Your FTP improvements

[patricksudol]

How were you testing FTP especially during that drop? Was it accurate in your opinion?

[Overratedcarbon]

I did a ramp test. Pretty sure it was accurate because the next test in December was still pretty low (though 20 w up from the one in October). I never really changed anything. The average power of my outdoor rides also dropped quite a bit, but not as dramatically. Like I said - it’s a mystery.

[adamclason123]

I started cycling in May 2020. Started using TrainerRoad in November of 2020 and have been training pretty consistently with TR since then. This is my third winter in a row completing the SSBMV + Build sequence. In the summer I ride mostly outside and mix in TR workouts with TrainNow. I ride 6-10 hours a week typically.

I am pretty tall, 32 years old, weighing 198 lbs… I dream of of getting to 4 w/kg but wondering if I am getting close to my genetic ceiling on FTP without increasing volume significantly.

[Trash_Panda]

01/29/22 = 178
01/31/23 = 246

[ndmufc]

Nothing that blows the doors off but I’m pretty happy with my overall progress and direction of travel.

[schmidt]

Great story and amazing results. Good work!

[RevNathan]

Long time TR user and have seen steady progress every year while keeping up consistency and adding volume….all through my mid 40’s and now hitting PR’s at 51yrs old:

2016: 247ftp 80kg
2019: 295ftp 79kg
2023: 329ftp 77kg

Consistency has made all the difference; thank you TR!

[Etienne]

Hi there!

Today marks two years of cycling with power for me (and more generally two years and two months of cycling, which I picked up as a hobby during the lockdown in January 2021).

In terms of FTP improvements :

• 50’ @ 300 watts & 80kg (3,8 W/kg) in April 2021

• 45’ @ 370 watts & 69 kg (5,4 W/kg) in October 2022

Here is what my power profile looks like:

I have not followed anything structured really, because of rapid burnout when trying to adhere to a strict training plan. I mostly ride Z2 / do bikepacking with friends and race competitively.

In terms of volume:

• 400 hours in 2021

• 600 hours in 2022

[miguelmaugusto]

Wow… What an inspiration!!! Congrats mate! Hope to get there someday too… the mountain looks steep, but the way there seems awesome. Thanks for sharing!

[Jbhkhc]

Just started on trainer road recently.
I did a test untrained years back, on a friend’s wahoo, and got an ftp of 170.

Since I’ve been doing hours in zone 2 and hard intervals once a week, plus a Saturday shuttle one with 8-9 5 minute race efforts, with a few podiums and KOMs thrown in for good measure.

Recently bought my own kickr, and redid the ramp test. Was expecting significant gains as I’d put so much work in and gotten much faster. 179ftp @2w/kg… Ouch!

Let’s so where trainer road takes me

[kingsolom0n]

I started structured training with Zwift in early 2019 with a ftp of 179 using their ramp test. I’m now at 259 with Trainer Road’s AI FTP. I haven’t actually validated this with a long test (because I love myself ) but my higher zone 2 efforts (indoors) feel somewhat easy.

Even ignoring the ftp ‘improvement’, I’m now able to ride multiple days in a row without feeling dead towards the end. I’m also not completely useless after hard rides/training sessions. My repeatability is so much better and mental fortitude is light years ahead of where it was previously.

I’ve completed centuries with 10k feet of climbing which would’ve been a pipe dream when I first got started with structure. My goal this year is to be able to stick with the fast guys on the A level group rides which average around 21-24mph. But I need to lose about 25-30 lbs and dial in my on-bike nutrition to make it a reality.

[ArHu74]

Probably the best way to see if you have improved is the power vs heart rate plot on intervals.icu, a shift to the right over time indicates you are improving (i started TR late 2021)

Intervals.icu

[kingsolom0n]

So this is good?

[Cod8825]

OK, since this is a discussion on FTP improvements I will state my stats. I started in December of 2020 after a year of unstructured rides at 207 with a Ramp Test and weight of 195 to 200ish. I signed up for TrainerRoad and did Sweet Spot plans through the winter progressed pretty fast was 255 by a ramp test in October of 2021 and when I started this winter training I switched training plans from TrainerRoad to a FasCat plan and did an old fashioned 20 minute field test for the first time ever and was 282 continued with training and did another field test last week and was 295. I believe I am at this as I train 10 to 14 hours a week. I do much more zone 2 riding and less sweet spot then I did under TrainerRoad’s SSB program.

In my opinion I think AI FTP is pretty spot on it stated that I was 288 before my field test so I could have just been digging deeper to prove their wrong I don’t know. I think Ramp test overestimate a bit. I disagree with TR that you should ever so often do a test to make sure where your at. I will go back to TR to do a specialty phase in prep for the gravel races this summer here in Missouri. I really am a fan of more zone 2 than they recommend. Zone 2 at actual zone 2 pace which sometimes is pretty slow.

