The Wattage Thread
Discussion
Good stuff Yonex!
I did a TT on Saturday, fairly standard watts as an avg at 386, but on the next one I'm going to go out at 400 and see what happens on the return, I have a feeling I've been going too easy on the way out, I did 440W for the last 3 mins of that TT which is far too much to be doing at the end of what should be a nearly all out effort, so hopefully I can get over the mental barrier of averaging 400W, its so hard to get it into my head that I can probably do it, sometimes I wish it was not a round number!
I did 425W for ten mins on the roadbike the other day that was hard but not 100% flatout, so I think I've got it in me to be doing 400 on roadbike without too much stress, so should be possible on TT.
Legs are feeling pretty good at the minute, two hours yesterday at 305W avg felt pretty ok, I've started doing a load of core stability yoga moves to try and stop me getting back ache for when I am really pushing on on the road bike. Did a race the other day and my legs felt good but my back became the limiter when I was in a 2 up move near the end, so hoping that changes. FTP now set at 380W for roadbike,
I did a TT on Saturday, fairly standard watts as an avg at 386, but on the next one I'm going to go out at 400 and see what happens on the return, I have a feeling I've been going too easy on the way out, I did 440W for the last 3 mins of that TT which is far too much to be doing at the end of what should be a nearly all out effort, so hopefully I can get over the mental barrier of averaging 400W, its so hard to get it into my head that I can probably do it, sometimes I wish it was not a round number!
I did 425W for ten mins on the roadbike the other day that was hard but not 100% flatout, so I think I've got it in me to be doing 400 on roadbike without too much stress, so should be possible on TT.
Legs are feeling pretty good at the minute, two hours yesterday at 305W avg felt pretty ok, I've started doing a load of core stability yoga moves to try and stop me getting back ache for when I am really pushing on on the road bike. Did a race the other day and my legs felt good but my back became the limiter when I was in a 2 up move near the end, so hoping that changes. FTP now set at 380W for roadbike,
Ponk said:
Impressive watts! Nothing worse than the week or two after upping your zones. Shudder.
Was the 275 figure set outdoors out of curiosity?
I'm actually looking forward to it, I have been bugging him to up the workload and every session I have been working at the top of the zones, sometimes into the next one. Back in December I did a couple of efforts and they worked out around 275-280w. Being pretty unfit and then xmas in Ireland doing sweet FA I had no desire to try again. To be honest I couldn't really hang onto a 2.5hr club ride. Was the 275 figure set outdoors out of curiosity?
okgo said:
Good stuff Yonex!
I did a TT on Saturday, fairly standard watts as an avg at 386, but on the next one I'm going to go out at 400 and see what happens on the return, I have a feeling I've been going too easy on the way out, I did 440W for the last 3 mins of that TT which is far too much to be doing at the end of what should be a nearly all out effort, so hopefully I can get over the mental barrier of averaging 400W, its so hard to get it into my head that I can probably do it, sometimes I wish it was not a round number!
I did 425W for ten mins on the roadbike the other day that was hard but not 100% flatout, so I think I've got it in me to be doing 400 on roadbike without too much stress, so should be possible on TT.
Legs are feeling pretty good at the minute, two hours yesterday at 305W avg felt pretty ok, I've started doing a load of core stability yoga moves to try and stop me getting back ache for when I am really pushing on on the road bike. Did a race the other day and my legs felt good but my back became the limiter when I was in a 2 up move near the end, so hoping that changes. FTP now set at 380W for roadbike,
Big numbers. Is it the yoga pants that got you I did a TT on Saturday, fairly standard watts as an avg at 386, but on the next one I'm going to go out at 400 and see what happens on the return, I have a feeling I've been going too easy on the way out, I did 440W for the last 3 mins of that TT which is far too much to be doing at the end of what should be a nearly all out effort, so hopefully I can get over the mental barrier of averaging 400W, its so hard to get it into my head that I can probably do it, sometimes I wish it was not a round number!
I did 425W for ten mins on the roadbike the other day that was hard but not 100% flatout, so I think I've got it in me to be doing 400 on roadbike without too much stress, so should be possible on TT.
Legs are feeling pretty good at the minute, two hours yesterday at 305W avg felt pretty ok, I've started doing a load of core stability yoga moves to try and stop me getting back ache for when I am really pushing on on the road bike. Did a race the other day and my legs felt good but my back became the limiter when I was in a 2 up move near the end, so hoping that changes. FTP now set at 380W for roadbike,
I saw your HWCC ride, some quick ones in front of you. The main thing I am trying to get over is fixating on 300w, that has always been target. Today I was into 350 at the end and maybe, although everyone always says it, could have gone a bit harder. In a race I would have, I didn't get the burning so I guess there was a little left. I'd like to think 330w on a ten would be the new target. Even today HR was lower than peak, maybe I should ride flat out to HR and see what it does?
