Yes, that’s the same thought I have that the the ramp test “discriminates” against us due to VO2 max limitations of age. I raised this in another thread and received a couple of replies. Why is my ramp test so low? - #19 by DavidWms I plan to do an outside 20 min FTP test before my next scheduled TR ramp test to compare and check that theory.
That is an amazing achievement! Congratulations!
Lydia, I’ve moved onto the Kolie Moore method of testing which i spotted in another posting, and got back to a figure of 225W, It is less brutal than the Ramp or 20 minutes tests as the main block is under FTP, then has 10 mins at FTP with a final slow increase to 108% FTP. If your completing workouts with sufficient stress then there is no need to retest. I wouldnt worry about the low test result. Good luck with staying fit for hopefully some CX races later this year.
I retested as I wanted to see how the new test was received by the others in our group, and with favourable results.
Thanks, I will try the Kolie Moore method next time. Im definitely feeling the benefits now from 2 months on TR, as Ive never done this much sweetspot training , and never trained this consistently, so I`m hoping to do well in our first events starting in August, which is good news for us Brits!
Just a comment on something I did given the change with working from home. In May I followed the Short Power build low volume. Just decided I needed to do something different Now I did get sick during the build…strange infection and on antibiotics so I did have to stop the plan. What I notice now is when I look at my rides the power spikes are large and tend to be close to my max power. It comes without a lot of effort. I also notice I have more snap to accelerate. Suffice to say I enjoyed the plan even if I didnt finish it and do notice its effects on my riding. So now off to try and work in Mid volume sweet spot base. I intend to tone down the intensity every third week. Will see how that goes.
I’m 67 and have just completed SSB MV2. This is the first time I’ve progressed beyond SSB LV1.
At the start, in the middle and at the end of the MV2 plan I did a Ramp Test. The results were 232, 235 and today 241 Watts. The latter was the highest I’ve tested since being on TrainerRoad in November 2015. It translates to a W/kg of 3.39.
I know I’m bragging, but I also wanted to confirm the advice that even for us older folks, following TrainerRoad Plans can mean that we can even still achieve personal bests.
Way to go Ray 
Impressive gains! Thanks for posting. I’m 67 and been debating moving from LV to MV. Did you find any issues with need for more recovery than MV schedule permits/? That’s my biggest concern and why I’m hoping TR will make it easy to convert 7 day schedule to 9.
Any interest in a Strava Club for TR 60 Plus cyclists? I created a club on Strava for 60+ members of TrainerRoad. I’d be interested in following and encouraging the training of others as we try to improve (or at least slow down the rate of decline!) . As far as I know, there is not a way to follow others’ workouts within TR. Here’s a link: Reno, Nevada Club | Trainer Road 60 Plus on Strava
There is a way to compare workouts, create a O60’s Team.
Yup, here is a starter article:
Good for you, @DavidWms! I’m certainly interested if we can do it within TR, as @Raythebike suggests. I assumed that the Team thing had pretty much gone by the wayside.
@Raythebike would you be willing to set it up if you’re interested, or tell us how if you’re not?
Many thanks.
Edit: @mcneese.chad anticipated my very question, answered it. I’m headed out for rest of day, but I hope someone just does it. If not, I’ll study up and try to get to it tomorrow.
I am going to be 71 soon. It seems like it has taken me a long time to improve my FTP but I am up from 150 when I started and now up to 178. I am now doing 2 outside rides a week and feel stronger and crushing PRs. It has required a lot of patience, but now I am feeling great. I believe rest and recovery are the most important things someone over 60 needs to pay attention to in addition to sticking with your plan.
I’m not sure how to effectively use TR Teams but open if it makes more sense. Any suggestions? I joined a couple but never see anything from them so have not gotten benefits so far. To be honest, the Strava Clubs are somewhat similar. I follow other individual cyclists and scroll through my feed, but don’t typically look at Clubs. I have followed a few 60+ cyclists I found who were winners in the Senior Olympics just to see their training. (Some of the top winners keep their Strava private; guess they don’t want to give out their secrets!)
