Power to weight might be a factor but I know with me (same weight so ruling that out to a degree) I can be faster on a TT for less power when I am more aero and get my handling right.
This has been my FTP progression thus far (weight 78-80kg during this time):
Mid November 2020: 285 (indoor 20 min test @300w)
Early December: 308 (via ramp test)
January: 320 (ramp test, 4w/kg)
February: 335
Now: 355 (20 min test outside @374w)
Started cycling about a year ago, happy to see improvements with TR. I didnāt get a power meter until last fall but I estimate my original FTP to have been ~200w when I picked up cycling.
Next goals are to hit 400w for 20 min and 500w for 5 min. The addition of long z2 rides this spring has definitely helped with my repeatability and power. Iāve stuck with the low volume plans and then added additional endurance as time permits. Iāve found myself to be more of a diesel type rider, I can do 4 x 12 min over threshold no problem, but I struggle with anaerobic workouts (30s - 2min efforts). I have a decent 5 second power at 1350w but my 1 min is only just over 600w.
Looking forward to a strong summer of riding and exploring new places on my bike!
Bought an Elite Suito to get through lockdown. Totally new to indoor cycling and structured training.
No competative cycling. Worked as cycle messenger years a go, past 5 years Iāve been able to get away for 4-6 weeks bikepacking, which I do a bit of training for. Other than that, couple of rides a week.
44 y/o, 76kg (gained weight during lockdown, honest)
First test I jumped on the bike without knowing what I was doing, 145. Did a 2nd test couple of days later and went from 145 - 155. Pleased with the bump, but Iād hoped initial test would have been higher.
Last week of ssblv1 I started a job in construction, didnāt complete recovery week due to being knackered from work.
Did ssblv2 ramp test after a day of grafting. Really wasnt feeling it and stopped early, 165. Gave it a second go today on day off, 180.
So Iāve sort of gone from 155 - 180 and about to start ssblv2.
Thoroughly enjoying the training though.
I began using a smart trainer and TR in Jan of 2019. My first ftp test put me at 292 or so. I hit 360 on my last test a few weeks ago. But more than that my long power has improved dramatically. My 2-7 hour power is up between 30 and 55 watts over even last year. Itās not just the training plans, but the podcasts and forum that have helped me really assess my situation, find ways to improve, and stay motivated/consistent.
Just today I managed a PB of 306 NP for 5 hours. Iām basically dead, but super proud of my results. Not a humble brag, but one of those genuine moments where all the hard work just seems to finally pay off 
43, Male
Dec 15 '20: ramp test 156w & 107kg. Used Zwift till Feb '21 then switched to TR.
Apr 12 '21: ramp test 214w & 95 kg: Following Gran Fondo - Low volume.
Jul 3 '21 ramp test 270w & 86kg: Following Gran Fond - Hi volume past 2 months. 90% vegetarian diet/~100g daily protein.
Feels good and motivation is high.
Keep up the good work TR folks.
Iām 57 and started cycling seriously last summer and last November started TR for some structured training. Iāve been stable 67 kg for the past 3 years.
08.11.20 > 172 W > 2.57 w/kg
16.12.20 > 210 W > 3.13 w/kg > +22 %
02.02.21 > 223 W > 3.33 w/kg > +6 %
01.03.21 > 236 W > 3.52 w/kg > +6 %
Iāve been postponing my Ramp because I have been tweaking my workouts and experimenting with a Polarized plan. I donāt expect a whole lot more power gains and at my age, not regressing is already a major win! That said, if I can get to 4.0 w/kgā¦
TP just emailed me and said I should update my FTP to 609 W! 
ā¦unfortunately I think it had to do with my power meter battery dying. 
Couldnāt get my HR within 9-10bpm of my maxā¦still feeling the weekendās effort (4th 100+ mile ride in as many Saturdays) along with some legit added work stress over the last couple days. I knew I should have bumped it to tomorrow, but I was anxious to see the gains. Cue the sad trombone. Just bummed as I know thereās more in there, but weāll see how the workouts feel next week and go from there.
To be fairer to myself, Iām happy with my process tonight. For this moment in time, that was everything I had. A success.
