I’m having a very difficult time finishing my workouts and even when I do stop before the time is up I feel like blacking out. Are others experiencing this? Did my FTP calculate too high? Coming from lifting weights for 25 years, I understand the value in a good workout but my gosh are these difficult… ie Taylor, Ebbetts, bluebell, mills, etc…
I’m new to trainer road, I’m not new to smart trainers - I’ve done workouts on zwift for a couple years now.
TIA! (Thanks in advance)
I have failed some workouts, in TR, yes.
That said - if you’re following one of the preset plans and are failing workouts such as Taylor it is likely that your FTP is set too high. Those workouts, in the context of the training plan progressions, should be achievable under most circumstances
@Joshua_Gross if you consistently feel like you’re about to lose consciousness during workouts that’s a very atypical feeling! For sure you should probably consult a physician and get an exercise test.
But at the very least your FTP is overestimated. Taylor and Bluebell, in particular, are rides with very high compliance. You should be able to make it through those rides.
How did you determine the intensity (power) for your Zwift workouts compared to how you set your FTP for your TR sessions? Did you use the TR ramp test?
You’ll find lots of threads on the forum about different FTP protocols and the risks of having your FTP set too high. In essence - err on the low side if you’re in doubt.
You might want to check this thread:
I was failing 1/3 of the workouts on Zwift. The recovery intervals were too hard and short. I finish nearly all the TR workouts. For recovery sets, I do about 80 watts. Try going even easier on the rest intervals so you can nail the hard ones. Reduce ftp 2-5% at a time until you can finish them. None of them should completely destroy you or you won’t be able to train again properly the next day.
The only times I’ve ever felt like blacking out I was approaching or at my max HR. I agree with others, you might try dialing your FTP back a couple of %.
Hi there, perfectly normal to struggle starting TR.
What is this first plan youre on, what volume?
What other training do you do?
Whats your general health?
Hows your sleep?
How much more did you start eating since starting TR, and when do you eat?
I’ve never not finished work out but after an hour I’ve switched to ERG rather than falling into the spiral of death and sometimes finished the session below target. I think I’ve got to the bottom of why my ERG seemed so unstable though so hopefully on my next threshold (or above) session I’ll be able to do more on ERG.
Those workouts you mentioned are not very difficult. Your ftp is too high. If you’re new to this forget lowering ftp 2-4%. Here is what you do.
Lowering by 10% should be about 20-25W. It is a lot but it’s much better as a novice to be 10w too low than 5w too high. Once you have a few months under your belt, you’ll have a better idea of what to do