I’m not sure I have much specific to add. I mainly wanted to share the resource and related info that is currently available, since it was mentioned directly.
TR Teams can be used for a variety of things from simple feed tracking, to workout sharing (TR and Custom), and even chat stuff. It is not perfect, and TR is aware of many of the limits and requests that have been mentioned elsewhere on the forum.
I have a suspicion we will see changes to Teams at some point in the future, and have no idea what may be improved or changed. For now, it’s a possible tool to consider, is about all I can add.
Thanks, Chad. Good info to know. FWIW, I always go to Strava after a workout, and the app - for good or bad - seems to be the default place to follow other cyclists. I will keep the Strava Club for a while to see if it can become useful. I would also join a TR Team if someone creates one.
I’m 58, so not quite part of the 60+ group yet, here is my journey over the last 10 years.
I ran, but not seriously up to the age of 35, then work/kids got in the way and I became sedentary and my weight gradually went from 180 to 215lbs. In 2010 (age 48) I got a bike and started riding casually, mainly to drop some weight. In 2012 I got a turbo trainer and started midweek interval sessions, just random sessions based on friends advice. In late 2012 I got a bit more serious, bought a power meter, joined TR and started more structured training. FTP was around 250W at that point, it went up to 280W over the next 12ish months and has stayed in the 265W-280W ever since, depending on injuries, etc.
I’m 6’1" and vary between 170-175lbs, subject to my eating/drinking discipline. I don’t race but do ride hard with my club’s A group, mostly flat and windy rides so that enables me to hang on (just)!
My typical week is Tuesday/Thursday hard intervals (90mins each), generally a mix of VO2 Max and Sweet Spot/Threshold. Monday/Wednesday/Friday rest days. Saturday club A group hammerfest (70-80 miles) and Sunday endurance/coffee shop cruise (50-60 miles). This averages 9 hours and 500-550 tss per week. If I can find time I’d like to include some weights sessions during the week, but for me recovery is the key, so I’m not sure where I’d fit them in without reducing my time on the bike.
That’s pretty good Ray !
At only 63, I’m currently running at 236 FTP with a goal of 240+ and with a little weight loss, up to 3W/Kg. Over the past 18 months of using TR I’ve managed about 7% increase in steady improvements.
It’s been a bad breathing year for this year, and with all of this year target events cancelled, I haven’t put in as much as I should. However, I’m due an FTP test next week, so we’ll see.
As to being older, I think we have to work harder to stay where we are : no 25W improvements in 6 weeks for us ( unless you are pretty new to the structure ). I’m pleased if I can keep that FTP up, but I’m more pleased with the endurance that TR has given me.
I’m also pleased with the happy feeling of completing a session and a plan 
Gosh, I just joined and ended up #1 for mileage.
Thanks David.
As a bit of background, I can only ever remember completing the SSB LV1 once or twice before this. I thought that didn’t give me sufficient TSS to maintain my fitness over winter here in Australia when I am less inclined to ride outside.
MV fitted the bill for me. I ended up taking seven weeks to complete the six week program but that was due to taking a couple of holiday weekends at the beach during thé plan. It was fiddly to move the rest of the plan by a few days mid week so I inserted a full week and manually spread the 2 weeks over 3.
My 6 week TSS prior to starting the plan was 417 so I was reasonably fit. After the 7 weeks that I took to complete it, that had dropped to 390. Probably because it wasn’t an increase in stress for me, I didn’t find the SSB MV2 itself required the extra time from a freshness perspective.
That’s not to say it was easy. I bailed on Carpathian Peak +2 before I embraced the TR idea that dialing down intensity is better than bailing completely (thanks to Amber). I then had to dial back Spencer +2 and Leconte but completed those. After those experiences I was extremely chuffed to complete Wright Peak -1 without any intensity reduction.
I’m about to start Build MV with a slightly higher FTP. Looking forward to see what happens!
Hi all, Ive set up a Team and added some of my custom workouts. Here is the link to joun the team. I’ll need your username to add you to the Team, Is called Whos over 60 and using TR