Oct 2018 - 236W ramp test - started TR
Dec 2018 - 257W ramp test - end of SSBHV1
Jan 2019 - 278W ramp test - end of SSBHV2
Feb 2019 - Flu…3 weeks off bike - ugg lowered FTP to 270W
Mar 2019 upped FTP to 275W and then 280W no ramp test - started race season but workouts manageable.
Oct 2019 - end of UK time trial season - 3 weeks fun riding and gym work
Nov 2019 - FTP - 290W - ramp test - start of SSBMV1 - with extra gym/+1 sessions during week.
Dec 2019 - FTP -295W - ramp test - start of SSBMV2 - with gym work and longer - SS sessions Thursday to replace the threshold sessions.
Take home from my first TR year -1/I can do 7-9 of training on the bike plus a gym session but if I do 11-12 from high volume I get ill. 2/ My ramp test FTP gives me about 4.7W/kg as I weigh 60.7kg - but on my tt bike my best 25mile tt last year averaged 259W (Favero pedal PM) so either my Kickr snap PM overreads despite being calibrated every ride, I’m not great at getting the power down on my tt bike or the Ramp test over estimates my FTP. 3/ It’s amazing how motivating the calendar is…get home from work…I’m tired but there are the little blue bars…“you haven’t done it yet…you’ll feel guilty…get your kit on!”
Happy new year all!
Ramp test today, 266 @ 87kg: 3.06 w/kg
Ramp test January 4th 2019, 222. @ 96kg: 2.3 w/kg
Averaged 6 hours a week riding this year, so nothing crazy. Haven’t followed the plans as diligently as i would like. Will be a bit more dedicated this year and hopefully upgrade to and be competitive at cat 3. Peak power on the bike lately was 1100 watts so I just need to sit in!
TrainerRoad is great.
You do indeed - my FTP progression is in the post above but I can get nowhere near that kind of sprint…I know because I did Clark yesterday! - just as well I ride 25/50 time trials most of the time.
I bet you fly at a hilly tt.
I ride my blue Lemond Zurich on the trainer. I’m not sure the year, but I got married in '98, so it must be older than that. The 853 steel was a big deal at the time. All that comfort and speed! I use those same beautiful aero wheels on the trainer too!
Tested last week at 302, got into some sweet spot and threshold workouts early in the week that felt way too easy. Bumped up intervals by 5% and completed no issue, bumped the workout yesterday (ethan allen) 5% again, felt good, so set it and forget it. Rode outside today for a fun spin around, and did some efforts, and intervals.icu agreed with my new assessment of 317!
I hope none of this comes across wrong. I am just trying to help others from making the same mistakes I have made.
Keep in mind SSB is supposed to feel pretty easy in beginning because it sweet spot BASE and not threshold/VO2 work. You are building a base that will not reflect your FTP much, but it will be be the base upon which FTP gains come later. I have seen many including myself shoot themselves in foot increasing SSB intensity or starting at high volume thinking the test was off only to crash and burn at beginning of SSB2. As you go along, Coach Chad start telling you in what workout to increase intensity if you have it in you and its not in the SSB workouts. If you question if the test was correct, then hit up Lamarck Workout to confirm it is correct or not. Lamarck is a recommended assessment to see how accurate test was and to keep you from adding intensity too early in workouts based on feel. When I did Lamarck the first time it was eye opening and ended up pretty close to original test.
Certainly good points made here.
I’m in traditional base mv3, so I’ve gotten a bit longer into base. Also, one of the workouts I did at the higher +5% was Frissell -1 (4x9 at 95%) and followed up with ethan Allen the next day. I definitely take a conservative approach to testing out how the workouts feel before manually bumping ftp
Thanks for not taking it wrong since it sounds like you know what you are doing. I was concerned a newb to structured training might jump the gun after seeing our posts in changing SSB intensity when they need to just trust Coach Chad and follow the plan until they get some experience under their belt with this type of structure. Happy New Year to you!
Caution and words of wisdom were definitely warranted, especially with indoor training season kicking off, a lot of new people are flocking to the forum and could take things the wrong way, so important to put as much context to it.
The tip about Lamarck as a good FTP tester is a good one, I may throw that one in instead of Madison (4x7 @ 100%) for a little extra TSS and another good benchmark.
Started trainerRoad 8 weeks ago with no prior structured training. My ftp was 293. I did the 6 week ssb mid volume 2 plan and my second ramp test revealed a new ftp of 324. I do believe that my first ramp test was a bit low, it was my first time on a trainer and I didn’t know how erg mode worked. I believe my average cadence was around 60 rpm for the first test. The workouts for the first round of ssb were pretty manageable. Vo2 max workouts I usually could up the intensity to 110%-120% so I could feel like I was getting a true workout. But now I believe that I trained the previous block at a lower ftp then I should have, my hr never got too elevated either.
