Realistic Goal Setting

[metgt4]

Hey All,

I'm new to training with power (or training with an actual plan to be honest!) and am working on setting some goals for this time next year. I'm just wondering if my goals are within reach or if I'm dreaming and should aim for something more attainable.

Goal:
Age: 21
Weight - 165 lbs
FTP - 300 W
Power/Weight - 4.01 W/Kg

Current:
Age: 20
Weight - 180 lbs
FTP - 253 W
Power/Weight - 3.06 W/Kg

So as far as power gains go, I would like to increase my power by 18.5% in 12 months, but with the weight loss, I would like to increase my power to weight ratio by almost 25%! Is this attainable in one year, or should I lower my power goal (I know I can lose the weight. I've got some to spare!)

Thanks!
Andrew

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Your goals seem reasonable if you've just begun structured training and haven't been riding steadily all that long. But FWIW I generally steer away from goals that are beyond my control. IOW, you may or may not take your FTP to 300 watts in a year and you might want to be careful about defining success or failure of your training plan based on a goal like that.

It sounds like your weight goal is reasonable if you're not already very lean and since you'll be well under the standard recommended 1 to 1.5 pounds per week weight loss limit you should be able to safely hit that goal while still training hard. So that goal seems attainable and well under your control even with some setbacks along the way.

Have you thought about setting weekly and monthly goals such as training hours or number of 2x20 sessions or a couple of big landmark rides or races in addition to or as an alternative to a fixed wattage goal?

Anyway, your goal seems reasonable depending on your background in cycling (less would be better to raise your FTP by nearly 20% in a year), your available time to train, how well you structure your plan and of course the genetic hand you were dealt which is the big unknown.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress,
-Dave

 

[metgt4]

My background in cycling doesn't go back very far. I've always enjoyed cycling, but I only started to take it seriously around 18 months ago when I started training for the 7 day TransRockies with a friend. I got into pretty good shape, lost most of it over the winter, and have begun to rebuild my endurance and power in the last 3 months.

I do have a couple of short term goals for this season. I'm doing a 2 day 200k fun ride, but I'd like to aim for each day (100k) being under 3 hours. This takes place in 3 weeks

Also, I have the TransRockies race (3 days) coming up in 11 weeks and I'd like to finish somewhere around the middle of the pack.

After those two rides, I go back to school and will begin a plan that I quickly put together this morning. I've been reading up on regiment planning and training methods, but I'm still quite new to the ideas of exercise science. The plan works out to 6-14 hours/week and I figure that if I was able to maintain my FTP last winter with sporadic workouts averaging maybe 1-2 hours/week, hopefully this will do something for me!

I will be measuring my FTP once a month (20 min, 5 min, and 1 min) and hope that each month I can increase my 20 min by 6 watts, 5 min by 10 watts, and 1 min by 15 watts each month. I'll have to see about that when I get back into the gym and have a power meter to work with though! If I can't make that kind of progress, I'll take what I can get. Any improvement is better than nothing, and if I'm not making as much progress as I would like, that just gives me more motivation to work hard! I do have many other goals for the 2011 season, but power is the only real measurable and concrete one. Having a goal that I can measure will hopefully keep me motivated while spending those hours on the spin bike over the harsh Canadian winter!

Thanks for the input, Dave!
Andrew

 

[swampy1970]

Those are some nice goals but I'd steer clear of trying to increase your power for a specific duration by a set amount each month.

Progression for a specific month will be defined by the training you do (duh!) but during a building phase where you might be doing a couple of hours of good hard SST, you won't see nice huge jumps in short term power. However, such training will provide a great foundation for nailing intervals later on.

 

[DJA]

Certainly acheivable as long as you get you diet right, program you training right and lastly just do it week in week out.

Its always good to aim high because even if you miss your still going to be better off they if you aimed low and and hit it.