Pretty much a year + of structured training, plus coaching added about 9 months in. Steady gains, no complaints.
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very steady!, all within 5-12 watts
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Coming back from a 6 week injury, I did a ramp test after 2 weeks of easy riding. Found myself at 229 W with 66kg, so (only) 15 Watts down compared to my last ramp test 244 W with 68 kg. I donāt think I lost much in overall fitness cause I felt quite okay within the last two weeks. Hopefully the upcoming weeks will work out well and I will benefit from strictly training with no racing in sight. My goal is to reach over 250 W as FTP but I havenāt seen huge improvements in ftp over the last 2 years. I has been a more small but constant gain so far. I am 37 and been doing structered Training for around 6 years now (TR for the last 3).
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Dec. 1, 2019 ā 143 W (2.17 W/kg), start of LV SSB I
- Prior to this I had not cycled regularly in 5/6 years.
- First bout at structured training.
Jan. 21, 2020 ā 159 W (2.42 W/kg), end of LV SSB I
Mar. 3, 2020 ā 166 W (2.52 W/kg), end of LV SSB II
Mar. 31, 2020 ā 171 W (2.60 W/kg), halfway point of MV General Build
Given these numbers, disregarding sleep, nutrition, etc., does my progress so far look reasonable? Essentially starting as a complete beginner. Should I have expected larger gains in the past four months?
I am happy with my progress. Just want to know where I stand. Thoughts appreciated.
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December 31, 2029 - 253w - Start of SSB LV I
February 28, 2020 - 250w (didnāt update for pride) - Start of SSB LV II
April 4, 2020 - 266w @68kg - Start of Sustained Power Build
Iāve been adding long Z2-Z3 rides the weekends and did some of the efforts outside too.
This time to Ramp Test I used Davis as an opener the day before, did the test in the end of the rest week. This time I used too a Rock Playlist while doing the test and I tried to sustain to the 19:30 min, after that I closed the eyes and Iāve put all the power I could in the pedals. Rusulted in 370w avg the last minute while target was 344. Not sure if can made my FTP overestimatedā¦
Iām not sure if Iāll be able to complete Carpathian Peak and Mount Goode the next week.
Iāll try to go good fuelled and with the right mindset, if not, iāll lower my FTP.
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I hadnāt ridden in about 5 or so years. I rode the trainer for about a month or so just watching tv trying to get up to being able to spend a solid hour on the bike. First ramp test was 148. After ssblv1 my ftp went to 171. Then I started ssbmv1 which Iām 1/2 way through.
I also have lost 30 lbs in the last 5 months.
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The last few tests, I tried doing the tests based on nothing but cadence. I just wanted to mentally go until I couldnāt. It wasnāt appearing to work well for me. Today I switched back to having all the data and made the mental determination that I could at least make the 19:30 mark and then could probably make 20:30ā¦ and maybe even more. So I got a little past 20:30 and legs quit. I seem to do better with some external queues I guess. Onward and upward. (hopefully).
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Quite a decent bump after finishing SSB2 and definitely not looking forward to the next few workouts. Not sure if I should be happy with my progress or should I be terrified 
06.04.2020 - 341W / 3,79W/kg (90kg) - start of GB MV
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Had a similar attitude towards my last one. Said to myself that no matter what I have to do the full 21 minutes as that would have given me a nice round number. It was tough as hell, I actually vommed a bit during cool down as a result (so I guess that was a good indicator I dug deep? 
), but, I did the full 21 minutes 
So like you saidā¦ Onward and upward.
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Just started my 2nd base phase in my yearly plan. Got a new all time best FTP of 240 today. Which is up by 25% from 191. 
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Was mostly into non endurance sports before 2014 when my wife got me into triathlon and I was hooked. For reference, back in 2014, through workouts imported into TR from Strava, my estimated FTP was 192. Started racing bikes in the summer of 2016 with an estimated FTP in TR of 271, but my focus was still triathlon. My brother introduced me to TR and I started my trial in Dec of 2018. Went through SSB1MV, SSB2MV, GBMV and the Crit MV Plan in 2019. My wife and I had our first baby in Feb of 2019 so I had a bit of a dip but I managed to go from 300 back down to 294 and up to 310 by the end of the crit plan. Started winning cat 4/5 races pretty easily and upgraded to a cat 3 and got a 5th place in my first race as a cat 3. Had a few months of getting back into some triathlon training between the end of the season and starting SSB1 again and had some health issues. I have done SSB1MV and SSB2MV. Iām currently in GBMV and the ramp test mid way blew away all my expectations 
. Started back down at 293, jumped up to 310 by the end of SSB2 and had a massive 19w jump to 329 halfway into the general build plan. With my long history in endurance sports I thought I was destined to hang out in the 290s and 300s. I had a pie in the sky goal of getting to 4 w/kg. Iām currently hanging out around 3.88 w/kg. My goal now seems within reach! I couldnāt be more happy and scared at the same time, haha! The week after the ramp test felt like getting pummeled every ride but I can already feel my body adapting in the second week. Iām sold on TR. Will continue into half ironman plans for the rest of the year after the build plan. Too bad there is no racing right now! Thanks for reading!
