KI think the best podcast to listen to would be this one:
But, pulling out some details from your situation:
No A event you’re preparing for (at least not one stated)
Key training is for group rides
Limiter is sustained climb of 7 miles at 6%
Limited time to train
So, based on this information, a reasonable training plan might look like:
Sweet Spot Base I - Low Volume
Sweet Spot Base II - Low Volume
Sustained Power Build - Low Volume
Skip Speciality and go back to 1.
What will make the biggest difference to your gains will be moving from a Low to a Mid Volume training plan. When you stop getting dropped on the climbs then you might look at a different Build plan, perhaps General Build to develop your top end a bit more.
Sometimes it’s hard to quantify what’s going on at different points on the “actual” power curve. It’s one thing to say you have an FTP of X, but it’s an entirely different thing to be able to ride at that number during a race. I remember during my first year of TR that I gained maybe 40 watts in FTP, but I gained damn near 80 watts on my five minute power.
For me, I made a huge step from 2017 to 2018, but so far from 2018 to 2019 I’ve yet to really make any break through gains.
However, when I click the seasonmatch button. I am still slightly ahead of where I was at in 2018 this time of year. So there’s hope that I’ll hit some PR numbers this year.
Interestingly, from 2017 - 2018 I was doing low volume. I switched to mid volume for the 2018/19 winter and made no progress. Recently I switched back to low volume and feel like I’m on the verge of hitting some gains again.
Definitely! I think with the mid-volume plan I was doing too much high intensity and my body didn’t recover enough for the next workout. I’m still riding about 8 hours per week, but I’m only doing 3.5 hours of high intensity work. That’s similar to how I had done it in 2018. I like to just do Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday hard. Then on Wednesday and Sundays I like to do chill mountain bike rides.
I think I also spoke a little too soon on no 2019 progress, I managed to hit some PRs in the 30 - 60 minute range on my training ride tonight!
A rider’s FTP may not dramatically increase, or may in fact decrease, but if the rider has shifted his metabolism from carb burning to fat burning, then the rider will be able to hold a higher percentage of their FTP power over long durations at a lower heartrate than was previously achievable. This would be a boon for long distance road racers and triathletes.
On the flats absolute power matters while on climbs power-to-weight becomes more and more important the steeper the gradient is. At 100 kg you are weighing much more than the other riders, so instead of solely focussing on your FTP, I’d also get that body weight down. I went from 86 kg to 72.5–73.5 kg within 1 to 1.5 years without sacrificing much. I could have lost weight more quickly, but instead of adopting a weight loss diet, I wanted to eat more healthily and consciously.
So if you keep your power the same and just get down to, say, 85 kg, you’d have a much higher power-to-weight ratio and be able to hang with your riding buddies more easily.
Also, you should keep in mind that not everyone can reach 350 W, so if you single-mindedly focus on your FTP, you may set yourself up for failure.
If I were you, I’d go a different route: it seems to me that you want to train to be able to ride with your riding buddies and not constantly having to catch up with them, especially on the climbs. So if that is your goal, I’d try to reduce your weight slowly. Aim for about 1 kg per month or so, nothing extreme. Weigh yourself every morning after you have peed and log that number (I use Apple Health). Your weight may fluctuate a lot, depending on what and when you have eaten, and whether you have had a bowel movement. Only look at weekly, or better, monthly averages. And lastly, stick to a training plan. Sticking to a lower-volume plan religiously is better than a not sticking to a higher-volume plan, even if you do more training with the latter.
Oh, and in the meantime, you can do something about that gearing. Grinding is not just bad for morale, but also bad for your knees. You could get gearing for an “adventure crankset” (46/30) and perhaps replace your rear cassette with an 11-36 SRAM or 11-40 Shimano cassette (although you will need an extender for the rear derailleur). If you only have money to do one, I’d say try a 11-36 SRAM cassette, you might be able to fit it even without a rear derailleur extender.
As a lot of research and some personal experience shows you can loose some endurance capacity and rebuild it very fast. It’s a different story with strength. You don’t loose it too fast but gains take years to show as you know with your background in powerlifting.
People tend to gain fast when they start training but the rate slows down after 6-12 months.
Experienced cyclist would be happy with a 1% improvement. You may see a 5% or even 10% in some cases but not for long.
FTP is one thing and 5-10 minutes max power on the bike is another. The second one used when climbing at max effort. With a body weight of 100kg you will always be at big disadvantage compared to a 70kg rider.
If you loose muscle mass you will also loose some strength. Something you probably don’t want to happen.
Tactical cycling may be a good idea. Race to the front of the pack and gain 50-100m on the rest and let them come past you on the climb. You’ll still be last but not as far back
Then sit back in the draft and recover.
