How to maintain FTP with TrainNow and Progression Levels

My question - using TrainNow Is it possible to maintain your FTP by informally making sure your progression levels are maintained between AI detection dates?

Sometimes , I am sure like others, I get a lower AI FTP than hoped due to Work , Age (I’m 58 ) and life……

My FTP is currently 241 and I’d love to try to keep it at roughly 240W.

Eg if I manage to complete Threshold and VO2 max sessions at their current PL for a month , what happens to my FTP? Is it possible to do a DIY analysis of Progression levels to keep a constant FTP?

Cheers Chris

Hi chris, some thoughts here:

There’s a table with approximate time to decay of fitness and what to do to maintain on the blog Detraining: What Happens When You Lose Fitness? - TrainerRoad Blog

One sweet spot workout a week (or 7-10 days) should keep you close to where you are. That may maintain a good part of your FTP. For aerobic side, maybe a longer ride every two weeks. If you have to/want to choose one of the two, I would go with sweet spot.

Naturally if you significantly decrease training (eg off season / break) you will loose some fitness. How big the drop is depends where you’re coming from.

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Hey there,

It’s hard to say for sure. Some athletes respond better to low volume than others, and would thus lose less fitness overall.

TrainNow can be good in a pinch, but it may be worth considering following a Low Volume plan instead if possible. A structured plan will have progressive overload built into it, which will help you maintain your fitness better than doing one-off workouts with TrainNow might do.

As @schmidt mentioned, if you’re decreasing your volume/training stress by quite a bit, it’s natural for some detraining to occur. That fitness will come back to you pretty quickly in the future, though!

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Belated thanks for your advice. I’m probably going to start a new thread that shows my stats for last month where all my PL’s of note went up and my AI FTP went down…. :wink:

Belated thanks for your advice. I’m probably going to start a new thread that shows my stats for last month where all my PL’s of note went up and my AI FTP went down…. :wink:

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