Current stats FTP - 295 weight 172 Age 44 goal is FTP - 310 weight 160 - 165 by year end that will get me into 10 - 13% body fat range.

[ArHu74]

A lot of progress in 2021, slight regression 2022 but 2023 is looking good, better than 2021

[jamesrandles]

~9 months into TR, here are my FTP results and history summary.

Prior to TR was a mix of indoor/outdoor, self coached, somewhat structured polarized model with hard days being a mix of hard group rides or 2-3minute hill climb repeats, ~8-12hrs per week with no real periodisation. Lots of periods of inconsistent/irregular training due to young family and heavy work commitments. Started TR in May 2022.

Since picking up TR I use a hybrid indoor and outdoor model. ~1x TR SS workout, 1x 3hr open ride with colleagues, 1x hard club ride on Saturday and a few short z2 rides.

• August 2019 started cycling at 30yo. No background in endurance sport.
• January 2020: 177w @ ~70kg. 2.5w/kg.
• June 2020: 202w @ ~65kg. 3.1w/kg.
• August 2020 (1 year in): 226w @65kg. 3.47w/kg.
• February 2021: 243w @ 65kg. 3.73w/kg.
• February 2021 - Jan 2022 plateaued and went backwards. As low as 224w @ 65kg. 3.44w/kg.
• January 2022 - May 2022 got back from 224w to 237w @ 63kg. 3.76w/kg.
• May 2022 - August 2022: started TR and got from 237w to 251w @ 63kg. 3.98w/kg.
• August 2022 - January 23 had an irregular period again due to work and family as well as COVID, but was able to maintain using TR progression levels. 253w peak @ 63kg. 4.01w/kg.
• Feb 2023 after a month of consistent training 257w @ 63kg. 4.07w/kg.

Goal is 270w @ 63kg (4.28w/kg) by end of this year. My take aways - I don’t have any real talent and started relatively late, but every period of consistent riding I do get better, using a combination of SS, z2 and hard group rides (read: smashfest drop rides).

[mikehhhhhhh]

I started TR in December, taking my 243w FTP from Zwift. Struggled a bit because eventually taking a “break” over Christmas to do the Festive 500.

Kicked off the new year with a TR ramp test result of 213w. I did some reading and came to the conclusion TR was not only likely more accurate, but far more relevant so I trained from there.

I found the workouts a bit easy, to tried the AI FTP a few days later and landed on 221.

Since then AI has bumped me an additional 6w. So slow progress in the build phase. This thread has helped me maintain hope that more gains are coming as the training intensity ramps up.

Regardless of FTP numbers, I feel like I can hold a consistent power for longer out on the road and for less perceived effort, as opposed to having to push myself into peaks and subsequent recovery to achieve the same speed previous.

I have a new block starting in 2 weeks, I’m going to kick that off with a ramp test, hoping I’ll see a bit of a jump after a recovery week.

[NotSoTurboTippy]

This is the kind of post and progression that really motivates me. It shows it can be done. I started at 131 in Oct 22. Now at 169 and a bit lighter too.

[Macmisslie]

2018 after 3 years structured training with 2 different coaches 1-1 and around 8 years cycling
368w for 20m on a climb.
4.48w/kg
Ended up overtraining. Then getting into climbing in a big way.

Now after a 3.5 year break from cycling came back in January with a FTP of 265w
AI FTP detected a jump to 296w after a couple drop road rides and 2 months training HV rolling road.
Hoping to get to 320w+ before my A race this year in May. Hoping to come in around 3.9/4w/kg
Loving Tr and loving the HV.

[AJS914]

I usually don’t read this topic but I’m going to post because I took 8 months off the bike. I stayed in shape with some light running, weight lifting (just squats and lunges with dumbbells), and then I bought a rower and started rowing 15-20-30 minutes a day (sometimes 2x per day).

I got on the bike on Feb 25th. For the first week I just did 30 minutes of Z2 every day. My butt was the most out of shape part of my body! Then i started experimenting with some shorter tempo and threshold intervals just trying to feel my way through and find my levels via RPE.

I did some efforts for WKO to seed the model and it gave me a 168 mftp. I entered 180 watts based on feel which was maybe on the low side.

Today I did a KM FTP test (47 minutes in length) and WKO gave me 192 watts with a 42 minute TTE.

The last 10 minutes of the test I did 215 watts so maybe even the 192 is on the low side though maybe fair for an hour. My limiter was muscular endurance and not cardio vascular.

My FTP high last year was around 250 watts (57 years old this year) so I don’t feel too far off my old fitness after 8 months off.

I think my next move will be a VO2max block, a block of endurance+ training (temp, SS mixed in), and another FTP test.

Edit: did a VO2max workout and mFTP got bumped to 200 but the workout has wrecked me for days. I’m finally recovering after 4 days.