| Date | Phase | FTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20/02/2020 | Start of TR program | 128 | Broken collarbone - one-handed FTP test |
| 7/04/2020 | End of SSBLV I | 172 | Yay! Recovering from the operation + the structured training = getting stronger. |
| 17/05/2020 | End of SSBLV II | 196 | 3 watts/kg! I pushed myself harder in the last week of the program, so am chuffed with this result! |
| 20/07/2020 | Doing the odd workout here and there | 191 | I met someone and suddenly had no time for cyclingā¦ |
| 14/02/2021 | 187 | Realised that my 170km event was deferred to May 21 due to COVID and kickstarted training again. Was surprised to see that my FTP didnāt drop much since I had done very little riding over the months. Being in love is time consuming 
|
|
| 9/03/2021 | End of SSBMVII | 190 | Getting back into the swing of structured training (and cycling!) |
| 7/04/2021 | End of sustained power build MV | 195 | Woah. That was a tough month. I found that I was: - good at over/unders - good at short interval VO2 max workouts e.g. Baird +6 and Bashful +6 to the point that I would increase difficulty for those rides. Unfortunately, this translated into extra load on my legs, and I struggled through the longer interval VO2 max workouts which were at the end of the week e.g. Raymond +7, Red Lake +8 (to whoever made those workouts - you are a sadist). Side note: I lost some weight over the months! So not only is my FTP is back up to where I was at my strongest (almost), Iām now sitting at 3.34 watts/kg  . Feeling stronger than ever and for the first time, Iām comfortably taking turns at the front when on group rides. |
Iāve decided to the rest of the training for my 170km outside as Iāve lost a lot of my road handling skills due to lack of riding/loss of confidence due to a crash last year. Iām hoping to do 100-130km during the week, and one long ride (120km+) on the weekend to get my endurance up.
Iam 36 years old and training and racing now for 10 years, with years of more and less active periods. My FTP was al that years between 270 and 290w. Since October iam working on my own structured plan.
1 oct 2020 271w - 67kg
2 feb 2021 285w - 67kg
16 feb 2021 292w - 67kg
14 apr 2021 311w - 67kg
49 years old, up until last year pretty much a couch potato with a sedentary profession, little experience on a bike and with some overweight, weighing 81 kg (which is way too much for me, because I have a very slender body-type).
Decided to turn the wheel around starting 2021. First started with changing my eating habits. Lost some weight (+/- 5 kg) and ordered a spin bike.
After I got my spin bike, I decided to give TR a try and took my first ramp test on march 2nd. Result: a lousy 125 FTP at 74,7 kg, making it a poor 1,67 w/kg.
I read somewhere on this forum that ācomparison is the thief of joyā, but looking on this forum at all those high numbers of other people, left me a bit deflated.
Went ahead with my healthy diet (lost 4 more kg), followed SSBLV1 and took my second ramp test yesterday. Result : FTP of 179 at 71,5 kg which adds up to 2,5 w/kg.
My first FTP-test was probably a bit of an underestimation, given the fact that I didnāt have the time to get used to the spin bike and its ERG-mode. I still feel like I need to learn to āsufferā more though during the ramp-test (which is probably a discipline in its own right). My highest HR was +/- 150 and I didnāt feel tired afterwards at all.
Feeling a lot less deflated now. Still a long road ahead, but the only way is up!
Iām 36, 5ā11, male, and Iāve been about 182 lbs (82.7 kg) throughout my current āseasonā. My FTP has gone up 12.8% in 5 months. All the plans Iāve done are low volume. Lastly, I also swim 2x per week and weight train (oly lifts) 2-3 times per week.
11/9/2020 - Start half tri plan and tested at 226 FTP (2.7 w/kg)
1/5/2021 - End 8 wks of half tri base / start of half tri build; tested at 247 FTP (3 w/kg)
3/1/2021 - End 8 wks of half tri build / start of xc marathon base; tested at 255 FTP (3.1 w/kg)
Switched to xc marathon plan because my tris were pushed to the second half of the year. I also signed-up for Tahoe Trail 100k.
4/11/2021 - End 6 wks of ssb1 / start of ssb2; tested at 255 FTP (3.1 kg) so no change.
My ambitious goal this year is to get to a 300w FTP. I do have some weight to lose so my second goal is to get close to 165 lbs (75kg) so I can also try for a 4 w/kg FTP. Going forward, I plan to stick to low volume but supplement with outside endurance rides with the hopes that itāll help my FTP.
Big numbers - well done 
Iāve had a pretty tough time since I started training, I caught a ā virus ā which has been affecting me on and off for a few months but improvements still!
245 in Sept < First time power meter user
274 in Nov
(Sick for a few months, nothing to do with training)
258 in Jan (SSBMV1) < Pretty compliant
Sick in Feb ( sad )
262 in March (No TR just riding - tested a few weeks after riding again)
275 in April (4.25WKG) (No TR just riding) - Did 275NP Avg 70minās so I took that no (HR wasnāt that high even) so i suspect If I properly test it would be higher
May onwards - Will get back to TR once I stop getting sick 
I want to hit 300 this year which I think is possible since Iām new to training and adapt to structured training pretty well. I just hope i stop getting sick so frequently and get some consistency in.
Currently my training consists of 1 v02max session, 1 threshold or SS workout and a 3.5-4.5hr Z2 ride at 200-205W no coasting or cafe stops.about 5.5hrs a week avg
Hi, I started mountainbiking last August due to lockdown and riding the bike mainly on road and on the hills in Scotland off road. I have an endurance background and I am a male, 53 years old.
