Wow, you went from 208 to 140ish? That’s huge! I’m around 140 and couldn’t imagine how difficult riding would be at 200+, you must feel like a different person.
At my best a few years ago, I was just over 5w/kg at around 62kg. I’m trying to get there again at 45 years old. I’m now 64kg with an FTP just over 300w. I’ve been able to go from 273w to 301w in around 3 months of structured trained. The gains will likely come easier for me because I’ve been there before, but now that I’m older, I’ve noticed the weight is harder to lose and the watts are harder to gain!
I think you would look like me Prototype ectomorph, very low body fat, hard to gain any muscle.
I also get a lot of comments. Mostly along the lines of eating more. Until they see me eat everything and then some. And I am usually alone in having a second (and third) serving of deserts.
Raced on zwift last night : 5.2w/kg for 20 min and 5 w/kg for over 50 min. I am currently at 61 kg and 171 cm and possibly can lose some more weight.
Did a lot of riding this winter, starting Oct 19: followed Trad base 1/2/3, then Gen Build HV and now on modified RR HV, averaging 15+hr a week.
What worked for me is riding in small chainring (low inertia) and adding endurance ride at the end of each workout. Also, doing a long ride on zwift on Sunday +4 hr at maximum trainer difficulty and lots of climbing.
Its worth noting that I started racing at the age of 12 then quit at 18 followed by doing nothing for 10 years and started training again in 2018. There is definitely advantage from riding at a very young age.
So I’ve been using Trainerroad for about a month now, I tested at the beginning with a 294 ftp and weigh about 126lbs or 57 kg (5.16 watt/kg) and am 15 years old. I have been riding mtb and racing NICA for about a year and feel like this is a little high. I’m on a regular trainer (Giant Cyclotron Mag) with a Wahoo blue. Is it possible that my calculated power is way off? (Also if there is a better thread for this question please direct me to it.) Thanks!
I’m not sure exactly where I am compared to others, because last year I was racing in a lower level (JV2) where I placed 1st-2nd, but this year I will be racing Varsity. So my equipment is overestimating it?
From Australia so have no idea about junior racing categories over there, here its just U11, U13, U15, U17 and U19 and I would say for the U15’s to be at the very pointy end of races it would be 4.5+ w/kg and for U17 4.9+ at like 300 Ftp. So using that guide you could maybe use that as a gauge.
I guess only way to find out would be to get a proper power meter which are getting cheaper and would be around 300 Aud which is like 200 USD for a second hand one.
JULY 2019 - 4.0w/kg (280w), estimated with a cp20 of 299w, 3 months after starting to ride seriously (but unstructured). SEP 2019 - 4.2w/kg (295w), estimated with a cp20 of 315w, end of season
NOV 2019 - 3.4w/kg (245w), test done by coach - begin of disappointing structured training DEC 2019 - 3.8w/kg (275w), test done on zwift - begin of serious structured training MAR 2019 - 4.3w/kg (300w), test done by coach, CP60 of 309w, CP20 of 330w
2018 - My first year, very casual riding + running + strength training. 2019 - 417hours of which 85% unstructured training 2020 - Currently at 123hours of training in 2020, 4.9% bodyfat (plicometry), haven’t done much work above FTP yet.
Hoping to get as close to the infamous target as possible, still carrying a bit of excess muscle from upper body strength training (5’10ish, 26y)
Plan is to do road races around 120-140km with 2000-3000m of elevation.
Any insight on some possible margin of improvement?
Just an idea, but maybe you could ‘borrow’ a friend or LBS bike with a power meter and do either a 20 minute effort or the 2x8 minute efforts needed to give you an FTP test.
Ok so there are plenty of threads on here that dig deep into the respective benefits and pitfalls of these two protocols but as a ‘guide’ it will give you an idea of where you sit.
