Will trainer road get me fit? Where to go from good start

[ellotheth]

@Sarah_Newton

now I’m a woman possessed

@Sarah_Newton

I will qualify this by saying I’m a 40 year old mother but even that pre-cursor doesn’t justify the 122 ftp Result I got. I had no idea if that was good or bad

Psh, I was 35 when I went from couch to TR and my first FTP test result was 95. There are no absolute values of good or bad when it comes to your FTP and you have nothing to justify, then or now.

@Sarah_Newton

I know my ftp can only go so far as a woman (maybe 250?)

At your weight, 250 would be 3.4 watts/kg. I’d be flabbergasted if that’s your genetic ceiling! This the bell curve post @Johnnyvee mentioned:

The Bell curve of cylists - how fast are the average TR users?

Moar data!!! It seems like people want to see what’s “TR Average” and compare themselves to that. I’ve broken everything down a lot more. While I was doing this I wonder if we’re breaking new ground here…I don’t think anyone else has this much accurate data on riders. Insights: You get slower as you get older (duh). You can see that there’s a steep decline starting at 3.5-3.75 FTP/kg for men and women when you compare age in 10-year buckets. For both men and women, there’s a large drop off…

There are at least a couple women in their 30s and 40s on the platform up over 5 w/kg, which would be around 360 watts for you. There’s also a pretty fun power analysis of two big contenders from the World Championships last year at VeloNews.

@Sarah_Newton

I can’t see my ftp being the limiter now as much as my weight and fitness

You’ve gone from 1.6 w/kg to 2.8 in three months. You’re in the middle of your newbie-gains period, and everything is a limiter right now. Other people already suggested some plans to try, so I’ll just say this: Keep training, stay consistent, fuel the work (don’t diet on the bike), trust the process, and have fun!