was also riding a lot more.
These days, I don’t want to be on a bike 10+ hours a week or even 8. My FTP drifted down to around 200 after a summer break of multiple vacations but it’s trending back up now. I’m doing like 5-6 hours per week now.
I’m also lifting, swimming, and playing golf now and going for more for general fitness.
I still love experimenting with structured training and I kind of feel like maybe I finally cracked the code for myself. I’m switching back and forth between one vo2max workout and then one FTP workout every 4-5 days. I could never really recover well enough trying to do two sessions in a week plus some lifting and other things.
These are two charts from WKO. I don’t think I’ve ever had a sustained upward sloping ramp rate like this. On 5 hours per week and those two key workouts, I haven’t needed a full rest week since July. Sometimes I take two days off in a row. The legs feel good and not heavy.
I’m not opposed to an actual easy week with no intervals but I’ll see how long I can sustain this as an experiment.
I’ve also never been in the TSS/day optimized training zone but I’ve been edging down towards there. This chart though is probably designed for 20 year olds.
58, 120-122lbs, ftp usually peaks at about 215-220, but TR has me at 193 right now (was off 8 weeks following knee surgery. hahahahahahaha, the PT had knee surgery…again….let the hilarity begin….)
Still at it and fought my way from Florida thru the Breck Epic at an ai ftp of 299 at 192#. What seems to be working is to follow the ai plan plus a few long rides for long races. But outside of long races…..simply follow the ai plan. No more, no less.
Bad alignment from birth really did my knees in. Then years of jet skis and other motorsports finished them off. Consistent training on the bike gave me another 10 or so years before I had to pull the trigger on both of them. I had mine done with the Stryker Mako robot and protect them with pads on every outdoor ride. They work great, but I would not want to take a hit on them without some kind protection. Revision surgery would really suck!