If your FTP comes out at within +- a few Watts of your 294 and you felt good and ‘on it’ for the test time period then you can can have some degree of confidence on your power number and your W/kg
On the other hand, if it differs significantly either up or down then you will be better informed on where you actually are and will also have an idea of the offset your current indoor trainer setup has which can be helpful.
Good luck and well done on reaching a pretty impressive power and fitness level at such an early age
I’m surprised by the number of people here claiming they are 5w/kg because that’s what they did over 20 minutes. I thought, when quoting w/kg, (unless otherwise stated) we’re talking about FTP and therefore either 1hr power or at least a percentage of 20 min power. Or am I missing something?
Incredible all the same, it just seems to be at odds to the general consensus. Otherwise, this is a super interesting thread!
It always depends on the test method - you can weigh yourself - I weigh 60.5kg but then it is all about the FTP calculation. I have a ramp test recently which gave me 298W - so close ish - and I think I could maybe do a bit better now I have nearly finished SPB - BUT I think the Ramp over estimates my hour power as the most I have ever got out in a 25mile tt is 261W - but then that is on my Exocet 3 tt bike where as my ramp is on my road bike. So who knows - although I am doing a road bike tt next Saturday so that could be revealing (21 hilly miles). So I guess we can measure it different ways - still I’m over 4W/kg and closer to 5 at the age of 51 with only 2 years of just cycling after doing tri/marathon running so I’m happy ….I was 58kg though last year for a month but that was just after the flu so it probably doesn’t count!
You should have plenty of room for improvement as long as you stay consistent with training. I also progressed quickly when I started riding again in late 2018, and while I can’t tell you when your progress will slow, I can assure you it will. It seems to get very tough around 4.5 for a lot of people.
I’d also caution you against being too focused on FTP and wkg. Just put in the training and don’t get caught up in getting too skinny to hit a number. Falling ill and missing training will hurt much worse than a half kilo of weight.
Also, it’s worth thinking about your overall power curve. FTP is one thing, but having good sustained power AND short power are key to racing well, so you’ll want to be sure your training is developing both ends.
I’m guessing all of the “5.0 for 20min” posts are because 5.0 has been tossed around so much as the gold standard of fitness. FTP has always been an ego number for many so hearing 5.0wkg mentioned in awe so frequently on the podcast (and I’d assume it’s inclusion as the top of the A category on Zwift doesn’t hurt) people naturally strive to be associated with that level.
I’m guessing this is a similar mindset that drives people to taper and do openers for the ramp test… and then do a 20min to get a better number… and then the KM Protocol, etc, etc…
I can be higher than FTP, or it can be lower, depending on how you’ve trained, how fit you are, etc. The TTE component of FTP is vastly underutilized and misunderstood.
5w/kg with a 40min TTE is much different than 5w/kg with a 70min TTE but it also depends on your goals.
Obviously higher is better on both counts, but if you have to pick between them, I’d say that 4.6-4.8 with a 70-80min TTE is much more valuable than 5w/kg with a 40min TTE, especially because your ability to ride at 95% is correlated with TTE as well.
Yeah I agree but thats a bit silly because I could come here and say “im actually 10 w/kg…for 1 minute” and my tips and tricks are eat lots of donuts and never do intervals longer than 20 seconds".
Riding consistently and a lot. Over 600hrs in 2019 and over 400hrs of that indoors with almost no time spent in Z1.
2020 I’m aiming for 700hrs and it’s off to a good start. My focus is longer events over the next few years and I have a fair bit of flexibility with my training time so volume works well. My training is pyramidal in structure and I don’t hit serious interval work until 6wks or so from a key event. Lots of Z2, tempo, and some zwift racing or Strava hunting plus long rides depending on the time of year. Typically 6-8hrs during the week days and 6-8hrs between Sat/Sun.
On the other end of the spectrum, I see a fair few guys that train less, but much higher intensity. They don’t typically focus on events much over 2-2.5hrs though and typically have a lifetime of some kind of athletics at a high level.
Prototype ectomorph, very low body fat, hard to gain any muscle.