I did it on HCC202 which has a roundabout, hence the spike. The next step is to sort out the aero. Whilst I am sure I can pile a few more watts on and haven't peaked yet my aero has always been s
t. I'm only 5' 8" so potentially could have a decent CdA. A bike fit is first, then I'll decide before chucking money at a frame. A sub 20 on F11/10 is the target, I'll need 330w and everything to go my way though.Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 28th March 21:48
It's funny you mention the number fixation. I've always had 300 in my head as a target pretty much since first using power at the start of last year. I hit it on my last FTP test (as the 20 min figure) and there's definitely a mental thing there about pushing beyond those round numbers! Next up for my number obsession is the 300 watts 10.
I did my first FTP test since starting with power back in January. Very pleased to see 316W @ 79kg this early in training, especially as I'm focused on ultra-distance rides and nursing injuries. I do plan to start adding weekly sweet spot rides to try and improve that though. I'm also dropping a couple more kilos and will do fortnightly FTP tests to make sure I'm not losing power as I do it.
Gruffy said:
I did my first FTP test since starting with power back in January. Very pleased to see 316W @ 79kg this early in training, especially as I'm focused on ultra-distance rides and nursing injuries. I do plan to start adding weekly sweet spot rides to try and improve that though. I'm also dropping a couple more kilos and will do fortnightly FTP tests to make sure I'm not losing power as I do it.
I haven't noticed power dropping off with weight loss. Currently 75-76kg from 83kg, I think unless you start getting into very low bmi, no expert on this though. If you train indoors there are a couple of 2hr Zwift group rides at 3w/kg which I think are worth doing.As you say if you test you'll know, but I reckon you'll push harder to maintain it
Gruffy said:
I did my first FTP test since starting with power back in January. Very pleased to see 316W @ 79kg this early in training, especially as I'm focused on ultra-distance rides and nursing injuries. I do plan to start adding weekly sweet spot rides to try and improve that though. I'm also dropping a couple more kilos and will do fortnightly FTP tests to make sure I'm not losing power as I do it.
Doing fortnightly FTP testing seems a bit ott, you need to do some hard training, recover from that block and then test again. yonex said:
okgo said:
Good stuff Yonex!
I did a TT on Saturday, fairly standard watts as an avg at 386, but on the next one I'm going to go out at 400 and see what happens on the return, I have a feeling I've been going too easy on the way out, I did 440W for the last 3 mins of that TT which is far too much to be doing at the end of what should be a nearly all out effort, so hopefully I can get over the mental barrier of averaging 400W, its so hard to get it into my head that I can probably do it, sometimes I wish it was not a round number!
I did 425W for ten mins on the roadbike the other day that was hard but not 100% flatout, so I think I've got it in me to be doing 400 on roadbike without too much stress, so should be possible on TT.
Legs are feeling pretty good at the minute, two hours yesterday at 305W avg felt pretty ok, I've started doing a load of core stability yoga moves to try and stop me getting back ache for when I am really pushing on on the road bike. Did a race the other day and my legs felt good but my back became the limiter when I was in a 2 up move near the end, so hoping that changes. FTP now set at 380W for roadbike,
Big numbers. Is it the yoga pants that got you I did a TT on Saturday, fairly standard watts as an avg at 386, but on the next one I'm going to go out at 400 and see what happens on the return, I have a feeling I've been going too easy on the way out, I did 440W for the last 3 mins of that TT which is far too much to be doing at the end of what should be a nearly all out effort, so hopefully I can get over the mental barrier of averaging 400W, its so hard to get it into my head that I can probably do it, sometimes I wish it was not a round number!
I did 425W for ten mins on the roadbike the other day that was hard but not 100% flatout, so I think I've got it in me to be doing 400 on roadbike without too much stress, so should be possible on TT.
Legs are feeling pretty good at the minute, two hours yesterday at 305W avg felt pretty ok, I've started doing a load of core stability yoga moves to try and stop me getting back ache for when I am really pushing on on the road bike. Did a race the other day and my legs felt good but my back became the limiter when I was in a 2 up move near the end, so hoping that changes. FTP now set at 380W for roadbike,
I saw your HWCC ride, some quick ones in front of you. The main thing I am trying to get over is fixating on 300w, that has always been target. Today I was into 350 at the end and maybe, although everyone always says it, could have gone a bit harder. In a race I would have, I didn't get the burning so I guess there was a little left. I'd like to think 330w on a ten would be the new target. Even today HR was lower than peak, maybe I should ride flat out to HR and see what it does?
