Hi all,
I am 45 years old I have been doing structured cycling training for the past 3 years (no cycling experience before that) and have been following Trainerroad plans for the past 9 months or so… During this time my FTP has increased from ~245W to 330W (~2.5 to ~4W/kg)…
I have now hit a plateau and I am struggling to see further increases in my FTP… I have just finished a rolling road race HV plan (with SS, build, and specialty phases) and done 2 weeks of lower volume, less structured riding as a recovery…
I am now ready to start a new plan noting that I race in 14 weeks that I would like to perform well in…
My question is, what would be the best way to break through this FTP plateau?..
Based on how I feel during my workouts, I think I would be best served to do an HVSS plan (with workouts like Leavitt +2 etc) and increase the workout intensity overtime for the next 8 weeks or so (with a recovery week in the middle)… Then do a 4-week build and 2-3-week specialty phase to better prepare me for my race…
I have also started strength training 2 days a week to supplement my work on the bike to help me get over those short, sharp climbs and have more max power for sprinting at the end of a race… This seems to be working well…
What are other people’s experiences with breaking through plateaus?
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks,
Jack
I’m very similar age and FTP to you! A few thoughts:
- With 3 years of consistent and structured training, you’ve likely already picked all the low hanging fruit. You might just find that from this point on FTP gains are few and far between, and it’s about adjusting your expectation to more incremental gains than you’ve seen so far
- There’s a lot more to cycling than FTP. Increasing time to exhaustion (TTE) at the same FTP could lead to significant improvement in longer races for example. Or working on improving repeatability of anaerobic efforts would improve your performance in crits
- If you added it in fairly recently, strength training might be impacting your FTP in the short term while your body gets used to that added stress. You should absolutely stick with it, but it can take a while to adjust to it and figure out how best to balance strength training and bike training
- I’d be a bit wary of the HV SS plan. I’ve tried it a few times and it’s burned me out, and there are many many similar stories on here. The TR guys have said in the past that that plan is really designed for a fairly niche athlete who has the capacity to handle a big volume of work (both physically and mentally) but not the time. I.e. somebody with pro genes but amateur training hours. Maybe if you’re on the Adaptive Training beta then that could help as it would dial the sessions down. Not saying don’t do it, but if you do then just tread carefully! Personally I tend to do better with MV plans and then adding Z2 work on top
- Other than strength work, you haven’t mentioned anything else you’re doing off the bike like sleep and nutrition. Improvements in these areas can help as much or more as what you do on the bike
- In your 3 years have you taken some proper breaks off the bike? Like 2-4 weeks where you do minimal cycling, lose some fitness, and then come back really fresh? Not the time to do it now, with a race in 14 weeks, but if you haven’t given yourself a good break then worth considering doing one after the race. It’s often been the key for me to breaking through a plateau. And making rapid gains again (albeit from a lower base) is great motivation after a period of being stuck on a frustrating plateau.
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Don’t focus on FTP. An FTP test is a blunt instrument. A 20 minute test is a good indicator of your TT and sustained climbing abilities. A ramp test rewards all around fitness but doesn’t clearly identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Since you have a specific goal in mind, maybe choose one or two energy systems that you most want to focus on and build a progression. TR’s Workout Levels helps with that quite a bit.
In your 3 years have you taken some proper breaks off the bike? Like 2-4 weeks where you do minimal cycling, lose some fitness, and then come back really fresh? Not the time to do it now, with a race in 14 weeks, but if you haven’t given yourself a good break then worth considering doing one after the race. It’s often been the key for me to breaking through a plateau. And making rapid gains again (albeit from a lower base) is great motivation after a period of being stuck on a frustrating plateau.
All really great points that you made, but this one is really key and worked well for me this past offseason! I also think it’s key to incorporate more regular recovery into your training- don’t wait for a recovery week, if you are feeling tired, cut back on the intensity or volume and sleep more! Easiest way to plateau is to do more work than your body can absorb.
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I have a similar history and faced the same thing around the same age. As the poster above mentioned - I felt I got all the low hanging benefits that intensity based workouts/plans can give. At my best, taking a month off before re-starting base mean that i was on a upward trajectory - e.g., Y1 - started at 180w, peaked at 200w, Y2 – start at 190, peaked at 220w, and so on.
These were interrupted by injury/illness - more than I would like, but saw the progress.
Then, I feel like I burned out - I really pushed myself on workouts / rides. And eventually the wheels fell off. I found a path forward through long endurance rides - starting hitting all time PRs on rides that felt much more sustainable than intense/interval rides. After a block of this I was able to start adding intensity back in gradually and blew past my plateau.
I will also say the new TR plans feel infinitely more doable. Whether this means same/better/worse improvements I don’t know. But they do seem much less likely to lead to burn out.
- Time off or better in season recovery
- Long Endurance Rides
- Maximum effort intervals/testing (MMP testing, eg)
The last one is where TR misses the boat a little bit, but I have zero doubt that the reason I’ve moved past my 4.0 plateau recently is max efforts where I test and push my absolute limits. It was a stimulus change from the past few seasons and has helped me understand my current limits.
In particular, smashing out a test interval from 1 to 40 min every few weeks has given me a better understanding of what I’m capable of and a more accurate overall power curve.
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Hi cartsman,
Thanks for your detailed reply… I agree with you about the low-hanging fruit… I like points 3, 4, and 6…
I have started the strength training quite conservatively because of the reasons your mention… So far, so good… But will keep an eye on how it progresses and impacts me on the bike…
The HVSS plan is tough… Before Trainerroad I was doing regularly 3-5 hr endurance rides on the road each week… I was thinking of changing to a MV plan and adding in more longer Z2 rides again… I think is what I have been missing…
Yes, I do probably need to take some decent time off the bike… Need to work out the best time to do it as my calendar seems to have important events for me every 12 weeks or so year-round… Might need to give one the flick…
As for nutrition and sleep, both of these could be improved and are things I focus on… Still trying to find a balance between eating enough and at the right times to support the HV training… So again, my be a case to dial it back to MV and return to the Z2 rides again…
Thanks again for your suggestions, they are helpful…
Hi team_bunty,
I agree that FPT is quite blunt… Although my FTP has not increases much since starting Trainerroad, I have been big changes in my anaerobic capacity and repeatability of efforts, which has certainly improved my racing…
When I say FTP plateau, what I really mean is my maximal sustainable power during races and longer duration rides has not changed much… But this is essentially FTP… what I find that is I have hang on with the big boys until the end of a race, then lose them at the sprint finish… Likely because I am working too hard in the lead up to the sprint (a higher FTP with help reduce the relative intensity prior to the sprint leaving more in the tank) and because I have limited top-end (hence the strength training)… For now, I think FTP or increasing my sustainable power is most important…
Hi llmonty,
What you have outlined in terms fo Y1, Y2, Y3 was what I was thinking in terms of returning to SS work… Do 12 week MVSS plans with a long 3-5 hr Z2 ride, and a couple of weeks off the bike, and repeat… I think this would work for me… Only problem is that is will stuff up my race fitness… I probably need to focus on the bigger picture and target an event 6 months away…