I’ve stopped closely tracking my FTP (haven’t done a test since April I think), but I’ve made incremental improvements through most of the power curve, except for 1-5s efforts which I haven’t truly targeted. Biggest improvement however has been to my endurance and longevity. Where last year I would consider a 2-2.5hr ride long, now I ride that regularly and try to get a 4-6hr in every other week. I find I can hold power for much longer without tiring, my power to HR ratio has significantly improved, and my post-ride recovery shortened. Last year a 100-110km ride was a big deal, this year I did 3 in a week without even really trying. Progress can be measured in many ways!
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Yesterday’s ramp test gave me 229, replacing 287.
I’m really happy with this, as it’s the first ramp test I’ve done with a power meter instead of virtual power!
60W drop isn’t really good for the ego, and puts me way under 4w/kg, but I’m happier knowing… And I’m looking forward to doing more outdoor TR workouts with power instead of Rpe 
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Awesome, thanks
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Just an update on my first year with TR and structured training.
I had a goal to be at 300 W and 82 kg this summer, and although i am 2 watts of, i think its a goal made.
So an increase of almost 70 watts in 10 months time is pretty cool.
Heres the stats:
| Date | Plan | FTP | W/kg | kg | +/- ftp | Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09-10-2020 | Initial test | 229 | 2,69 | 85 | Ramp | |
| 18-11-2020 | Completed SS1 | 249 | 2,94 | 84,8 | 20 | Ramp |
| 06-01-2021 | Completed SS2 | 258 | 3,02 | 85,5 | 9 | Ramp |
| 23-01-2021 | Completed General Build 1 | 270 | 3,16 | 85,5 | 12 | Ramp |
| 20-02-2021 | Completed General Build 2 | 283 | 3,35 | 84,5 | 13 | Ramp |
| 27-03-2021 | Specialization | 287 | 3,44 | 83,5 | 4 | Ramp |
| 11-05-2021 | Less structured outside + ss2 | 285 | 3,45 | 82,5 | -2 | Ramp |
| 22-07-2021 | Polarized, mostly outside | 298,5 | 3,64 | 82 | 13,5 | 8 minutes FTP test outside |
| Ftp increase | 69,5 |
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Which volume wow I’m envious never made more than 20 watts going through the plans
Inside it has only been low volume : 4-5 hours per week.
Outside it has been mid volume polarized, 6-7 hours a week, topped out last week with 8 hours (highest amount this year.)
I think my gains can be related to “newb” gains because i never did structured work before.
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That’s awesome progress 
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Age 48. Previous best FTP was 340+change peaking in summer of 2019. Coming back after a bad year (nasty RTA in April 2020 / no riding until late June / complications leading to zero exercise between 01 October and New Year):
03 Jan 2021 - 225w -241 lbs
02 Feb 2021 - 241w
23 Mar 2021 - 253w
11 May 2021 - 267w
26 Jul 2021 - 279w - 208 lbs
Did SSBLV 1&2, followed by the first part of short power build and then a few weeks of random outdoor riding (mostly doing spikes of VO2Max KoM and gravel efforts with L2 in between and one longer (200k) tempo effort - also added in the odd hard SS or Threshold TR sessions to try and maintain my gains.
About to start sustained power build which isn’t a plan I’ve done before so looking forward to it - especially as I’m on the AT beta
54w up and 33lbs down in circa 6 months so reasonably happy with that. 
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Age 35
70kg
Never really trained with structured plans, or rode a bike for two weeks straight.
Started in July 2020: 145w
August 2020 (after a bit of base and bike fitting): 164w
October 2020: 193w
January 2021 : 206w
Got injured, so no training for a month or so
Started again in march 2021 at 190w
General build to may 2021: 219w (overachieved on ramp test)
Kickr started acting up, broke down, got sent to the factory and got replaced, so no structured training in June or July.
Just did a ramp test with the new trainer; back to 186w 
My quest for 3w/kg and beyond starts again. Regression sucks though.
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Sorry if I dig out this old post, but it reflects pretty well what I experienced myself.
I’m happy though at least for my needs (epic mountain days) … FTP dropped a little but LT1 is now at almost 80% of FTP and sustainable (1.5h) Tempo at almost 90% of FTP.
So I guess the number might be lower but I can make more use of my FTP if that makes sense.
