Your FTP improvements

First go at structured training.
SSBI, with 1 hour of Football (Soccer) a week, just too damn fun to miss.

  • Jan '19 - 205
  • Feb 19’ - 220
  • 3.13 w/kg

About 5 weeks of following SSBI, this week & the next life gets in the way so thought it would be good to test now and see any improvement.

Think I will just move onto SSBII now. Adding in extra workouts when time available.

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Ramp test today . . . here we go:

  • First half of 2018:
    265 FTP (was in a year long plateau)
  • August 2018:
    271 FTP (after my ‘A’ race and a self-coached training block)

----JOINED TRAINERROAD----

  • October 2018 - after Short Power Build:
    280 FTP
  • December 2018 - after SSB LV1
    285 FTP
  • January 2019 - after SSB LV2
    289 FTP

And today – after the first half of General Build LV1:

299 FTP and 3.77 W/Kg :metal:

That about ~30 Watts improvement in 6 months using TR low-volume plans. This thing works!

I have a vanity goal of 300 FTP … so from that perspective, today’s 299 was king of maddening. I mean, had I known, I would have figured out a way to hang in for another 4.5 seconds…

More importantly I have a functional goal of 4W/Kg – and if I make my target weight by summer (which is only 4-5 lbs away) I will hit 4 w/KG at FTP 312 – which suddenly seems doable.

And MOST importantly – I want to find a race someplace … somewhere … somehow that I can win. A CAT 5 crit or whatever…I feel like at 4 W/kg, I can maybe win a race. Finishing first would feel pretty cool.

I have Vo2 work at my shiny new FTP tomorrow :neutral_face: so the celebration will be short lived. But progress is gratifying.

Good luck!

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February: 298 – SSBHV2 TSS 665/wk av (-2.3%; 4.44 w/kg)

I’m thinking the last 12 weeks of doing only SS and Threshold work cut into my ability to produce VO2/anaerobic power at the end of the test.

Two options:

  1. Manually raise FTP by 6% (~av of previous increases);

  2. Do a Friel 30min test.

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I’m considering skipping any formal test on Tuesday and just manually adjust based on how I was doing at the end of ssb2, I think even the prospect of doing 105% for 20 is a huge ask for me at the moment lol maybe I’ll give Lamarck a try!

Do this test and use your previous FTP as the test target: The Physiology of FTP and New FTP Test Protocols

Shoot for at least 35-40 minutes. It’s a lot less painful than it seems on paper.

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Do the ramp test instead

I think I’d be worse at that, honestly, my last ramp test I got 268 but completed ssb2 hv at 285, I’m just generally poor at these, so I’ll probably give it a try again but am always prepared to just adjust on the fly since I’m probably not going to be grossly overestimating myself

Ha! I was just looking at that! :+1:

I had a few reddit chats with Kolie way back in the spring of '18…he has so much knowledge!! :exploding_head:

Probably Tuesday…or maybe next weekend…I’ll bust out a Baseline test.

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I did a TTE-esque FTP test today so there’s a bit of a revision:

February: 305 – SSBHV2 TSS 665/wk av ( +/-0% ; 4.57 w/kg)

Even though my FTP didn’t change, I think 3 other important metrics did:
i) muscular endurance – the test set new PRs for 12-33min power;
ii) w/kg – increased almost 5%; up almost 30% since starting TR 6 months ago;
iii) fractional utilization of VO2max – 3% increase from 83% to 86% (total guesstimate!).

:beer:

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I might use your TTE-esque FTP test! What made you think to do 104% then start to ramp versus a slow ramp after holding threshold?

This is all I do anymore.

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This article explains the TTE testing: The Physiology of FTP and New FTP Test Protocols

Yes, but he created a slightly different version. That’s why I was asking what made him choose the percentage he did.

It’s the same protocol as the baseline, just using his old FTP as the test target

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Oh, at 100% of target FTP, I see! So if he chose 104%, it is anticipated that that would be his new FTP, correct?

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Correct

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Yeah I don’t think there’s a way to alter FTP in the Workout Creator so you have to mess around with the percentages of.

I chose 310w as my target & came in at 305w. As the author of the protocol states, it’s important not to over estimate the target and a 3-8w increase over previous FTP is a good place to start. That said, don’t feel bound by that target; if you can really smash it out during the last 10-15min ramp then go for it.

Some advice please! I’m think my new FTP figure might be unrealistically high…

I just tested at 300w on the ramp test after SSBILV (I’m 73kg for reference). I also ride 10 miles commute most days.

I was training at 265w (from December 2018 ramp test). The December test was following 3 months completely off the bike due to a broken collar bone.

My highest previous FTP was 275w back in February 2018 (8 min test). Between February/Mach and September I only trained outside, riding and racing at my local velodrome. I was fairly competitive for my category, and came 2nd overall in the local league (I was in the equivalent of UK Cat3/4 - so the lowest). I didn’t do an FTP test at all during this time, but my fitness definitely improved over the season and I was the fastest I’ve ever been in September.

Is it possible that I was hitting over 300w in September, and I’ve just bounced back following the 3 months of detraining?

The other possibility is my trainer. It’s an Elite Muin Turbo II which is known for losing accuracy at higher watts. I have tried to calibrated it based on the torque setting of the belt but never compared to another PM. I don’t really have access to a PM to do this.

Should I try my next workout at this new FTP or set to (what I think) is a more realistic of 280ish

@JamesFarndon I think you should try the new FTP and see how it goes . Sometimes it is better to do a few workouts and if you can’t finish any of them without altering the intensity i would lower your FTP .

And if your trainer measure the power a little bit of, he will do that in every case you will hit this big numbers. So maybe, but I think not, your FTP is measured to high compared to an accurate power meter, but that doesn’t matter because when you hit this power again in an interval, your trainer will give you every time the same number.

A few years a go I had a cheap trainer with a power meter built in. When I bought then a pedal base power meter, I realised that my trainer 5% off. But this doesn’t matter because it was on every training ride the same amount off and don’t had an impact on my training.