I had high hopes to see an increase in FTP today after my ramp test. I came in rested, fueled, and ready to “bleed through the eyes”. I had hoped to see an increase of up to 5%. That’s 13.5 points, and I would have been pumped to see a 10 point jump. That’s on .1 increase in w/kg.
This ramp test is after 8 weeks of SSBMV…
Am I too ambitious? I feel like I know some of the answers, but I’d love to hear from the forum. I really expected better results…
That is a good point…I haven’t thoroughly looked at the data, yet. I would like to believe that even if my FTP hasn’t really increased, I should be able to sustain threshold efforts longer, and potentially for longer durations at each interval. Time will tell… Thanks
I’ve gone through similar with every test. I almost never see an increase and yet my endurance and repeatability has gone up over the years. I routinely test around 220 ish and yet all summer completed outdoor workouts with an ftp set at 240.
My most recent test during ssbmv1 had me at 216 and I adjusted it to 240 without an issue in any workouts. Started ssbmv2 with a test of 216 and adjusted it to 250 and up until I got sick a couple of days ago had no trouble competing my workouts.
There are a lot of factors ranging from the ramp test and where you are in training and how you handle V02, knowing where your balance of cadence to muscle strain/hr balance is, cooling, mental tougness, indoor vs outdoor ftp and many more. Try adjusting it if you feel it is too easy after a workout or two.
@QuittingBikes That’s a good point…I came into this SSB plan with good miles and pretty good fitness. I had over 7,000 outdoor miles when I started. Not a lot of junk in those miles, either. Not structured like TR miles, but mostly focused. That makes sense…
Echoing what others have said, my FTP hasn’t risen dramatically, buy I’ve found that my tempo and sweetspot levels are so much easier to hold, I can just keep going at higher levels.
I did a proper outside ride yesterday in a place I’ve not been to since before SSB1, and I’m knocking minutes off of my previous Strava times without destroying myself.
How challenging was the workouts and workload for you?
How did you determine your FTP prior to this test? Because if it was a 20’ test and this was your first ramp test, this could actually be an improvement
Many times if you dont see improvements its just feedback that the workload wasnt a sufficient stimulus to promote growth. Its not bad or good, its just feedback for you to see how much work you need.
I already had a decent FTP as a noob to structure, and I was a little disappointed not to get a bigger jump than 8w out of SSBMV1. But…
I definitely feel stronger than +8w - I feel like I already have better muscular and mental endurance, and technique. These things don’t show up as a metric (esp if you don’t nail a Ramp Test, which is a skill on its own) - but I can guarantee I’ll feel like a much better rider out on the road.
Well those are some good questions. I had a lot more hours and TSS before starting SSB. I felt the workouts were minimally challenging, but I “felt them in my legs”, I just was never crushed like much of my outside training made me feel. I am just staying consistent with the program.
I think I will have a better idea of things in the coming weeks as I have a large mix of outside training and indoor TR sessions coming for January. I will be doing a bit more VO2 intervals and a lot of long, hard, (6+ hour) threshold and above riding. Cheers
