Do you suck? You are getting after it harder than so many people. You should hold your head up high because you are trying to improve yourself.
Do you suck at proofreading? Maaaaaaaaaaybe…
2 Likes
When reading about so many great gains in here it easy to want the same. 
No FTP gains in 9 months does not feel that great for sure. But still, i am in a good mood. I just want to improve and slowly get stonger, thats all.
Lucky me that winter is coming then! 
1 Like
I would try to at least stick to a LV plan throughout the year if possible to keep the training going and not to totally abandon it as it seems like your outdoor rides aren’t providing the training stimulus you need. We’re about the same age at 47 but I’m about 20 lbs heavier than you at 169 lbs. I only started this Feb with TR and got an FTP of 168 when I started SSB1LV. I also thought that was incredibly low when I saw it but it really explained why so many people pass me when I rode outside despite me thinking I was in decent shape.
I’ve gone thru SSBLV and SPBLV. Just finished SSBMV1 now and starting SSB2MV. Right now my FTP sits at 210. While that’s still pretty low when you compare it to what others are at here, I’m still a much stronger cyclist now than what I used to be. The few times I do ride outdoors for enjoyment with friends, I now drop them or put out the hurt vs being the one always in the back. I attribute a lot of that to being consistent with TR workouts and their drills inside of their workouts like cadence, speed, and muscular endurance drills, So keep at it and try to be consistent throughout the year with structured training if you really want to improve.
1 Like
“Lucky me that winter is coming then!”
Get a “Fat Tire Bike” with studded tires for winter - it opens up a whole new world. Like, you, my gains come slowly. I’m amazed at people that start high and rapidly gain FTP - I just have never had legs like that. However, even with the Low Volume plans, I have gained noticeable fitness improvements. Keep up your work, perhaps add some non bicycle strength training. My upper body strength always comes easy, but I have to work extra on my legs to gain and maintain strength. Keep working, some just have to work longer.
1 Like
Hi again,
I am about to stop riding outdoors and ready to start TB1 MV. I already tested how 2 hours Baxter feels, it is real hard for me to sit on a traineer for 2 hours. Not with bpm and breathing, it is just hard to sit there for so long. Maybe i get used to it after a while, i hope…
Burt anyway a question. If i skip one of the four sessions each week and do a shorter V02 max session instead, would that hurt the adaptations i trying to gain with my base endurance fitness?
1 Like
Hello,
I tried to do “Hour Of Power” yestoday. I used my latest FTP i got from the Ramp test. It started farliy easy with a bpm around 160 and it slowly ramped up to 185 bpm after 31 minutes of FTP. Tried to maintain 90 cadense but last minute or so it dropped to 85 and i was done in about same way as when i do a Ramp test.
My own take from this is that i really need to do alot of base this winter. So Zone 2 workouts? Or what do you guys think?
1 Like
Hi don’t worry, Your not the only one who sucks.
This is my recent Power Profile … and I’ve been doing Ironman for 13 years
Most people cannot hold their ftp for exactly one hour. Think it’s more between 30 - 90 minutes.
Base, and sustained power build if you want to bring your ftp up. Your short-duration power (less than 5 min efforts) may suffer a bit.
1 Like
I get that. But i only lasted for 31 minutes and my bpm was quite high at the end. If a well trained person does the same workout i guess they can do it much longer and bpm stays the same from start to finish more or less?
+1
This is where the TTE-metric comes in; it takes a substantial amount of aerobic capacity to last the full 60 minutes.
Maybe the OP would benefit of more aerobic work? I’m pretty sure I would; I’m done at about the same time. Multi-hour indoor rides from now on for me as I live in Varberg, Sweden (rain and windy until April…).
Your FTP is actually higher than mine (FTP 171). That being said I started out with a FTP of 134 back in March of this year. I thought I sucked as well until I realised even at my meager FTP level I am much much faster than most weekend riders on the bike trail, and that feels real good. Other than that, the only thing I could add here is that you need to be consistent and you need to out in lots of time on the saddle riding indoors or outdoors. There are no shortcuts, I wish I could have an FTP of 300, that’s likely not going to happen anytime soon. I’ll take my slow gains versus no gains any day. I see my power increasing slowly, it’s not happening overnight and I get it, with proper training, nutrition, and rest, the fitness and gains will come with what my genetics allow.
I had a goal of reaching a FTP of 200 by the end of the year, but I now know that it’s not a good goal to have set for myself. I accept the results of my FTP test and just keep training if I get to FTP 200 great if I don’t oh well, I’ll keep training and eventually I may or may not get there. All I could do is keep training smarter and harder and toughen up even more, and Trainer Road is the perfect platform for that. Good luck with your training. Train hard and smart, and don’t give up when doing the workouts, hang tough.
3 Likes
So after 6 weeks of mostly zone 2 workouts 1-2 hours i did a new ramptest today. Finally an small increase from 183 wattt to 188 watt. It gives me 2.94 w/kg.
After i read some in a few polarized threads i want to try out a 3 week block and see how it goes for me. Does this seems about right way to do it?
2 Likes
Oh man don’t sweat it. When I was in my early 30s I wanted to do the tour de France du Randonneur. But I was weak. It took me nine months riding 6 days a week 1-1:30 at SS + 2 gym sessions and back to back 100 milers on the week-end once summer arrived to get my FTP from 120 to 200 watts and 70kg, to 55 kg. I had no kids, and a business that gave me a lot of flexibility. That’s a luxury most people don’t have.
Bottom line it takes a lot and lot of riding to have a decent base that allows you to get faster for long rides. And the number on preriquisite is to being on the bike.
12 years later after years of illness and inactivity, my FTP is at 131. Started back last year at 110 FTP. I have no Idea if i’ll ever get back to where I was. And it doesn’t matter. I enjoy being on the bike. I enjoy the process of training and I have fun in group rides. I get better. Slowly but better all the same.
3 Likes
About three years ago, I got back into cycling, having done a fair bit of racing in my teens and early 20s. I’m now 47, so about the same age as you. In the interim, I lived a fairly active lifestyle, but did nothing to build or maintain cardiovascular fitness. Initially, when I started riding again, I made notable improvements, but that only lasted for a couple of months. After that initial period of growth, I started to feel that all of the low hanging fruit was gotten, and I was continually struck by how hard I was having to work for very modest gains. I have many friends and acquaintances who ride considerably less than I was, but they can smoke me. I started to feel like maybe there was something holding me back in some way, but continued to increase my efforts to improve. All along, I always felt that I was always way more out of breath than others riding around me, and now and then I would start to get tunnel vision when going deep. Your mention of hard breathing made me think of my situation. Anyway, last winter, I decided that I would start TR, that I just needed structured training, instead of just riding hard. After finishing SSB1, I took the ramp test again, and scored a modest gain. After that, I started SSB2, and began having a really hard time completing workouts . Beyond that, I was becoming winded going up steps, and other non-athletic exertions. Long story somewhat short, lots and lots of testing showed that I have CTEPH, a chronic clotting condition in my lungs. The doctors seem to agree that I have probably had this brewing for quite some time, and so yes, I did in fact have something holding me back. AT this point, I’m heavily medicated, and I’ve had the first of what will likely be 5 or 6 procedures to open and clear the blockages in my lungs. Already I’m feeling much better. My power isn’t up much yet, but I feel completely different when I’m exerting. I can’t wait to see where I’m at 6 months from now, now that I’m not driving around with the parking brake on.
Anyway, I’m not saying that I think you have what I have. What I’m saying is that if you feel like you just can’t improve, (and you frequently feel winded) you just might have something going on, and you should look into it.