I’m a 57 year old male. This time last year I was doing high volume polarised and may have been a trigger for a seven week lay off due a bad cold so I opted for masters medium volume.
So my FTP has been static since I started my winter training and I’ve solely focused on base.
I can’t manage more than two hard rides per week and I’ve had trouble successfully completing threshold sessions.
You are 10W higher than you were this time last year. That’s a win, well done.
By going for a reduced volume plan compared to last year, the lost volume has to be made up with more intensity in order to deliver results. In a plan with two hard workouts per week, completing those two workouts well is critical to the outcome of the plan.
Don’t be afraid to switch out a high intensity workout for one that is slightly lower intensity, but completing two workouts per week that you rate as very hard is the goal of the plan.
I totally relate to the frustration of putting the work in but not seeing the needle move as much as you’d hoped . As you were describing your current approach, a few things came to mind.
Some Observations:
Looking at your calendar, it seems that consistency has been an issue. I can see that you’ve been doing a lot of unstructured riding which might be impacting your ability to stay consistent with structured workouts. It looks like you might be struggling to find the right balance between intensity, volume and recovery.
That could help explain why your FTP hasn’t moved as much as you’d hoped—consistency with structured workouts is key to driving progress.
My suggestion:
Have you considered using Plan Builder? The newest version of Plan Builder uses AI to analyze your training history and create a plan based on those insights. It will tell you the exact volume and intensity distriubution that will work for you, based on the information it learns from your training history.
If raising your FTP is your goal, you can specify that when going through Plan Builder and TrainerRoad will create your training plan with this goal in mind.
By aligning your training more closely with your recovery needs and performance trends, Plan Builder will help you make consistent, measurable progress.
Other Factors to Consider:
Beyond the plan itself, how’s your sleep, nutrition, and overall recovery? As you know, quality sleep and fueling can make a significant difference, especially when you’re handling higher volumes or more intense work.
I would start by not relying on AI to guess your FTP. Do an actual test at regular intervals and then you’ll know with more confidence whether your FTP is truly changing.
Secondly, it’s important to remember that a TR plan is built around the Progression Levels, so you may see your FTP rise (based on the AI guess) but your PL lower. In that case, did your FTP really rise? Or the opposite may be true…your AI FTP may drop, but you may be doing harder PL workouts. In that case, did your FTP really drop? If you’re able to do progressively longer time in zone, your plan may actually have you getting stronger (and faster!) even though the FTP number is stagnant or dropping.
Thank you all. A reset is required and I wanted to listen to other forum members view to help formulate a way forward.
For the avoidance of doubt a ramp test is needed as I currently suspect my ftp is too high.
In hindsight I have scaled back my saddle time as I put my training back by 7 weeks due to illness a the start of the year. One of my over arching goals this winter was to try and avoid overtraining or a prolonged illness this winter. While I don’t feel anywhere as fatigued as this time last year this has come at the expense of progression but the majority of work this winter has focused on my base.
Peak trade at work will finish in a couple of weeks when I can ramp up the training hours. I’m thinking of reverting back to polarised training with one V02 and one threshold interval per week supplemented with low end z2 with two rest days but I’ll limit this to a three month block with a focus on any triggers of over training after month two.
Diet is nailed but sleep can and will be improved.
The baseline here is to keep and nurture my ability to train and if I can succeed with this aspect I’ll avoid the regression in my fitness from the inability to train earlier this year.
Add 1 hour of sleep per night, even if it comes at the expense of training time. With only two intense workouts per week, it is essential to nail them and to stay consistent. Being sick for almost two months sounds like you have been training too much.
I do understand the point you’re making, and yes, all tests have pros and cons, but thinking an algorithm knows your capability better than your actual performance does is like thinking your watch knows better than you do if you’re feeling good before a ride.
I don’t think this is correct in either direction. AI FTP is not subjective at all, it is an algorithm that computes the output from the input. Whether AI FTP gives you the correct number is another matter, but it is not subjective.
With FTP tests there is the matter whether the test is valid, and while you do have some leeway to judge whether or not it was a valid attempt, if you have a valid run, then your FTP is computed from your numbers (e. g. 75 % of the average power during the last minute of a ramp test). If you are in the habit of validating results of FTP tests (as you should be IMHO) and find out that in your case, your FTP has consistently been 72 % of MAP as opposed to 75 %, then I wouldn’t call applying this correction “subjective” either.
For me the only difference between an FTP test and AI FTP is that I have more experience working with results from ramp tests than AI FTP. AI FTP has sometimes been totally off and other times spot-on. With valid ramp tests, I have never had such a problem, at best, I had to nudge my FTP by a few watts in either direction.
I was with you right up until you said Ramp Test. I consistently over performed on ramp tests and ended up burying myself in the subsequent training. (Admittedly based on the very small number of people I’ve compared with) I suspect bigger people tend to smash on ramp tests but then die on longer interval TTE.
Did you also continue reading where I wrote “If you are in the habit of validating results of FTP tests (as you should be IMHO) …”?
Any way to test/measure/estimate your FTP should be validated and if the validated FTP is consistently lower, then you should simply consistently apply this correction factor. It is not hard, but many people have egos that seem to prevent them from adjusting an FTP down
TTE and FTP are two different things. When I do a polarized block, my TTE increases, but my FTP usually does not change much. Sweet spot tends to do the opposite. IMHO they are simply two different dimension in the big “expressing your fitness” space.
I was training for a long sportive with lots of elevation, so applied a polarised approach. My FTP stayed (relatively) static but my TTE went up significantly.
Yes, and this is why I like to start my training with a polarized block and then switch to sweet spot — or vice versa, depending on my goals for that year. I’m always flummoxed by the either—or debates on that topic when the obvious answer is and!
I don’t understand. In my experience, my relationship between the FTP-from-the-ramp-test and the validated FTP has been almost constant. Only in one season where I specifically focussed on short-term power did I notice a drift by 1 percentage point.
So no matter the block, I know the relation between FTP-as-tested and the correct FTP setting. Since sweet spot blocks include e. g. over-unders, you do have the opportunity to validate the results easily. And during sweet spot workouts, you can compensate a lot more easily if the ramp test has overestimated your FTP.
Your sweet spot power goes up in absolute value, but stays constant relative to your new FTP. So it is not harder, because you got fitter (as reflected by your higher FTP).
As I get fitter across a training season, my “new” sweet spot power is higher than my threshold power at the beginning of the season, for example. It is really easier to hold, say, 95 % of 340 W (FTP) = 323 W than when my FTP was 320 W in the beginning of the season.
Yes, but as I said, the ramp test overstates my ftp, so my ftp didn’t really go up, but my zones did. I’m glad the ramp test works for you. I simply explained that it doesn’t work for me.
. As you were describing your current approach, a few things came to mind.