Just like Nate said … what’s your ftp? 300 tempo level 1 or 285 tempo level 9
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This year has been a really mixed bag for me. COVID restrictions (UK), work changes and a lack of racing (ability to get a start place) have combined to leave me floundering. Since completing a big charity ride back in April 2021, I’ve really lacked direction.
I finished 2020 with an illness. Looking back, it might have been COVID. Dropped my FTP down to 277 and did nothing but Z2 work for January.
From January - July 2021 I’ve gone from 277 back up to 301. In numbers terms, that looks like great progress but it’s not. It has taken me seven months to get back to where I was (ish) at the end of 2020.
What I can honestly say though is, this isn’t ‘brittle’ fitness. My muscle endurance is better than it has even been and my HR for sustained Threshold efforts is consistently 4-5 beats lower. This is evidenced in both racing and training.
I start to wrap my season up at the end of August for I’m not expecting to see my FTP increase much further. What I am happy about is the base I’ve built during 2021 
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My results:
16.01.2021: 164 (2.1)
06.02.2021: 182 (2.4)
20.03.2021: 185 (2.5)
13.04.2021: 198 (2.6)
11.05.205: 205 (2.7)
09.06.2021: 212 (2.8)
28.07.2021: 212 (2.8) outdoor
This week, I did a first outdoor FTP test. Mainly focused on avoiding high spikes early on. Tested two training sessions after being sick with a head cold for 8 days (no training). In the past month, focus was on endurance (more outdoor rides) while maintaining FTP.
Haven’t decided yet how to continue. Im getting my ass back in the gym because I miss it and I need it. Am also going to drop some weight in the coming months.
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Hi all,
I am having a great time training and love the forum and the Podcasts as well.
Here’s my FTP history:
08-Feb-2021: 222
22-Mar-2021: 240 - 7.5% increase
10-May-2021: 248 - 3.3% increase
07-Jun-2021: 263 - 5.7% increase
06-Jul-2021: 268 - 1.8% increase
02-Aug-2021: 274 - 2.2% Increase from my last Ramp Test and a 19% increase since I started in 08-Feb-21. I think the big leaps in FTP are over but I am going to keep at it and see how far I can push this
Process Goal: Consistency = Compliance = Improvement.
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Hit my new high FTP yesterday 257 on a 20min test 
I seemed to get “stuck” on 243 in a couple of ramp tests a month and six weeks ago respectively. I manually bumped to 253 after some very manageable threshold workouts.
I’m struggling to think of a time where my FTP increased from a ramp test (I’ve always had to manually bump an improvement), hence the switch to 20 min and stoked to get a wee bump.
This time last year I was 218 after taking too much time off over winter so I’m really pleased with my consistency this year and hopefully I don’t find another way to derail myself 
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I started cycling a little bit serious since February and this are my results (34 years, 183cm):
2/26/2021 FTP 249, 80Kg
6/6/2021 FTP 310, 78Kg
8/9/2021 FTP 337, 77Kg
I just started this week my first building plan on trainerroad, excited to see if I can still keep crashing my previous FTP results, I just feel sorry I didn’t discovered this passion before 
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Wow that’s really impressive. Less than 6 months of cycling, and you’re over 4.3 W/kg.
What has been your training so far?
I was doing mostly 5 to 7h per week of unstructured training, just in the indoor trainer or taking the bike and go outside. My friend (with cycling experience) told me to follow some structured training and I should see bigger improvements, then here I am, just with 2 weeks of base phase in trainerroad and this week I jumped to the building one with high volume, let’s see if I can keep it up.
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3/2021: ~250 (was using zwift)
4/5/2021: 272
6/8/2021: 289
7/7/2021: 298
8/9/2021: 317
Started low volume SSB through plan builder in Apr '21. Began General Build Jun '21. Now moving back to SSB. Do longer weekend group rides every other week
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I’m a bit sad looking at my ‘progress’.
I’m at a steady level it seems without too many up’s and downs.
Always between 265-285W (at around 70-72kg) for the last 3 years.
Usually on triatlon training plans.
Did a full distance in 2019 and half in 2020 and one in 2021.
In winter I do some sweet spot base training
Plateau around 285W (±4W/kg)
I’m thinking about doing some more slow km’s to see if that would help to get a higher level.
Perhaps someone with other tips? Haven’t been thru the topic yet
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I would say that’s already a great level for a triathlete. You could probably get faster if you did a block of only bike training, but it would be at the expense of the run and swim training.
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