Just wanted to see what’s the consensus on here about my issue. Did my AI FTP detection this morning fully expecting a decent bump (been stagnating all off season so far). Last detection was 290 (from 288) and I rejected it since it was too close and I was coming off a tough few weeks of sickness.
Last 3 week block was significantly more difficult and I made PRs in PLs and 1 hour power each week. Threshold is 7.0, SS 6.9, VO2 Max 6.3.
None of the workouts were all outs, some felt moderate and mostly just felt hard but nothing crazy.
FTP that was left at 288 went down to 284 so really a 6 point drop since the rejected 290. Kind of disheartening tbh. Anyone experience this recently?
And please don’t tell me to do an FTP test. One of the main reasons I joined TR is to not have to do those and it defeats the feature of the platform.
We all have to get over this idea of our FTP going up all the time regardless of flying through a hard training blocks and AI is the answer to our wildest dreams of being pro-cycles. Its not realistic. It can be disheartening for sure and has happened to everyone who trains. The one metric that is knows as FTP ebbs and flows. FTP is one metric in many important one that measure your fitness. Your PR’s that you had in the last training block proves that you are getting stronger. It could be even though you made it through your workouts and set Pr’s and felt great that another metric that AI incorporates into its formula is showing that you are overreaching slightly and is compensating for that by keeping your FTP where its at.
Appriciate the reply. I am totally with you on the fact that FTP is not the only metric or most important metric. However, this entire platform is based on improving your W/kg.
I am definitely number drive and if you’re on TR, you likely are as well. The platform perscribes workouts that get progressively harder. I complete said workouts. Thus, the FTP should improve, correct? If not improve, at the very least it should not decrease. Maybe I am oversimplifying it or the AI has gotten smarter. But to go through a training block and have your FTP drop goes agaisnt what Trainer Road says it will help you accomplish.
If, like you say, there is another metric it is monitoring and it is making it think I am overreaching than, fine, but tell me what it is. Otherwise, the platform does not work (at least for me).
Or perhaps the zwift integration messed up the metrics AI uses to detect progression.
You say “this entire platform is based on improving your W/kg” and it doesn’t seem to be working for you because your FTP seems to have dropped. A metric that ebs & flows naturally. Also in your first post you mentioned you trained hard and hit some PR’s . Good for you BTW. A PR represents an improvement in power over a given time period. That in itself is telling me that you are in fact raising your sustained W/kg for given periods of time. It just so happens that is not in the 1hr time period that FTP is suppose to reflect. I get the whole marketing things but, its just that “marketing”. Maybe my impression i got from reading your post is wrong and you have noticed improvements in other areas but your FTP is just not improving and you are asking why. I have been using TR for almost 10 year now and lurk in the forums since their launch. Your question is nothing new and we have all been there asking the same question after what we perceive as a great training block only to have the FTP number not reflect our perception. With a FTP as high as yours i also realize gains can be small and hard to come by and we would not be here if we didn’t want to improve it. I just wanted to point out that because one metric isn’t changing it doesn’t mean other less mentioned ones are not either and the training platform isn’t working as intended. AI is good but it is not prefect. I have no idea the metrics it uses. I was only throwing out my thought as to why it may have lowered your FTP. Also remember that the training we do doesn’t make us stronger. it actually tears us down. How we recover from said training is what makes the difference. You can train all you want but if you don’t recover just as hard you can dig yourself into a whole you will never get out of and this forum is littered with stories of that nature. I hope you get the answers you are looking for. Train hard ride fast.
Well, no one can say you arent consistent with your training. Killing it there.
My only thoughts are maybe that sickness set you back further than you realized. Also, all the SS and TH work maybe was just helping with TTE and durability not necessarily to raise your FTP. I think your PRs are a good sign that you’re getting fitter.
Its hard to tell where youre at because i think the order of the pics might be jumbled, but moving into a vo2 block (build block) might help send the FTP higher.
I would be frustrated too. Hopefully TR can provide more insight. Ive been in a pattern of coming into training (after brief break in early winter) with my FTP at 250 and then peaking at 280 for a couple years. About to start a big vo2 block to see if I can break throught this plateau.
Thanks! Yea maybe the sickness did set me back a bit more but I am not sure how the software would have seen that. My HR was relatively normal oddly enough.
Anyway, we’ll see what they say. Thanks and enjoy your weekend.
I think that, despite the competition of workout, AI is looking also at recovery HR during the rest intervals, I would not worry too much for such low decrese and keep the consistency
Thanks Luca, that might be the first explanation that makes sense. If thats the case, I could see it since I was battling a slight cold for a bit. Wasn’t sure that the AI looks like at HR or HRV data.
Hey Luca, just for the purpose of discussion and sharing info, I did some research and my findings confirmed what I thought. If you have a powermeter, the TR AI does not use HR data or HRV. At least not yet.
Looking at your screenshots I wonder from what you’d expect to gain FTP? For what I see you have zero progressive overload, maybe even the opposite.
Your fitness will not increase from doing what you are already adapted to.
