How often FTP training?
- Thread starter hdk
- Start date
It depends on your training goals, events, ability to recover and motivation.
There's nothing wrong with 2x20s on alternate days if you recover quickly and have the motivation to stay on a plan like that for long enough. But it may or may not be the best possible plan depending on what sort of cycling you do and whether things like building CTL or top end speed is important to you. You might also find it tough mentally to always get on the bike targeting 2x20s which are typically quite uncomfortable efforts.
FWIW, during winter months when I'm indoors on the trainer I typically do 2 classic 2x20 sessions at 90-95% of FTP per week and use the other days to do longer efforts in the 45 minute to hour plus range at Tempo or SST. I find I can't make myself do pure L4 efforts every time I get on the trainer and CTL building is pretty important during my winter builds so I don't take alternate days off. I prefer to work in three to four day blocks starting each block with my hardest workout and extending duration but dropping intensity each day of the block to end with a longer Tempo ride before taking a rest or recovery day and starting another block.
What ever plan you adopt, make sure it's something you can sustain for months on end and hopefully build duration, intensity or both over time. The perfect plan won't work if you don't stick with it long enough to see results and some good but not maximal work for the duration is generally a better bet if you can sustain it for the longhaul.
Good luck,
-Dave
There's nothing wrong with 2x20s on alternate days if you recover quickly and have the motivation to stay on a plan like that for long enough. But it may or may not be the best possible plan depending on what sort of cycling you do and whether things like building CTL or top end speed is important to you. You might also find it tough mentally to always get on the bike targeting 2x20s which are typically quite uncomfortable efforts.
FWIW, during winter months when I'm indoors on the trainer I typically do 2 classic 2x20 sessions at 90-95% of FTP per week and use the other days to do longer efforts in the 45 minute to hour plus range at Tempo or SST. I find I can't make myself do pure L4 efforts every time I get on the trainer and CTL building is pretty important during my winter builds so I don't take alternate days off. I prefer to work in three to four day blocks starting each block with my hardest workout and extending duration but dropping intensity each day of the block to end with a longer Tempo ride before taking a rest or recovery day and starting another block.
What ever plan you adopt, make sure it's something you can sustain for months on end and hopefully build duration, intensity or both over time. The perfect plan won't work if you don't stick with it long enough to see results and some good but not maximal work for the duration is generally a better bet if you can sustain it for the longhaul.
Good luck,
-Dave
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of doing 3 sessions of FTP a week, with a hard group ride in the middle, for about 3 weeks. No racing, just trying to get better for the group rides. I am lagging on the hills and have been working on hill repeats, but I thought that the FTP training would also have some benefit on the longer less steep hills. I may be overly optimistic about my recovery abilities. On the trainer, I would rather do 2x20 than 1.5 hrs at a slower pace.
I should probably face the fact that I have only been riding for 7 months and I am 47 years old. It may take me a while to get where I want to be.
BTW, I have always found your posts helpful, thank you for taking the time to respond.
HDK
I should probably face the fact that I have only been riding for 7 months and I am 47 years old. It may take me a while to get where I want to be.
BTW, I have always found your posts helpful, thank you for taking the time to respond.
HDK
One of the hardest things to learn with training is patience. 7 months is not long at all and from everything that I have read and been told, you will improve no matter what you do in the first couple of years.
Start with less and see how it feels - maybe once a week. You do not want to get that feeling of not wanting to get on your bike
Start with less and see how it feels - maybe once a week. You do not want to get that feeling of not wanting to get on your bike
hdk said:I stopped doing the FTP training 2 months ago and started to ride in the group ride, and taking some longer rides on the weekends. I was concerned that while I now climb better, with out focusing on the FTP I may have lost some of my already meager FTP.
HDK
I can't say this is true for everyone and every group that is out there riding, but I have just learned a big lesson in group rides. I put out an email to my group at the beginning of this week based on what you are saying. I have been going backwards and I know now the reality of going backwards is how I am participating in my group in these sprint and coast efforts. I told them in the email that I would continue to put rides together and get the emails out, but from now on I am using the power meter to dictate a consistent pace with a certain IF goal.
There have been people that have given me insight to this, but I was so caught up in having fun riding with my group that I was having a lot of difficulty "cutting the chord" and doing what is right for my personal goals and again I was going backwards instead of progressing.
My group is mostly people who are above my level and do not train with any appreciation of training in zones or anything else. The typical group ride is like a sprint and coast effort. It depends on what cyclists is up in front of the group and how much testosterone is flowing that day. You could be sprinting to keep up with the lead rider who all of the sudden for no reason takes off or you could be constantly riding your brakes in the paceline. The effort is often unpredictable depending who showed up for the group ride. As our group became more popular, more advanced cyclists were showing up and I was often going too hard trying to keep up. I could not train for several days following due to over reaching in the ride.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to drop off the group and ride with two guys who rarely ride with us and have been training with power meters for a number of years. One of them is a cycling coach and both of them very good cyclists. They seemed to care less of the group antics because they had set an IF goal before the ride and their pace was the smoothest and most consistent that I had experienced ever. It turned out to be a very enjoyable ride and though I felt like I had a good training ride, I did not feel trashed.
Amazingly I received replys to that email that I mentioned earlier from a few saying that they were tired of "racing" on the group rides and that they may consider dropping off the group to ride with me with the goal of a more consistent pace. My goal is to do my long Saturday rides with a certain IF that will leave me in a condition to do a 2 hour tempo on Sunday and higher IF 40 minute interval efforts Monday through Thursday.
I believe I am now back on the right path to progression.
Due to weather, I rode on the trainer last night instead of the group ride. I have improved my FTP over my last trainer session 2 months ago. I may have progressed more if i focused more on the trainer and less on the group ride. My current thinking is to enjoy the group ride while the weather is good, and in the winter, I will have plenty of time to ride the trainer.
HDK
HDK
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