I’ve been road cycling for almost a year. I’m 172 cm tall, weigh 76 kg, and have an FTP around 260. My FTP has increased from 220 to 260 without much change in body weight. I’ve been spending a good chunk of time on Zone 2 and some Zone 4 threshold interval workouts for about a month or so.
My biggest strength is sprinting and short sustained power (less than 1 minute). I can do 7.5 W/kg for 1 minute and 14.5 W/kg for 5 seconds. However, my power drops after 5 minutes to 4.0 W/kg and to 3.2 W/kg for an hour or longer. I also have more of a track cyclist’s body than a road cyclist’s body.
I’m not a criterium racer and don’t plan to become one. I enjoy fast-paced group rides mostly and sometimes easy coffee rides with friends. Where I live, we have 60-100 mile group rides every weekend with elevation gains around 1000-2000 meters. When I ride with Group A, the average speed is around 20-22 mph, depending on who shows up.
My goal is just to get stronger. I want to hit an FTP of 300 or more this year. Is this a realistic goal setting, or is it too aggressive? I can do 10 hours of training per week on average.
Seems like you are on your way. However, since you don’t have an event in mind, the most important thing is that you enjoy the process. The number 300 is just a number and once you hit that, you’ll be looking for another number. What will still be needed is the process.
I’m 185cm and started out at around 240W 3 years aho. I’ve been trying to reach 300W for 3 years now. I am probably somewhere around 277-287W. But maybe you hit the genetic jackpot and I lucked out
Make a periodized plan and don’t be afraid to try new things after you go through a full cycle. You’ll get there.
Just for fun I had similar w/kg numbers but after 2-3 years am now at 9.3 w/kg for 1 min, 12 w/kg for 30s, and 18 w/kg for 5s. FTP is up to about 3.7 w/kg (up from 3.0 after the first year).
Everyone is different, try different things and find what works for you.
Wattage goals are unrealistic because the path to get there is not knowable.
A realistic goal is something like averaging 10 hours per week. You can define how you will get there.
How do you define getting to 300 watts? What are the steps to achieve that goal? Nobody can know. What if you wanted to get to 325 watts? How do the steps change? Nobody can know.
It’s tough to know whether or not 300W will be an achievable goal – a lot of factors go into reaching a specific threshold power for each athlete.
That said, the best way to try to get there will be to follow a structured training plan consistently over time. Some athletes see gains more quickly than others, but all athletes should see some gains if they follow a plan and stick to it.
As @russell.r.sage said, 300W is just a number – what will be most important to your success as a cyclist will be the process of training and improving your fitness.
The single biggest differentiating change I made to my approach to my cycling and training.
Heard it said by many people over many years, didn’t pay attention and instead focused on list of other ‘stuff’ that maybe made some
Minor improvements here and there but was essentially just tweaks around the fringes of my performance.
Having applied consistency as my #01 process goal, followed at #02 by volume / (time in the saddle over the course of a week) and then at #03 periodised structure of intensity matched to my ability to recover, I’ve seen steady progression.
You are me OP! I am 173cm tall and weight fluctuates from 75-79…I also peaked at FTP of 265 but we have the same strengths…around 15wkg 5 secs, 7.5 1 min, 5minute about 4.3…my 1 hour also is around 3.1
300 is also my goal, lets update each other next year OP!
1.5 hr TR on Tues. 3hr MTB on Thurs and 4hr MTB on Sun…
Cycling for around 5 years.
Consistency is key.
EDIT : I suppose what worked for me is like everyone is saying about not caring about the number. Focus on staying consistent. Work out a realistic schedule that you can achieve every week. Force yourself not to over-extend yourself on weeks that you feel good/have more time. Do workouts that you enjoy - don’t fall out of love with cycling trying to chase a goal…
Are you me? Same size, FTP, goal, about the same training time per week, and similar issue. Minus the elevation gains.
I was given the advice to make sure I get structured indoor rides, group rides can be hard but you might not be getting the right time in right zones. Also rest now and then.
I don’t see any issue with an ftp goal, no different than a time/pace goal in running. I’d argue it’s a better goal than something like race result where even more things are out of your control. If your goal is 300w, or 5w/kg, or 4 minute mile, there is nothing wrong with putting a big ugly (and maybe impossible) goal out there. There is a time and place for “process” goals that you know are possible, but those should just support the ultimate goal that may or may not be achievable ( in my opinion). It’s just about having the mindset that failing a stretch goal is a much better reason to celebrate compared to achieving a “layup” goal. In my mind, if someone isn’t failing from time to time, they probably need to set some tougher goals.
I been on this road too, for a while now.
Don’t know if I’ll get there, but as has been said, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
Cheers and good luck!
You’ll get there! I’m on a similar journey to 4w/kg. Start at 240w & 86kg 16 months ago. Now at 310w at 84kg. Still another 25-30w watts to go. And I anticipate they will be some of the hardest gains. Besides being ultra consistent, many things I did before no longer work.
‘Novel stimulus’ is something I have to really take seriously now to see any gains. Which is fun and frustrating at the same time. Keeps me curious and motivated to push.
Good luck! If anyone here hits it… let us know! And what you changed to hit it
This ^^ so much. It is about the journey. I have similar specs as OP and goals. I want to hit 250 watts this year and 300 next year, but I have never felt more alive than I do now. I am 39 years old. Started running about 2 years ago, swimming a year ago. I can pace 1:19 in swimming, 5:30 in running, and do 234 watts on the cycle (actually Garmin set me a bit higher to 251 watts, but TR is the one and only source of truth). I love it. I started doing kettlebells, and do stretches and yoga. I can now touch my toes standing!! This year I have run three HMs to!! Did 10 km running in 55 minutes.
All this happened because of my one single goal of 300 watts and I love it. Will I ever reach it? I don’t know. Do I love what I do right now? Absolutely.
I hope OP will get there. Until then: just do stuff.
I’m about 35w away at 76kg. Big block of training coming up as I prep for my summer crit season. Will hopefully cross that barrier towards the end of the year.
Went from 109 to 245 last season after almost a decade of doing zero and letting myself become everything I didn’t want to be .
Made changes, got on the bike and now pushing 4wpkg+ and hopefully more. Fastest I’ve been at 46
