How many people have gone from 2.0 to 3.0

I’m 6’6” like Nate but after COVID I’m near 240lbs. My training has fallen off for the last 6-8 months and am back down to a little over 2.0 w/kg. I’m curious how people have gotten through similar things and back to 3.0, which I’m not sure I’ve ever quite gotten to.

Happy thanksgiving!!!

3 Likes

“Stay hungry, my friend”
(to paraphrase The Most Interesting Man In the World)

5 Likes

I’m 198cm, 101kgs, started out with an FTP of 120 when I took up cycling, now at 325 which makes me about 3.22w/kg - have no desire to lose any weight really, my bodyfat hovers around 8.8% anyway. I caught COVID last year as well as well as breaking some ribs so I couldn’t train for a few months, fell from the 3.0s to the low 2.0s; it takes time but if you’re motivated, you’ll succeed.

8 Likes

@Mikeferguson1980 I got sick in Feb of 2020 and when I came back all my TR gains had gone. Every single last watt. During my first few years on TR there were a number of things I could have done better. Well, good news! Here was my chance to do all those things a little better.

It comes back quick.

Right now I’m at an all-time high FTP at an all-time (cycling) low bodyweight. You just gotta keep moving forward.

5 Likes

Injured in early sep and been on my arse for coming up on 3 months now. I can ride the trainer but have to be sitting upright so it’s tough, I’ve been managing 30 min sessions of zone 2-3 about 4-5 times weekly but it’s gotten hard again and I’ve gained about 10# back which has me stressed out. It’s incredibly frustrating but like some of the replies I’ve always heard people say it comes back quickly after the re-starting hump. I figure at this point it’s similar to before I had a trainer and would just stop riding for 3-4 months in winter. Not ideal but I’ve learned a lot since then and the gains don’t actually disappear this quickly… but it sure is plenty of time for FUD to take hold :grimacing:
Trust the plans and listen to your body I guess? Good luck friend

1 Like

Same age but a little lighter I was struggling getting over 2,3-2,5 but with other life stress reduction I am at 3 ish now and feel that I am getting even higher each week.
For me it was consistency, stress reduction, some flexing aka yoga and a some weight reduction ( probably due to healthier food (no more client meetings, hotel nights…))

Crossing fingers, you will make it!

3 Likes

I’m 38 years old. In 2018 I had a badly crash during a race: ac join separation with totally destroyed all ligaments, broken wrist in 2 places. 2 sergeries, 6 month out off the bike. Long recovery. From ~320W (I weighed 73kg) my FTP dropped to ~230 and weight increased by 4-5kgs. It took me a long time to get back but today: my FTP is ~300W and my weight is ~66kgs. To get back “optimal way” I hired a coach and nutritionist. I just couldn’t achieve the prior level coaching me myseft (all the time I got ill, I felt terrible, I felt deplited and very hungry) but It was connected with many complications on the road to recovery after the crash (badly reaction to sergery and meds, long time sleep deprivation caused by constant pain in the shoulder and hormones deregulation as a result). But I’m back! W/kg better than before! Be patient, be consistent and don’t give up!

2 Likes

In October 2019 I was at an FTP of 175. Quit training and riding in 2020 and didn’t do anything in terms of structured training in the first half of 2021. After 2 months Of super diligent and consistent training I’m back from an FTP of 160 to my highest ever FTP and w/kg of 196/2.6. Plan is just to keep the course and get to 3-3.5 w/kg.

1 Like

I hit 3W/kg in 2017, took a pic of my Garmin 520 to commemorate the event lol:

Since October 1st I’ve been focused on losing weight and slowly pushing FTP back up to Spring 2021 when I hit 264W. Right now:

For me it definitely helps to focus on the process - “in it to win it” - over the long haul. Another 5 months a slow and steady weight loss (target is 3lbs/month) will put me at 3W/kg at the Garmin estimated FTP (I’m sure it will be higher by then).

Make up your mind and Just Do It! Set your targets at 3 months, and 6, and 9, and 12 months. Take your time, slowly change your body composition, and slowly work on bike fitness. You’ve got this.

3 Likes

Did it between 2019 and 2020, peaking at 3.6W/Kg. Then pandemic hit, events got cancelled and my FTP has dropped and weight up. Just crawled back on turbo today. Next 4 weeks getting attuned to turbo then January I’ll do a FTP test and getting started on training. You can’t be at a peak all the time. As others say focus on the process and you’ll get there.

I don’t mind the fact I’ve had a break and fitness dropped. It’s nice to take a break every now and again and then come back keen.

2 Likes

I will not discuss the fact, that I find the focus on Wkg in FTP test results not the best focus for the vast majority of riders, and I feel like there is an complete overemphasis on this in amateur cycling.
However, I completely understand why people choose this as a target. It is definitely beneficial to improve on Wkg and simple to measure.
With this said, a high Wkg FTP favors light (and subsequently shorter) riders. Since height is non negotiable, the easiest focus to increase Wkg is dropping weight.
Sounds pretty obvious, right?
So probably the best thing to do is focus Workouts on those that either build FTP or burn fat (long efforts at FatMax). That would be polarized training, maybe a contentious topic here, but that’s what I’d go with.
Also, reducing caloric intake is important when trying to lose weight. However, make sure to not under fuel your workouts. I try to fuel well (maybe too well) before, during and after my workouts, but try to keep it lower calories in rest days or easy days.
Just my two cents.

3 Likes

2.2 (Aug 2020, after 8 years mostly off the bike) to 3.4 (Oct 2021, after 14 months of TR including a road and CX season).

