Your FTP improvements

Couldn’t get my HR within 9-10bpm of my max…still feeling the weekend’s 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 there’s more in there, but we’ll see how the workouts feel next week and go from there.

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To be fairer to myself, I’m happy with my process tonight. For this moment in time, that was everything I had. A success.

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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 cycling…
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 didn’t drop much since I had done very little riding over the months. Being in love is time consuming :rofl:
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), I’m now sitting at 3.34 watts/kg :partying_face:. Feeling stronger than ever and for the first time, I’m comfortably taking turns at the front when on group rides.

I’ve decided to the rest of the training for my 170km outside as I’ve lost a lot of my road handling skills due to lack of riding/loss of confidence due to a crash last year. I’m hoping to do 100-130km during the week, and one long ride (120km+) on the weekend to get my endurance up.

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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

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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 “comparison is the thief of joy”, 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 didn’t have the time to get used to the spin bike and its ERG-mode. I still feel like I need to learn to “suffer” more though during the ramp-test (which is probably a discipline in its own right). My highest HR was +/- 150 and I didn’t feel tired afterwards at all.

Feeling a lot less deflated now. Still a long road ahead, but the only way is up!

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I’m 36, 5’11, male, and I’ve been about 182 lbs (82.7 kg) throughout my current “season”. My FTP has gone up 12.8% in 5 months. All the plans I’ve 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 it’ll help my FTP.

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Big numbers - well done :+1:t2:

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I’ve had a pretty tough time since I started training, I caught a ’ virus ’ 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 70min’s so I took that no (HR wasn’t 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 :slight_smile: I want to hit 300 this year which I think is possible since I’m 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

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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

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I’ve taken lots of ftp tests… been doing this a few years. So I rarely post… 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! :slight_smile:

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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 i’m 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.

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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 ‘19: 245W back under 3.5W/kg as I was up over 72kg
SSBMV+, Short Power Builds
Apr ‘20: 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 files…
mFTP was 276 with TTE in the mid-30min range…

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 going… training at 285W and it’s very manageable. I have little doubt I’ll 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 FTP…

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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 6000’ 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 ‘nothing’ once I go over threshold. I guess that is what build is for!

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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, 6’3"
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 didn’t 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, I’m 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 I’m signed up for in August (assuming that it actually happens…), and planning to get out for lots of mountain biking in beautiful British Columbia.
Thanks TR!

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One year of Trainer Road:
Screenshot 2021-04-29 170741

The last number is not from a strict test but I know its pretty close. I had a ramp test scheduled but my coach had us do an all-out 8 minute effort outside so I used that to calculate (304W x .9 = 274W FTP) and then bumped it down a little since it was only one interval. I know I should stick with one test type but for now I’m experimenting to see what I like. Now I’m moving into Rolling Road Race Specialty…

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I’m 48 years old and a life long cyclist. I started with BMX when I was a kid, switched to road as a teen, raced some local crits here and there but never did any structured training outside of generally and sporadically following Eddie B’s book. In the late 80s I bought a Mt bike and have gradually transitioned to pretty much 100% mountain. I rode trials for a while as well in the late 2000s, but now I would describe the type of riding I do as Enduro. I climb hills for the descent, I have no intention of racing, but I would like to be able to climb with enough left in the tank for the downs and tech parts of climbs, so that’s where TrainerRoad came in. I started on December 17th 2020 with Sweet Spot build Low, but after a bit I realized I could handle more volume, so I bumped up to Mid. I’ve fully immersed myself, I watch the podcasts (mostly during workouts), and I’ve been super happy with the results. I’m a firefighter who works a schedule based on an 8 day week and I work 2 24s a week, so I’m pretty much chronically sleep deprived. To deal with that I don’t ride on days after my 24s and that seems to be working pretty well. I’m now more than a full 1 W/kg up from when I started and wow, what a difference that makes on the trail. I’m looking forward to what the future brings. I start Gravity Specialty phase next. My increases have been incredibly linear so far, I keep expecting the plateau, but happily it hasn’t happened yet. (that 6/28 date is my goal, which I generally add one ahead of time)

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Ramp today and eeked out +1 watt on FTP! From 236 to 237!!

Actually, at 57 years old, I’m pretty happy to keep my FTP at around 3.5 w/kg.

I was hoping to hit 240 but that would have meant a whole minute at 335 w… but I blame poor sleep in the past week, a bit under the weather and totally not mentally fit… Maybe next week I’ll give it another go.

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34 y/o male, mid-pack gravel rider and mountain biker for the last 5ish years. Used Zwift 2017-2019, primarily picking random workouts and rides to stay sane during MN winters. Peaked at 249 FTP in 2019 (68 kg, 3.7 w/kg). I spent 2020 trying to gain lean muscle mass, made it from 68 to 73 kg with improved diet and a very structured lifting plan. That sidelined me from any cycling outside of goofing around with friends.

Joined TR in December 2020 and tested at 229 watts. I’m now following a low volume progression to build for racing gravel centuries later this year (Lutsen, Dirty Lemming, Heck of the North). After LVSSB1&2 I’m already up to 260 watts (3.9 w/kg). I love the structure and can’t wait for Adaptive Training! Excited to test after the sustained build phase. FTP progression from my last five tests:

May 2019 - 249 (~3.7 w/kg)
12/22/20 - 229 (3.3 w/kg)
1/26/21 - 234 (3.5 w/kg)
3/8/21 - 249 (3.7 w/kg)
4/26/21 - 260 (3.9 w/kg)

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Very modest gain of 2 watts today (from 230 to 232)!

But very happy as it comes after a 12 month training plan that culminated in my A event (a completely brutal 1000km bikepacking race in which I finished 1st female and 6th overall), followed by a few days off the bike (and eating like a machine), a few more days of recovery rides, and then back to regular volume after 2 weeks, but no structured training (in which I somehow set a number of PRs on local loops).

Looking forward to getting stuck into the next block, and seeing what comes after a return to structured training. Would love to get to 4w/kg by the end of the year (currently at 3.87).

TrainerRoad has really changed my perception of what I thought possible on a bike!

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10 watts up! :slight_smile: Did a 12 minute warmup prior to the test. Happy days!

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That is amazing! Congratulations!

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