Can I set up TR training for a specific FTP goal?

Training
1

Hello all, Ive listened to the pod cast for 2 years and now ready to sign up. Id like to train for a specific FTP - id love to do what ever it takes to get to 300w. Im currently 260 and Ive been 275, but as a triathlete - so also running and swimming. Over the winter (here in Australia) Id like to hit 300 and im happy to donate as much time to cycling as I need to get there.

Is there a way to do this? I do I just do something like rolling road race with an “event” in say November, and get as fast as I can with that?

Cheers

2

That’s the best plan, there’s only event goals built into plan builder.

Would be nice if you could have “fitness” goals such as improve endurance/FTP/sprint if you don’t have any specific event booked.

1 Like
3

There was a podcast not that long ago where Chad talked about the best plans for raising ftp and a couple were the century, 40 k TT and maybe Gramd Fondo FWIR. All of those build up your sustainable power output for longer durations. Good luck!

4 Likes
4

Short answer is No. no person / system / alien intelligence can come up with a plan to get you to a specific FTP goal. Part of that is genetics, and part of that is simple everyone is a N=1 case, so we don’t know the optimum training / amount of training/ order of training for you to hit your genetic potential

5

Thanks for the reply - I only half agree though! And it seems it maybe a flaw in the system! Its great that the planning has three levels of time commitment to start - but id like an ideal also. With a coach I could sit down and go through what I’ve done in the past, and what my goals are in the future and from there map out a plan, and decide if I’m happy with that amount of commitment needed to get there, or if I should re assess my goal. Id have thought if they can AI detect my FTP, the AI could probably detect my potential (and that would be cool!)

6

A while ago (a long while ago???) Nate on a podcast talked about a future version of AIFTP that would predict your FTP at the end of a training block, assuming you completed all of the workouts (and only those workouts). That would sort of get you to want you are after, but it would come with big caveats:

  • Only work with TR plans
  • Assumes you ONLY do the TR workouts
  • Assumes you complete all of the TR workouts exactly as prescribed
7

It’s actually a flaw in how you think about training, and the human body.

As a triathlete, your actual goal might be to be the best triathlete you can - not an arbitrary threshold wattage.

Nevertheless, all TR tri plans are ‘bike heavy’ so you will see gain on them, and if you want to do a specific bike block I’d encourage the Sweet Spot Base into Sustained Power Build.

Look at your last and your last best season, see what training you could handle. Look at the year ahead and honestly say whether you can fit in the same load this season, more or less.

2 Likes
8

You can add in race simulations as progress checks, preferably bricks as you aren’t simply biking, you need to check the impact on your run.

So say you’re looking at 70.3s, a 90km ride +10km run at endurance pace now say 160W, then at 180W in two months, and so on up to whatever your goal watts are (300 *0.85)