Plateaued FTP, under fuelling?

Training
1

Hi,
I’m 52, 5ft 8, small build, 69kg, cycled regularly (av 5-6 days a week, 7-9 hours per week since Nov 2020) with an FTP of 262, which is only increasing 1% at each AI detection.
I’d seen a consultant recently about my knee who is a very keen cyclist too and he suggested that this could be a lot higher.
I’m always conscious of my weight, particularly my waistline so I tend to skip breakfast, have a Huel for lunch, train at 4:30pm for 1-1.5 hours (using Increase FTP with high volume ) then eat a good evening meal.
I think I know the answer but would you agree I’m not fuelling appropriately for my rides and how can I maintain my current weight but give myself the fuel to progress?
Thanks :pray:
Jon

2

A consistent FTP increase of 1% every 28 days sounds OK to me

Are you completing the workouts?

What did you weigh in Nov 2020?

3

I would have another conversation with this person and ask how they think you might improve faster.
There are many unknowns at this point. Diet. Recovery . Sleep. Etc….

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I am completing the workouts and I weighed pretty much the same back in 2020.
I went through a big weight loss program around 2017 when I was 85kg and kept it off in the main.

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5

There is nothing to stop you experimenting with a different fuelling regime to see what happens. You will find many ideas on the sort of options to consider trying on this very forum and in various TR podcasts.

That said, if you are completing all your workouts and your weight is broadly flat and your FTP is consistently increasing, then I don’t think underfuelling is a particularly significant factor. It might become a more significant factor if you up your training volume.

Also keep in mind that FTP is only one measure of the effect of your training. Although it is labelled as Increase FTP, the plan you are following will be improving your cycling fitness in other ways too (time to exhaustion, VO2 etc.).

As @TrekCentury wrote, the Oracle informing you that your rate of FTP increase could be higher could be correct, but it is a pretty meaningless statement without some actionable evidence to support it.

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Are you doing any strength training? How much protein are you getting? What is the make up of those 7-9 hrs on the bike? What is your large meal? Rough total calories?

I’m 5’9 and hover around 72-73 kg. I have 2 servings of steel cut oatmeal with 1 scoop protein every morning for breakfast. Lunch & dinner are usually the same - some meal with around 6 oz protein and reasonably healthy carbs. I have a protein shake in the afternoon with 2 scoops protein, 1 scoop naked glutamine and 1 scoop creatine. I lift heavy for 1 hr, 2x/wk. I snack a bit more than I should.

I do a polarized training methodology, typically around 5-8 hrs/wk. I’m on my second TR structured polarized program now, but generally make my own that’s of similar nature otherwise. I’m a pretty new cyclist (cycling since February) and my FTP has gone from 222>242>262. I am a fair amount younger at 36, however. I do snack a fair amount and would like to lose 1-2 kg, but it’s a fair amount of work to do so vs easily maintaining where I’m at.

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I think you know the answer yourself, but anyway, here are my 2 cents:

  • Not skipping meals will help to increase your NEAT, you’ll have more energy, you won’t feel hungry and probably also won’t gain weight (because you’re unconciously moving more).
  • Have more carbs at lunch and have some carbs before your workout.
  • Don’t diet on the bike, you’ll burn mor kj’s if you have the energy to do so.
  • Train easier on the endurance days and harder on intensity days (polarized).
  • Try to fit in some longer rides every now and then.
  • Strength training is very beneficial for cyclists.
  • Make sure you get enough sleep.
  • Don’t skip rest days/weeks.
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Thanks for all the replies and tips, I’ll try and answer what I can remember as I’m replying on my phone!

7-9 hours is made up of typical TR program

Monday REST
Tuesday high intensity, so threshold or V02 max 1.5h
Wednesday light endurance 1h
Thursday longer productive endurance 1.5h
Friday light endurance 1 hour
Saturday high intensity 2 hours
Sunday endurance 2+ hours

I don’t do any strength training, I’ve always wondered when it’s best to do it given the amount of cycling I do. Should I skip a day or two to focus on strength? Do it on light days? Tag it on to high intensity days?

Lunch is Black Huel, so high protein, and I whizz up a banana and some frozen berries, then finally add some granola… it ends up being a smoothie type bowl thank drink!

Evening meals, especially during summer have just been salad with either fish or chicken, probably no real carbs, followed by Greek yoghurt and berries.

I religiously get 8+ hours sleep according to Garmin, and usually good quality. Go to bed at 9pm! Hahha.

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Maybe you should experiment a bit with different food options?

My biggest concern is that you only really eat one meal per day of real food - no breakfast, 400-500 calorie protein smoothie at lunch, and then dinner.

Maybe eat more carbs in the morning on your hard days (Tu, Thur, Sat, Sun)?

Personally, I think I’d feel like I was constantly running out of gas on your diet while training.

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Thanks AJS… You’re right, that summary of my calorie intake is probably pretty accurate.

I’m going to try eating more carbs on my high intensity days and see if that improves things.

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Hey Jon,

Nice work on your training – it sounds like your consistency has been great and you’ve been making some progress!

I think I’d agree with the end of your post there, though – that you’re not really fueling appropriately for your training.

Introducing some more carbs (especially on high-intensity days) should help out your energy levels. High-intensity exercise demands carbs and the change in RPE during a workout fueled by enough carbs can be incredible.

Here are a few resources we have that might be useful for you:

And as @TrekCentury said, it might be worth discussing this subject more with that consultant you saw recently – they may have a better insight on your day-to-day life than we do, so they may have some good advice that could help you out as well. :slight_smile:

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Thanks Zack! I really appreciate your time to reply and the links you’ve sent over. I’ll definitely have a read of those.

Whilst I have you :wink: a few comments suggested strength training in addition to my cycling but I never know when I should do it… At the end of a cycling session, in replacement of cycling on given days? Completing TR workouts well is my main focus so I didn’t want to add strength training, knowing it would affect my output, and TR might think I am finding them too hard and reduces the workload in further workouts.
Thanks again :smiling_face:

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No problem!

If completing your cycling workouts is your top priority, then approaching strength work as a supplement to your cycling training would be a good way to plan things. You don’t necessarily have to replace a cycling workout with a strength session, nor do you have to go full-on bodybuilder to see benefits from strength work. You can even get a lot of good exercises done in about 30 minutes!

It’s generally recommended to pair up your strength days with your harder interval days. That allows you to complete all of your higher-intensity stuff in one day. That kind of schedule lets you keep your hard days “hard” and your easier days “easy.”

I’ve personally found a good balance by doing my cycling workouts first, then strength after. This keeps my legs fresher for my cycling session, then I can hit the weights later on in the day. Different athletes have different schedules and preferences, of course, so it wouldn’t hurt to play around with which session you do before the other (and at what time of day) so you can find out what works best for you.

Here are a couple more resources on strength training we have that might help you out when thinking of how to incorporate strength into your plan:

Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions!

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I looked and Huel is between 200-250 calories?

Are you really training at 4:30pm having consumed 200-250 calories for the day?

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I don’t think so… Huel is 3-400, I add a banana, frozen fruit and chuck some granola in to make it more a smoothie bowl that I eat rather than drink… It’s probably closer to 4-500 calories, but even when you put it like that it sounds “not enough”!