Jakkals. Posted March 31, 2016 Share I rode from East London to Cape Town, actually 9 very tough days! 1100kmCan I add, into a blerry headwind on most days! 'Dale, Veebee and Patchelicious 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcza Posted March 31, 2016 Share I rode from East London to Cape Town, actually 9 very tough days! 1100km Makes sense then, being somewhat of a anorak I'm fascinated by numbers Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnvan Posted March 31, 2016 Share I'd be interested to know what type of session the seasoned power trainers find is most beneficial for improving FTP and what zones (% of FTP) they use to achieve this Saw the other responses, but would add that Andrew Coggan (power guru) & Joe Friel recommend a muscular endurance / "sweet spot" session once a week for improving FTP. 2 x 20 minute intervals at 88-93% of current estimated FTP (5 min spin in between intervals, with good warm / up & cool down) Seems to be a bit different to the other VO2 Max sessions suggested by others... Jay_B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted March 31, 2016 Share I rode from East London to Cape Town, actually 9 very tough days! 1100kmNice one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay_B Posted March 31, 2016 Share Saw the other responses, but would add that Andrew Coggan (power guru) & Joe Friel recommend a muscular endurance / "sweet spot" session once a week for improving FTP. 2 x 20 minute intervals at 88-93% of current estimated FTP (5 min spin in between intervals, with good warm / up & cool down) Seems to be a bit different to the other VO2 Max sessions suggested by others... From the book written by Coggan on training wit PM, they suggest Z3 and Z4 to be the most beneficial, especially when you have limited time to train during the week as i think most of us do. Ive personally found this to be working for me, my FTP up nicely at my last test (big part to do with my health and doctors finding what was wrong with my lungs) and also finding im comfortably able to hold my power and cadence up climbs towards the end of a ride. Last ride in SBR had me set new PB's on all the climbs and then still pushed out a Z3 tempo interval on the road home... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakkals. Posted March 31, 2016 Share I'd state 2 x 15min at 105% works a charm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veebee Posted March 31, 2016 Share another thing, do any of you guys do gym work to increase leg power ? Squats, leg press, lunges etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicky DQ Posted March 31, 2016 Share What is your current weight and FTP?100.2 kg and FTP 230 Harryn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted March 31, 2016 Share ai Dick, jou PM is f'ed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted March 31, 2016 Share another thing, do any of you guys do gym work to increase leg power ? Squats, leg press, lunges etc etcThe studies suggest that weight training not only returns power gains but also endurance gains. It absolutely does work. However, it has been suggested that this is used as a secondary means of improvement. So basically, if you have time rather do more riding for now. Gym work is best used once the powers improvements start slowing down. If I were you, dont waste time with smaller gains in the gym now, leave that for when you start getting to above 4W/Kg type levels. I am currently at 4.3W/Kg and asked my coach the exact same question, and he said that I can find 2 hours a week to spend doing gym work, then Im not riding enough Gym work must also be done on interval days and a few hours after intervals, as you NEED to hit your target wattages, and if you have fatigued legs from gym work, you wont be able too and then the interval is effectively redundant. Edited March 31, 2016 by Patchelicious Veebee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoBigBen Posted March 31, 2016 Share The studies suggest that weight training not only returns power gains but also endurance gains. It absolutely does work. However, it has been suggested that this is used as a secondary means of improvement. So basically, if you have time rather do more riding for now. Gym work is best used once the powers improvements start slowing down. If I were you, dont waste time with smaller gains in the gym now, leave that for when you start getting to above 4W/Kg type levels. I am currently at 4.3W/Kg and asked my coach the exact same question, and he said that I can find 2 hours a week to spend doing gym work, then Im not riding enough[emoji14]Gym work must also be done on interval days and a few hours after intervals, as you NEED to hit your target wattages, and if you have fatigued legs from gym work, you wont be able too and then the interval is effectively redundant.In your opinion is everyone capable of above 4w/kg if they put in the required effort or is there a genetic/physical limitation? Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J∆kk∆ls Posted March 31, 2016 Share another thing, do any of you guys do gym work to increase leg power ? Squats, leg press, lunges etc etc Watt Bike at the gym 45mins at a time, practice riding out of the saddle.Swim 35 lengths to improve breathing and upper body strength. Morning and evening exercises at home 15 push ups and 50 sit ups (quick and easy to maintain basic strength) Sit on a palates ball at work to correct poster. LuckyLuke and Silverman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted March 31, 2016 Share 100.2 kg and FTP 230Just to confirm FTP is the hour effort. or 95% of the 20min test. So if your FTP is 230, you power to weight is currently 2.3W/Kg. If you dropped to 85kg that will jump to 2.7W/Kg To get that same gain without losing weight you would need to up your FTP to 270 or a full 20%. That will take effort. But considering that you are a tad on the heavier side for a cyclist, and the power is coming off a low base, you should make substantial improvements on both weight and power with good training and good diet. I dont know you (or your build) nor am I a coach, I am just spitting out numbers here, so best you chat to somebody in person too. But the cool thing is that there is lots of room for improvement, and thats always a nice motivator. eg: If we went on the same training block now, you would yeild better power returns than me for the same amount of pain.... 'Dale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Dale Posted March 31, 2016 Share As antonj suggested, sweet spot is fine as something one can do more regularly (2-3 times per week) Also, sit/suffer/gasp at 100 - 110% of FTP, even for a few minutes at a time (and ensure good recovery time) to really push that ceiling up. 5 mins on 5 mins x 5-8 times off is a nice pre-season engine builder Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchelicious Posted March 31, 2016 Share In your opinion is everyone capable of above 4w/kg if they put in the required effort or is there a genetic/physical limitation?In my (unqualified) opinion, absolutely! 4W/Kg is not that great an accomplishment athletically. To compete for wins in VA you need to be around 4.5, local elites 5ish, World Tour 5.5 - 6 depending on job.... The crap thing though is that there is no shortcut. You need to put the hours in and you need to eat correctly. The biggest limiting factor to getting to 4 is not genetic, its plain old dicipline. When I did my first DC in 2012 (it was my first race too ), I was 92kg and FTP must have been around 230.. or 2.5W/Kg. Edited March 31, 2016 by Patchelicious Veebee, Jakkals. and Mopkop 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakkals. Posted March 31, 2016 Share In my (unqualified) opinion, absolutely! 4W/Kg is not that great an accomplishment athletically. To compete for wins in VA you need to be around 4.5, local elites 5ish, World Tour 5.5 - 6 depending on job.... The crap thing though is that there is no shortcut. You need to put the hours in and you need to eat correctly. The biggest limiting factor to getting to 4 is not genetic, its plain old dicipline. When I did my first DC in 2012 (it was my first race too ), I was 92kg and FTP must have been around 230.. or 2.5W/Kg.Well done for Completing the DC then: Patchelicious 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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