2 Likes

It is easy to measure and can provide motivation. Personally I’m losing weight to improve my overall health, and appreciate the improvements in climbing however its more about enjoying the climb.

2 Likes

I’ve managed to edge my FTP up from 225 in January to 284 about 5 weeks ago and dropped weight from 220lbs to 208lbs so roughly 2.3 to 3.0 in that time.

Hoping my next ramp test next week will see me over 290.

Was coming off of 3 months complete inactivity. Used TR plan builder to just do low volume SS plans and general build, adding in L2 volume here and there and spacing out work days / adding in extra rest weeks, to limit cumulative intensity given I’m an older guy (just shy of 50).

Over the summer my adherence to the 3 x workouts a week wavered as I often swapped out the longer Saturday workout for an outdoor mixed effort group ride.

It’s perfectly doable but the time taken will heavily depend on your individual circumstances.

Good luck :+1:t2:

2 Likes

I by no means wanted to imply, that Wkg focus is wrong or anything.
It does matter greatly in cycling performance and can make you a lot faster on climbs. Also, when someone is overweight to some degree, losing the excess fat will be beneficial regardless of cycling.
However, I think Wkg was derived a lot from pro cycling, where many races are decided on massive Cols or gaps are created on 15% bergs…
If that’s where you’re riding, power to weight should be the main focus of performance.
However, most people I know (and most people in this Forum probably) will have most of their riding, and possibility racing too, on flatter or undulating courses, but not in the high alps.
That’s where raw watts will likely matter most, and Wkg can be deceptive.
Beyond that, FTP is an estimation of a power you can hold for something like 30 minutes to maybe 90 minutes. That’s at sea level (or the level you did the test at), a very even effort, no fatigue in the legs - and you are done after 20 minutes (or however long a ramp test takes).
I have seen graphs that with „3.5 Wkg you finish top 200 in this race, but with 5.0 you’ll go top ten“.
And that’s just something FTP is terrible at predicting.
There is just so much more to racing bikes than a 20 minute effort could ever tell you.
All a 20 minute effort will really tell you is how well you perform at FTP Tests, and that’s where I see the problem. When the focus on FTP is too high, people will become better in FTP tests, and not much else.

I am saying this as an overachiever in FTP tests.
Whoops, now I did go into too much detail after all :weary:

3 Likes

My goal is 3.0 so I can’t help there :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: . My experience so far has been positive, from what you’ve written it sounds possible. I started cycling in 2018 for commuting to work then got a road bike in 2019. I started with Trainer Road in November 2020 after buying a power meter and I tested at 208W (2.2W/kg). I’ve had a load of health issues over the last year with time off the bike but still managed an increase of 30W and I lost 4kg. Now sitting at 2.7W/kg. I live in a hilly area and most of them require threshold power or more to ascend so every Watt I gain feels better. My main goal is to be consistent with my LV plan, that’s when I get the most gains.

The only time I’ve ever been successful in loosing weight is with small, gradual changes to what I eat. Going to bed a little bit hungry and making sure half my plate is veg. If I try to loose too fast or it becomes complicated to make happen, I fall off the wagon

Unsurprisingly those who are on the right side of the cycling power bell curve like to focus on it and share it. Those on the centre or left less so. I did a sprint distance duathlon recently and was the nearly last on the first run but was strong on the ride, it was draft legal and overtook person after person. It made me realise that at 89kg and 180cm (196lbs and 5’11") if it’s flat, W/kg is less important.

4 Likes

I’m 6’5" and started at 242 lbs. Initially tested at 208 FTP in mid-August after being largely inactive for ~16 years w/little cycling background, or endurance training.

I’m down to 217 lbs. +/- 2 lbs. and my last FTP was 256. I test again Monday and hoping to break 270, but feel like I’m in the 260’s.

Within those 3.5 months the newb gains and weight loss got me from 1.9 w/kg to 2.6 w/kg. If I can keep progressing, I think I’ll get above 3.0 mid-next year. My goal is 4.0 in 3 years, but will need to get <90kg to make it I think.

I’m struggling with additional weight loss at the moment, but that seems the fastest path to additional gains. Once I started fueling my workouts the weigh loss diminished, but my power and endurance are better.

5 Likes

I went from under 2 to over 3.

If I get to my goal weight I should be able to reach 4 if my absolute power stays the same.

1 Like

I’m late to the party, but I am 6’6” and was over 280 when I started on TR. My FTP went from 221 to 359 and I’ve lost more than 40lbs. So I’m at 3.3 w/kg right now. Something like that. The thing I needed was a challenge I thought was really hard. Mine was a ride called Tour de Blast. A big yawn for most people on here I’m sure. But for me it felt close to impossible. And there was no way I could do it, and for it at least be a little fun, without more watts and less weight. So I would just walk around my house and yell out loud like a lunatic: TOUR DE BLAST. Or when I wanted more than a reasonable amount of chocolate chip cookies I’d think about climbing up that mountain. A mountain you care about climbing (literally or metaphorically) that you can anchor to consistently makes hard things easier. I think.

6 Likes

On my third rotation. Got off my fat ass and back on the bike after a 20 year hiatus. After three years I was at 3.4. T-bone a deer and had ACL surgery. Dropped to mid 2s and took another two years to get back to 3. Got hit from behind and plowed under a minivan. Drop back to 2 and took another year to get back to 3. Not sure what happened last year but crashed and was just out of it after my first COVID shot. Went easy followed by >10# gain the next 8-9 months. That took me back down to 2. I’m at 2.5 now and 5# lighter but still 15# heavier than when I first hit 3.4. Starting backup in October in ernest and hope to be back above 3 by summer.

5 Likes