I did first FTP test after a break in season 2018.
After this, I have done SSLV 1&2 Sustained Power Build and half of the Century Plan.
Now it feels like that the FTP gains have stopped. I have even gained 2kg in the progress so w/kg has gone down few decimals.
I have done all the exercises indoor until half way to Sustained Power and after that some indoors some with the new edge workout mode from TR.
Is there something I should do differently or should I be happy with the few watts increase between the tests?
Gained watts seem pretty good but I’m still under 3w/kg with weight around 82-84kg
The Specialty phase is not building FTP, it is sharping your top 5% and then tapering you towards your A event. So coming out of Specialty you can expect your FTP to be about the same. Also, FTP is only one basic metric/marker of fitness and you’ve likely additionally increased your ability to hold percentages of your FTP for a longer duration and increased your ability to repeat efforts.
If you’re looking to continue building your FTP then I’d consider dropping back to Base then Build, depending on what your season and goals are. Lastly, if low volume is not enough TSS for you to continue adaptation, you may have to consider adding additionally rides and/or moving to mid volume plans.
I have no competition or real races coming this year. I’m just training to get faster and fitter.
I’m planning on doing few 100km-300km rides later this year so that is the reason for Sustained power and century. Hoping to do a 200km non-stop ride in roughly 7h-7h30min.
But these are just something I do with few friends.
I have also noticed that probably the rolling road race or something like that would have suited me better for normal club rides. The terrain seems to be going up and down with small hills all the time.
In southern Finland there is no real mountains but the terrain in newer flat.
Your A event doesn’t have to be a race or something “organized”. It’s just a time of the year you want to be in peak performance. This could be for anything you chose, biking vacation, annual big group ride or simply peak riding season. You can hold on to peak for a few weeks, so if you chose to go through the Base-Build-Specialty progression, simply schedule your season accordingly.
You can’t build fitness constantly and year round. Periodization allows you to build fitness, peak, then recover (generally). Then as you start your next base and build the goal is to start from a higher point then the previous period, thus stair stepping your fitness year over year (2 steps forward, 1 step back).
i agree 100%…just pick a day and go after a strava PR or KOM or go after a few…i always take the day after a ramp test and try and PR all my local segments. Its great to see real world improvement to go with a new FTP and watts per kg
What’s your training history, T man? Insane gains for 7 months training, I’ve only managed 10-20 W and no weight loss (currently 244 W* at 90 kg) since January. Short power and anaerobic recovery is a different story though - I think a higher FTP will help me recover even faster though!
*244 W on ramp test with Tacx Neo (accurate power readings)
*255 W on 20 minute test using left sided crank meter (probably accurate enough, could just be drive train losses)
I’m 34, and have but been hitting the gym since I was 17 almost continuously lifting weights. Max weight was 102kg, but chubby but still strong.
Now I’m leaner than I’ve been since I was at school.
Most of the weight came off during SSBMV1, I’m kinda stuck at 89/90kg now. Would like to get down a few more, but I can’t bring myself to giving up lifting entirely! I just want a big torso, but also be a monster on the bike…
I feel you! I’ve had a few months without lifting and my arms are noticeably smaller. Which plan did you see the highest FTP gains on?
I’ve stopped worrying about W/kg and am just going for absolute power at the moment. I’m going to start hitting the weights again soon as I think my sprint is suffering (30 sec - 1 min power is way up, though)
Stopped worrying about my weight but will still watch my w/kg…after that 4w/kg Last weeks FTP test, I find because you always have a taper week, I put weight on… went up to 94.5 kg… Now I’m week 2 into this plan, I’m now at 92.8kg… float between 92.5kg and 93.5kg normally.
Do seem to have plateau’d on weight decrease, down from 110kgs some 18 months ago. No diet, just good regular bike workouts. Know if I watched my nutrition I could decrease more but rather not, no A races etc, I’d rather step on scales, step off and be done with weight side. Tracking everything I eat is not for me, eat when I’m hungry keeps me happy.
So it looks like power hunting for me too, still making gains but have noticed legs feeling very tired everyday, even after rest days. Age catching up!! Also not nailing every workout as much as I’d like too. So after my Innsbruck holiday week off I’m going to move from medium volume plan to low volume plan. Zwift academy is starting too so that will add some extra TSS too that I’d find hard to fit into a medium plan and more importantly some variety and fun.
In a few months I’ll see if any progress is made and adjust as required.
Last weeks FTP test, I find because you always have a taper week, I put weight on… went up to 94.5 kg… Now I’m week 2 into this plan, I’m now at 92.8kg… float between 92.5kg and 93.5kg normally.