A couple of weeks ago I went on a wattbike and did the 20 minFTP programme, I dont know if this is any good?
my stats were- Av power 275w, Av hr 167bpm, av power/kg was 4.23w/kg.
I love the bike and considering next year to enter a novice road race.
Have a nice weekend,
Allan
Iāve taken lots of ftp testsā¦ been doing this a few years. So I rarely postā¦ sometimes they go up, sometimes down a bit. But what the heck today I got my all time high. 242 watts. Came from 236. Just finished a build session.
Age 44 male, 155 lbs that puts me at 3.4 w/kg. Ride on folks!
16yo NICA (High School mtb) racer here. Started at 230w ftp after riding trails for fun whenever i felt. Then got into real training and 2 years later iām at 320w ftp at 60kg. Doing strength work is a huge game changer for me. I think weightlifting especially helps the ends of the age spectrum. Trying to get to 330w by July and 350w by the end of 2021. Then 370w by the end of 2022.
Been a year since my last update:
Previous high FTP in 2016: 255W - (20 min test)
Lots of spotty training and long time off (work) plus marathon training
Aug '18, end race season: 234W; 3.45 W/kg (ramp test)
Baby 13 Feb during SSB2MV recovery week (convenient)
Deployment, SSBMV, GBMV, and Century plans at various points.
Aug 2019: 270W (ramp test)
Season over, weeks off
Oct ā19: 245W back under 3.5W/kg as I was up over 72kg
SSBMV+, Short Power Builds
Apr ā20: 280W (ramp test), 3.98W/kg
More SSB, Sustained Power and a bit of crit specialty:
Sep '20: 280W (ramp test), manually set 284W
In September, I really started looking at my WKO5 filesā¦
mFTP was 276 with TTE in the mid-30min rangeā¦
Crashed and broke collarbone, took three weeks off. Decided to stop using TR plans and customize my own training using some TR workouts as well as my own custom stuff.
(all FTPs here forward are WKO5 mFTPs based on profile testing)
Oct '20: 249W (based on power profile testing), 3.46 W/kg off the couch
Nov '20: 260W (sweet spot block)
Jan '21: 276W (more sweet spot block) with a TTE well over an hour
Feb '21: 280W (threshold block)
VO2max block, recovery, more sweet spot:
Apr '21: 283W confirmed w/ 45 min trainer effort averaging 283W finishing the final 10min at 287W (resistance mode, not erg). (4.03 W/kg)
Excited to see where this keeps goingā¦ training at 285W and itās very manageable. I have little doubt Iāll get to a 300W FTP that I can actually sustain indoors sometime in the next 12 months. Planning more threshold work for three more weeks, probably another VO2max block and then training some repeatability into the summer race season. Might not be that far off of a 300W outdoor FTPā¦
Just took a ramp test today after SSBLV1 and 2. FTP went up 6 watts through the whole 12 weeks from 284-290. I live at 6000ā so using conversion tables I am only 15 watts off my best ftp at sea level. I thought I would have improved more than I did since I have also been doing quite a bit of endurance paced base mileage on top of the plan. I can tell based off a recent TT that I could probably actually hold my ftp for a hour but have ānothingā once I go over threshold. I guess that is what build is for!
Today is exactly one year since my first Ramp Test so it seems like a good time to take a look back at how things are going.
Basic Info: Age 37, ~165 lbs, 6ā3"
Sports background: Mountain biker for past 20 years, but always just for fun. Also been a distance runner for ~8 years building up to a 3:30 marathon and a 50k trail run with 2600+m of elevation a couple of years ago. Bought a smart trainer (Elite Suito) to keep myself sane while the pandemic got worse.
April 27, '20: 234W on first Ramp Test, but I didnāt quit until ~31.5 minutes because of the low estimate TR gave me so it might not be as accurate as later tests.
June 15: 260W after SSB MV1 + mountain biking
August 11: 270W after SSB MV2 + lots of mountain biking, including 2 weeks of no structured riding
Oct 18: 280W after a heavily modified SPB LV again with a couple of weeks of unstructured mountain biking in there
Nov 30: 290W after SSB HV1
Jan 12, 2021: 294W after SSB HV2 and a ton of skiing over Christmas holidays
Feb 9: 290W after a bad ramp test part way through General Build, but just kept going at 294W which worked out well
March 9: 304W after finishing General Build + XC & DH skiing
April 20: 313W after SSBMV2 + XC & DH skiing and just starting to get outside on the bike again
Overall, Iām really happy with the progress over the last year: added 79W to my FTP, bringing me to around 4.15 W/kg. Getting 1/3rd stronger in just a year is pretty crazy. I would have loved to have a year of running like that!
Next up: Currently doing Sustained Power Build in preparation for the four day Gravel Royale that Iām signed up for in August (assuming that it actually happensā¦), and planning to get out for lots of mountain biking in beautiful British Columbia.
Thanks TR!