Increasing FTP

[GWPOS]

I have read a lot about increasing FTP lately and was wandering what or if there is a preferred way or one that is better than others.

Most of the workouts are based on some kind of 2x20's. One of the ways is by doing efforts at around 85-91% of FTP and then another says to do them at around 91-104%. Any others out there??

[Morocco Mole]

There is no hard and fast rule, but really what we are talking about is specificity, eg if you want to increase your FTP then you need to train at or slightly above your FTP. Very few cyclists will do maximal one hour efforts due to the physical and mental intensity required and increased recovery time, which is why your 2 x 20's are popular. Do some research on SST or Sweet spot training. Essentially, this is the power zone just below FTP that will elicit the greatest training response with the least Physiological strain, typically this is around 85% - 92% of FTP. The other comment I would make is mix things up, your body will get used to doing the same thing over and over so create some variety in your training.

Below is the often reproduced Diagram from Dr Andy Coggan, note the Sweet Spot that extends from upper L2 to lower L4. Build your intervals around this area and you will see improvements.

sst.JPG (41.48 KiB) Viewed 11555 times

[GWPOS]

Yup, thats the same graph I have seen before. I have read so much on training with power that I think I have gotten myself either confused or overwhelmed.lol
Not really but sometimes I wonder. I have decided to spend 2 days a week doing FTP work and then 2 days doing longer slower zone 2 rides during the off season, which for me is the next 6-8 weeks. Then I will go back to the start and do my base work on up using HUnter Allens "Training and Racing with a Power Meter".
I just know that right now I need to work on my FTP which is 3.92/kg. Thanks once again for your input.


CLint

[Morocco Mole]

Yup, thats the same graph I have seen before. I have read so much on training with power that I think I have gotten myself either confused or overwhelmed.lol
Not really but sometimes I wonder. I have decided to spend 2 days a week doing FTP work and then 2 days doing longer slower zone 2 rides during the off season, which for me is the next 6-8 weeks. Then I will go back to the start and do my base work on up using HUnter Allens "Training and Racing with a Power Meter".
I just know that right now I need to work on my FTP which is 3.92/kg. Thanks once again for your input.


CLint

I know what you mean, also remember that zones are just that. There is no real start and stop point and each person responds differently. For me, the best things about training with power is that I have become so much more familiar with the way my body responds, I don't get sick as often, my training is more focused, I do less junk rides, and improvements are measurable and therefore highly motivational. Even the most basic iSport will give you the majority of these benefits, yet it's funny how much difficulty I have convincing my peers because it's not a "powertap" or "SRM" The first power test I ever did approx 18 months ago yielded me an FTP of 245, 4 weeks ago I was sitting at 335, this stuff works!!

[GWPOS]

Wow thats a great increase. My first one I did when I was just getting my unit calibrated was 275 for 20 min so I guess it was my FTP was 268. I did my last one on Saturday (without having even been training with the power meter because it was the end of my racing season so I did not want to change things the last 3 weeks) and since I had an idea already of what I could do I was able to really go hard and at the same time pace myself with a real hard push the last 1 min and I did 292 for 20 min/277FTP.
Like you said, I to am looking forward to smarter training and less useless miles. This will equal more time at home with the wife. Riding/training 6 days a week is one thing, but doing it for 2-3 hours is to much. Now I can cut down on the total hours of my weekday workouts with more focused power intervals and then do my longer workouts on the weekends.

Right now I am not doing any real structured training like I said for the next 2 weeks and then I want to spend some time working on my FTP for the upcoming training year. Hope my results can be similar to yours.

[rruff]

IMO it isn't all that complicated. When you are training you need to go hard... whether it's a 5hr ride or 1min intervals. Other than that you have to make sure you get enough rest and recovery time... and good nutrition and hydration. My FTP went up ~70% in the first 4-5 months and then I guess I hit a genetic wall because it has increased <5% since then.

The most time efficient way to improve FTP is to do 2x20min intervals... which is something you can do pretty easily on the trainer in winter. Try to pace them both evenly and beat your previous best average power.

[lorduintah]

Did you ever participate in any high school and or college sport? Swimming or track for example?

If you did, you might recall (assuming you had a decent coach) - some days would be endurance, others would be for speed, then strength and then some days would be a combination. Intervals with some kind of recovery - a gut buster then not necessarily a lengthy recovery - and then another gut buster, etc. Do that over the course of a few hours 5-6 days a week in combinations of the other mentioned formats and your body does respond. Yes, nutrition and rest are key, also. But doing a couple of gut busters only all the time - short or long intervals - does not properly prepare the body for any sport nor get you past that plateau once you "are in shape."

My experience and opinion.

Tom

[GWPOS]

Like I mentioned earlier it is sort of the off season for a few weeks even though I have 3 races that I will do for fun. So right now I am taking some time off of the bike by only riding 3-4 times a week instead of 6-7 days. I train using Training Peaks, but now I am training with power so I am changing a few things around. I just wanted to work on a little FTP and endurance while taking some time off of serious training.

In 3-4 weeks I will start on my training program from the beginning using Hunter/Allens "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" which definitely mixes it up a lot and in my opinion is much more intense than Training Peaks. So for a few weeks I just want to work on my FTP. Thanks for all of the suggestions and input, will just stick to doing 2x20's for a little while.

Clint

[rruff]

But doing a couple of gut busters only all the time - short or long intervals - does not properly prepare the body for any sport nor get you past that plateau once you "are in shape.

What does?

[MdC]

The Hour of Power is a pretty good session for FTP improvement (I think it is in the book you mentioned).
Over the hour you repeat sets of 3 mins at around 85-90% FTP then a 15-20 seconds surge over 120%.
What I like is it simulates the frequent accelerations you get in races.
It's pretty hard for the first half hour then seems to gets easier.
It can be hard to find a place to do it however. I have used an outdoor velodrome in the past but too many people thought it was a good idea to come in and let their dogs run off the leash while I'm wizzing around at 40-odd km/h.
A trainer /rollers might be a better bet for this if you have them. I also use an old polar HRM for the timing (it has 2 timers and beeps) as I get a bit silly after a while and lose track of where I am in the set.

[GWPOS]

I hear you about the getting silly part after your body has been ran into the ground. I use my Garmin 305 to set up intervals on along side of my IBike because it beeps when an interval is starting or ending. The tricky part is pushing the start buttons at the same time so that it and the IBike are in sinc with each other.