I just started riding again 7 months ago. Injuries and a few other things had derailed me for a decade.
In the beginning of September I tested via a 20 min on Zwift at 230. I haven’t tested since then, but my gut tells me I’m at 245 now. I’ve been doing a bunch of SS style workouts on the dumb trainer. I have a Saris H3 on order and when that arrives next week I am going to start my first ever structured training plan. I’d start now, but I am not sure how to reconcile my next FTP test with numbers from my left arm PM with the numbers that are measured by the H3. Any ideas?
I’m going to use this post to lay out some goals and revisit down the road:
Drop from 205 lbs to 190 (without losing muscle mass). I’m pretty tall.
Increase FTP to 270 by end of March 2021; 300 by end of Dec 2021.
shoot, even when my old riding buddies were tall, they were 6’2" 145lbs…that’s no help either when you’re trying to draft behind an overgrown green bean. the rare occasions I’ve had to draft a couple ‘normal’ sized peeps on a tandem…NOW we’re talking!
Last year, my FTP was 264 before a major block of training and a 600km audax so assume that it went higher.
Then I got covid in March and I was a long time off with some very low volume, slow rides. In May I did another Ramp Test and got 186w, July 209w I was improving but still didn’t feel right. No training plan, just outdoor rides.
This past month, on SSBLV1, was the first time I’ve felt fit again. Ramp test result = 230w
I feel like I’m finally on the way back and looking forward to a winter of training and 2021 being a good year.
I surprised myself and now I’m a little anxious about my next training period…
On Sep 2, my result from a 20 min FTP test was 230. It was a beatdown and I gave it everything I had. It was within the range I expected. Since then, I have been doing consistent SSB1 style workouts on Zwift and and just a few 1-2 hour hard MTB rides. Partway through bumped up the FTP without testing to 240 because they felt too easy.
Today I did my first ramp test and first workout on my new H3 trainer. I also logged the data with my 4iiii and Garmin.
TR’s result from my Saris H3 was 261w. In disbelief, I looked at the Garmin data from my old 4iiii - the 1 min max power at 21:00 was 347w. So multiplying that by .75 would be 260w (am I doing that right??). Pretty darn close so I am ruling out calibration issues between the equiptment.
The last 10 weeks was very focused on diet and sleep. I averaged between 8.5-9 hours of sleep a night. I maintained a slight caloric surplus and ate well:
Typical breakfast - large bowl of oats, 4 eggs, banana. Pre lunch snack - protein shake and snack bar. Lunch - 1/2 lb beef or chicken, 2 cups veggies, rice or sweet potato. Afternoon snack - yogurt. Dinner - 1/2 lb meat, 1 cup veggies, pasta or something similar, large spinach salad. Evening - 2 IPA beers or wine (ok, that’s junk food I admit). Night snack - 2 bowls of cereal with a banana or blueberries. Olive oil and grass fed butter on many things. I eat a lot and try to maintain strength training as a secondary priority.
Current weight is probably 205 lbs based on how clothes fit and how I look in the mirror. I haven’t actually weighed myself since COVID closed my gym in March. Once my noob gains stabilize, I may cut weight to 195.
Not sure I’ll be able to see a 10 week gain of 30ftp again. I am going to start SSBLV2 now and will see how it goes. I am very focused on perfecting my recovery efforts and completing without having to adjust the workouts. Very likely I will add a “recovery week” after 3 training weeks.
Apr 1st : 135 W - 92 kg
Apr 30th : 185 W - 87 kg
Jun 10th : 213 W - 83 kg
July 20th: 241 W - 80.5 kg
Aug 25th: 248W - 78 kg
Sep 21st: 252W - 77kg - (too much focus on strength training and purposeless outdoor rides)
Nov 16th: 268 W - 76.7kg (3.49 W/kg)
Very happy with the improvements but i cannot fix my diet problems. I am losing weight pretty well, came from 96 kg to 76 kg finally however fat percentage is still 19%. Work and family stresses are top, I cannot sleep longer than 7h 30 mins average.
Riding is the only thing keeps me alive nowadays and I really want to be the best of myself i can.
New to Trainerroad, but not to cycling or sports in general. I’ve done the first Ramp Test yesterday, which puts my FTP at 375W (4.5W/kg). I’m 6’5 and 183lbs (83kg). I’ve always been on the lean side (body fat) but due to 12 years of professional rowing, I still have muscle in weird places even though I haven’t rowed in four years. My weight hasn’t changed in 2+ years. I’ve been riding between 12 and 15hrs a week this year already. I wanted to pick your brain on what to focus from here on now. Given my FTP was tested at 375W, how realistic is it that I can improve it to or over 400W as an amateur with a family and full time job? Reading other posts, weight loss is typically the first place to look at but while there’s some places to always lose fat, I can already see veins on my lower abdomen and my diet is pretty clean (my wife is a pro runner). Muscle loss while trying to get stronger don’t go together, I learned that during my rowing days. Any tips on how to go about this?
My rowing days are 20 years ago but I was a competitive young athlete here in Germany. Heavy weight. I am not to sure what or who told me to choose road cycling afterwards but anyways. But my buddies admire my ability to suffer, most of them are 20-30 kgs lighter than me but I hang in with them on the climbs.
I would suggest that you focus on technic and tactis more than on FTP gain. FTP gain will come with consistence in training and with 4.5 you are pretty high already.
Thank you both! I will try to focus on getting stronger, maybe stronger in a better position on the bike, and have weight come down naturally. Trying to lose weight in the past usually resulted in really bad workouts so maybe focusing on strength first is the way to go. The reason to post in this thread is FTP as W/kg improvement, no to hijack this with weight loss questions!
Hi all, i’m fairly beginner with structured training.
I just did my FTP Test after finishing the SSB1 Base plan. I think the jump of the FTP comes mainly because I know how to do a better ramp test compared to the first test. I also adjust my manually in between the base plan because it was starting to get too easy. I’m fairly happy with the test result.
Now I’m starting the SSB2 Base plan and cannot wait for the result after the plan is finish.
Is there any data which shows Year on year progression expectations for FTP? i know this is not linear and different for everyone, plus depends on consistency and volume changes but still, if you continued doing the same volume i.e. a mid plan, mostly consistently and doing plan builder what can you expect in the years beyond year 1?
Ie is there a proxy for year 2,3,4,5 etc. Even if its a broad estimate, does progression suddenly drop off or is is roughly half or so each year?