Now I’m starting my second week of round 2 of ssb mv2 and my new ftp is brutal, but in a good way. I always struggle on the long sustained intervals, and I barely managed to get through my two long workouts this weekend. My hr is much more elevated and I feel like I’m truly getting a good workout. No wonder garmin connect kept telling my I was losing fitness during my first block of ssb, my ftp was too low. I’m okay with it though as I was coming out of a long year of racing (March-December), So an easier block was prob a good thing. Now I’m absolutely dreading the next 4 weeks. I will surely be suffering quite a bit!
Started TR after 6 weeks off the bike while doing two backpack trips
First ramp test 223W
Second ramp test after SSB1 LV 262W
Third ramp test after SSB2 LV 272W
I gained three pounds during SSB1 and lost them on SSB2. Definitely felt a lot weaker with a calorie deficit. I’ll start on sustainer power Build on Wednesday. I’ll be 58yrs old in February
Nov 18, 2019 - 255W / 68kg(3.75) - 20 min test - started TR
Dec 28, 2019 - 268W / 65kg(4.12) - Ramp test - end of SSBHV1
Dec 30, 2019 - started SPBHV
wait to see how much FTP improve after 8 weeks
Great thread - loved seeing everyone’s FTP gains.
Looking back over the last year (Dec 2018 to Dec 2019), which is my second season of structured training (and first with TR), I was able to boost my FTP from 246 watts to 302 watts! Personal goal was to break 300 watts this year and now my sights are on the 4.0 watt/kg target (current weight is 78 kgs) or around 320W.
In the first part of 2019, I completed sweet spot base 1 and 2 (done in Nov/Dec 2018), sustained power build, sweet spot base 2, sustained power build and the climbing road race. I averaged around 5 hours per week and an average of 360 TSS. This full training plan helped me to accomplish my 2 main goals for my A race - the Whistler GranFondo where I placed 20th in my age group. In the last 2 months, I boosted my training volume to 8 hours per week and about 500+ TSS which helped with the second bump in my FTP (from 275 to 300…)
Using the plan builder, I got the training plan locked in for 2020 and hoping that I will crack the 4.0 watt/kg target.
Mine? Ramp test Nov 4th after 2.5 weeks off the bike following a whole season at 8-10 hours / 160-180 miles weekly: 224W @ 180 lbs (2.74 w/kg)
Ramp test Dec 13th after SSB LV1: 227W @ 177 lbs (2.82 w/kg).
I do supplement TR with 4-5 hours of outdoor base work with NP’s squarely in my endurance zone.
Prior to TR, it seemed the only way I could increase w/kg was by losing weight. Hoping to break that cycle… I don’t mind losing weight, but I do put in the time and dedication where it’s not unreasonable to expect some raw wattage gains to couple with that weight loss. A 3.4 w/kg by mid-summer would be fantastic.
3rd cycle of TR. Record FTP from this summer FTP 275watts 63kg (4.36 w/kg)
Start of SSB MVI 258(4.1w/kg)
Start of SSB MVII 276(4.38w/kg)
End of SSB MVII 289(4.58w/kg)
So a 31 watt bump. 18 watts were easier gains as regaining fitness. Pretty happy with that from the start.
I barely rode outside during this time, just noodles to work. Got on my road bike over the festive period. That fitness is totally observable outside.
Repeating SSBMVII as seem to gain the biggest FTP gain during base and dreaming of 300FTP.
Fairly minor today. Start of SPBMV and my FTP has risen from 282W to 287W. I’m a bit congested and was struggling with breathing though, AND I’ve moved from a Neo 1 to a Neo 2 which feels both to me and my wife like it reads a bit lower. No separate power meter to verify one way or another, sadly.
Either way, an increase is always nice and I think a lot of people don’t make much gains in SSBMV2, so hopefully training is helping!
Oct - start of SSBMV1 - 274w, 4.28w/kg
Nov - start of SSBMV2 - 289w, 4.5 w/kg
Today - start of GBMV - 301w, 4.7 w/kg
I’m 44 and used to race at the cat 1 level, but haven’t raced in years. I’m hoping I can get back to 5w/kg by the spring for some gravel events and become competitive again.
Started using TR in November, as my first time doing structured indoor training. 2019 was my second year cycling (at 35yo) and had a solid year of speed/strength gains doing semi-structured outdoor riding. Essentially I just cycled through speed rides, distance rides, and steady rides and managed against heart rate. I was able to get through a few challenging events including a couple century rides, but wanted to continue to build strength and endurance in the cold months.
Results to date
Nov 5th 2019 - Ramp Test entering SSBMV1 - 247w
Nov 13th 2019 - Added +3% as workouts felt light - 255w
Dec 30th 2019 - Ramp Test entering SSBMV2- 272w (+6.6%)
Thrilled with results so far. I think my FTP might be inflated as i’m using TR’s virtual power, but regardless +6% has been noticeable on my outdoor rides. Excited to keep going and see where this takes me.
Not an improvement, but I just wanted to share this to show that it’s possible not to lose too much cycling fitness while still doing other sports. I haven’t been on my bike for over 3 months and yesterday’s ramp test got me 345w. For the last 3 months I’ve only been running and rowing at Z2. It’s a decrease of 45w, but I’m okay with that.