FTP improvement after 6 weeks

Hurricane151

I tested my FTP 6 weeks ago and planning to re-test tomorrow but what do people think a realistic % increase is?

Training has been a combination of base miles (low power) and shorter 2x20 sessions with some sweet spot work also.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers

Tom Dean

It depends. It might have gone down

Hurricane151

Oh no!

Well that's fair enough but I hope not. I'm not expecting anything groundbreaking but wondering in if 5% or 20% or 50% is realistic. (I'm guessing it'll be toward the low end)

16mm

It depends how close to your best fittness / highest FTP you were when you started, and if the training you've done in the last 6 weeks is anything like what you did in the 6 weeks before.
As Tom says above it may have gone down, if the training in the last 6 weeks is less than than what you usually do.

I'm no coach but I understand 10% increases in FTP are good, but it totally depends on where you are starting from.
FWIW, I've put on 50W for the same HR since Oct, about 13%. This is at tempo efforts rather than FTP though. And I was poor in Oct.

napoleond

I would hope for 5% in 6 weeks unless I was starting from 'shambolic'.

GiantMike

As above, depends where you're starting from. I did a fairly hard 4 weeks of training specifically to increase my FTP and I managed to raise it by just under 3% in those 4 weeks.

Herbsman

Have patience and just wait for the result

Herbsman

GiantMike wrote:

As above, depends where you're starting from. I did a fairly hard 4 weeks of training specifically to increase my FTP and I managed to raise it by just under 3% in those 4 weeks.

How accurate is your power meter though? Is % really an improvement? I would expect mine to vary by that much just because of everyday things like stress, sleep, diet, temperature etc

GiantMike

At the end of the last test I wrote...

GiantMikes great blog wrote:

At the moment I haven't learned anything. 2 data points are not conclusive but I did feel a lot better on today's test so I'm assuming that the power improvement is genuine; I just need more data to prove it. I have seen how my performance can vary from day to day so it may just be that I was weak on the last test and strong today but that I haven't made any actual improvement. Time will tell.

Here

However, I have also recently set new power records for a variety of times, including 30 and 60 mins. But, as I say, time will tell.

mamba80

Herbsman wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

As above, depends where you're starting from. I did a fairly hard 4 weeks of training specifically to increase my FTP and I managed to raise it by just under 3% in those 4 weeks.

How accurate is your power meter though? Is % really an improvement? I would expect mine to vary by that much just because of everyday things like stress, sleep, diet, temperature etc

Yours would vary because of your crank wearing away on your BB
Have you fixed it?

Herbsman

I dunno, it's not wobbling anymore but I don't know if anything's scraping as I haven't used it on the turbo since I posted that thread...

wardieboy

Hurricane151 wrote:

I tested my FTP 6 weeks ago and planning to re-test tomorrow but what do people think a realistic % increase is?

Training has been a combination of base miles (low power) and shorter 2x20 sessions with some sweet spot work also.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers

So how did the test go?

Herbsman

I reckon he rode so hard he is physically unable to type.

Hurricane151

Well, it didn't go well. it was an improvement but not by much and to be honest could be down to the accuracy of the PM. The test went OK and I really pushed it but not the improvement I wanted or expected. I guess I might have to review my training to focus more on improving FTP.

Trev The Rev

Hurricane151 wrote:

Well, it didn't go well. it was an improvement but not by much and to be honest could be down to the accuracy of the PM. The test went OK and I really pushed it but not the improvement I wanted or expected. I guess I might have to review my training to focus more on improving FTP.

Not much point in a power meter if it isn't accurate enough to measure slight improvements in performance.

Were you as rested / fresh as when you did the last test?

GiantMike

Trev The Rev wrote:

Hurricane151 wrote:

Well, it didn't go well. it was an improvement but not by much and to be honest could be down to the accuracy of the PM. The test went OK and I really pushed it but not the improvement I wanted or expected. I guess I might have to review my training to focus more on improving FTP.

Not much point in a power meter if it isn't accurate enough to measure slight improvements in performance.

Were you as rested / fresh as when you did the last test?

Are slight improvements over 6 weeks worth recording?

Hurricane151

I thought that I was and tried to recreate the same conditions, time of the day, nutrition etc. the improvement was about 1.8% so nothing to shout about.

Trev The Rev

Hurricane151 wrote:

I thought that I was and tried to recreate the same conditions, time of the day, nutrition etc. the improvement was about 1.8% so nothing to shout about.

That would work out at 15.6% improvement over a year. See how you perform in another 6 weeks - I wouldn't get disheartened by a 1.8% improvement.

In my opinion, it all depends on how fit you were before the previous test, the training you have been doing, age, diet, rest, recovery etc etc. But it is going in the right direction. You will know more after the next test. But don't get obsessed with doing more and more tests out of frustration. Testing every 6 weeks is fine. Make sure your power meter is calibrated properly.

Was the test done on the road over the same course or indoors?

phreak

NapoleonD wrote:

I would hope for 5% in 6 weeks unless I was starting from 'shambolic'.

Even that must assume a reasonably low start point though? I mean if you keep that up for the year it's an improvement of 40%. If I did that this year I'd be pushing out a w/kg of 6.8, which would be awesome, but perhaps not that realistic

Suspect it's a case of diminishing returns where you make big gains to begin with and gradually less the fitter you become, but that's just a hunch rather than anything with scientific grounding.

okgo

Well that is fairly obviously true. You make huge gains at the beginning, and they do indeed tail off. Lots of people get to a place where they can't move from, and some of those people then employ a coach and find that they begin improving again, its a bit of a minefield information wise, but I would imagine there are 'very' few people at their full potential in the amateur world.

Hurricane151

Trev The Rev wrote:

Was the test done on the road over the same course or indoors?

I was done on the turbo, i would prefer to find a suitable outdoor course but just can work out a good route locally for it

topcattim

I did an FTP test yesterday on the turbo (yes, I know it may not be the most accurate of measures, but I don't have a power meter other than that on the turbo). I've been cycling for some years now, in a relatively unstructured way, although last year I did do the Chris Carmichael Time Crunched Cyclist plan.

Anyway, I'm now eight weeks into a fairly generic programme (taken from an FTP-increase programme in the Cycling Fitness mag you can get from the local newsagent). Yesterday's FTP test was 5% higher than the one four weeks ago, and I reckon there is still quite a bit of improvement left to go. So, don't give up following your 1.8% improvement, there will be good things to come...