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Started at 202W January 2nd, almost 40year old and 75kg so not very impressive.
After 14-15 consistent weeks it has increased somewhat, did 246 today. Quite pleased with the rate of change and the product.
Now I Will just try to āsurviveā the next month with some endurance base work due to allergies.
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After the Christmas break (almost 3 weeks), I tested down from 236 to 217w. Went back to 232 after the first 6w of SSp Base and to 252 after the following 6. Fairly happy with it! 
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49 y/o male, occasionally competitive mainly recreational. Tinkered with TR over the past two or three years, really made a commitment this year to get stuck in, completed SSBLV 1 and 2, followed by just completing SPBLV. However, Iāve filled in throughout with either Petit/Taku type rides indoors or steady outdoor rides, keeping the HR down. I completed almost every single scheduled ride in line with the plans, occasionally increased to a +1 version for a little extra volume. I ramp tested at 240w in November before SSBLV, roughly 67/68kgs so 3.5 ish w/kg. By the start of SPBLV this was up to 250, roughly 3.7 w/kg. Completed that plan last week, had been beaten by Mount Goode +2 towards the end, cadence collapsed, did it again last week, just suffered through to complete instead of +3 in the plan. Supposed to be on rest week, sunny day but howling wind, decided to do a quick Zwift Crit City race to see where I stand as a proxy 20 min test. Entered the B, usual āAā cats disappeared within seconds, hellish Vo2 start etc. Grimly hung on, took just over 21 mins with an average power of 273, 277 NP, giving an FTP of 265, 3.9 w/kg.
Like everyone else, Iāve suffered through miserable, dark, cold, lonely workouts and wondered if Iām doing the right thing. Iāve questioned my sanity on those 3 min 120% efforts, those 9 min 105% leg burners and those hellish 3x18 @ 97-99%. Today I cracked all-time PRs from 10 mins onwards.
The moral of this tale is that TR works. It is hard, it hurts, you suffer but you do get faster.
Now back to SSB.
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Just adding my n=1 here.
My background: 24 year old male, have a pretty big background running, got into cycling seriously over the last 2 years or so. This is my first go at structured indoor training.
Started SSBLV1 2 weeks ago after taking about 6 months off the bike after doing a century and first tested FTP at 208w. After the first 2 weeks felt like the workouts were challenging but a little easy, I started adding a few % intensity to each workout. I decided to re-test today and measured 238w.
I think the bump in FTP here can be mostly be explained by a couple of things here:
- did the initial test without a fan (in a cool room though)
- no music during the initial test
- āgetting the legs backā so to speak over the last 2 weeks
- being more mentally prepared to suffer during the ramp test
Iām sure the sweet spot workouts over the last 2 weeks contributed as well. Kind of dreading the next couple weeks of increased SS intensity + the addition of over-under workouts, but gotta chase those gainz.
Edit - Updated FTP History
Mar 28, 2020 - 208W
Apr 13, 2020 - 238W
May 3, 2020 - 260W
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Started a plan using plan builder, 4th Feb, based on an A-Race (MTB Enduro) scheduled for August. Stuck to SSB1 LV for 4 weeks then came the good weather so Iāve done 2 weeks of outdoor rides instead.
Apr 2020 - SSB1 LV - 68kg - 209W (+4.5%) - 3.07 W/kg
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Nobody does āspecialtyā after build?
I did a specialty plan last year but donāt plan on it yet this year since my races are later in the year.
Do you still have both trainers? Why not do a ramp test on each and see if there is a difference?
That was a bit of the problem. STAC was 206 a few days later the Vortex was 268 and no way to validate which was off. I now have a Stages PM but the bike it is on doesnāt go on either trainer (thru-axles, no adapters and no intention of ever putting that bike on a trainer) and I canāt put the Stages on the trainer bike (different BB setup). Iāve resigned myself to letting it ride and not worrying about absolute numbers.