I did it on HCC202 which has a roundabout, hence the spike. The next step is to sort out the aero. Whilst I am sure I can pile a few more watts on and haven't peaked yet my aero has always been s
t. I'm only 5' 8" so potentially could have a decent CdA. A bike fit is first, then I'll decide before chucking money at a frame. A sub 20 on F11/10 is the target, I'll need 330w and everything to go my way though.Edited by yonex on Monday 28th March 21:48
E65Ross said:
Gruffy said:
I did my first FTP test since starting with power back in January. Very pleased to see 316W @ 79kg this early in training, especially as I'm focused on ultra-distance rides and nursing injuries. I do plan to start adding weekly sweet spot rides to try and improve that though. I'm also dropping a couple more kilos and will do fortnightly FTP tests to make sure I'm not losing power as I do it.
Doing fortnightly FTP testing seems a bit ott, you need to do some hard training, recover from that block and then test again. I tried to hold onto 300 Watts for a 30 odd minute climb yesterday but bailed around 26 mins in. I'm pretty fatigued at the moment so not too worried as I think that will come in time. I haven't done an "FTP test" in ages now, I just ride and regularly do threshold efforts / similar rides so it's pretty clear to see progression. In general my FTP and CTL seem to track pretty well as I have seen similar correlations in the past although I am certainly chasing minor improvements now.
I've not seen any drop in power with weight and gone from around 62 kg at my heaviest (whilst owning a power meter) to my lowest of mid 56 kg. I'm currently just under 58 kg.
I've not seen any drop in power with weight and gone from around 62 kg at my heaviest (whilst owning a power meter) to my lowest of mid 56 kg. I'm currently just under 58 kg.
Ponk said:
E65Ross said:
Gruffy said:
I did my first FTP test since starting with power back in January. Very pleased to see 316W @ 79kg this early in training, especially as I'm focused on ultra-distance rides and nursing injuries. I do plan to start adding weekly sweet spot rides to try and improve that though. I'm also dropping a couple more kilos and will do fortnightly FTP tests to make sure I'm not losing power as I do it.
Doing fortnightly FTP testing seems a bit ott, you need to do some hard training, recover from that block and then test again. Sunday I did 4x12mins off 2.5mins recovery where each 12min effort was 96-100% threshold. After that I did some anaerobic efforts as well. The average for those 48mins at FTP would have averaged less than 1% off my old ftp....on legs which weren't box fresh and still managed to do some tough anaerobic stiff after (including 8x1min at 130% off 1min recovery and some other bits too), and I wasn't dying.
I do like training with power.... I'm a nerd for liking the numbers but also gives you a real show of where you are, unlike mph which can vary on so many factors!
Edited by E65Ross on Tuesday 29th March 16:18
yonex said:
lukefreeman said:
HWCC? Know a lad called Brent Holmes?
Yes, I've heard of him. Not a member of the club but local to them.Absolute beast. We'll regularly go on rides with 1000ft every ten mile, and I've never seen him go below 53 on his front sprocket.
Is the fatigue from a threshold test great enough to worry about doing them fortnightly? My next block is 3 weeks of training, one week of taper and then a big 5th week (London-Bilbao as quickly as possible) followed by a rest/recovery week.
During Jan-Feb I was losing weight a bit too aggressively and shed 1.2kg of lean mass, so I'm a bit cautious now. I can probably use other data to make sure I'm not losing power as my weight drops, then test again after my recovery week.
During Jan-Feb I was losing weight a bit too aggressively and shed 1.2kg of lean mass, so I'm a bit cautious now. I can probably use other data to make sure I'm not losing power as my weight drops, then test again after my recovery week.
It just doesn't matter that much. What difference will it make if it's 310 or 320. For your goal I don't really get why you're so closely tracking it to be honest. I'd want to be carrying some weight, you're going to burn a LOT of calories - little extra means nothing. Especially given all the stuff on your bike surely?
What they're saying is that to get an honest result in a test you'll need to be fresh which will require a small taper which is a waste of training time to even do it more than a couple of times per quarter really.
Also losing lean mass means not a lot given the low demands on muscle for cycling. What is the issue with doing this of the mass is not important to riding the bike?
What they're saying is that to get an honest result in a test you'll need to be fresh which will require a small taper which is a waste of training time to even do it more than a couple of times per quarter really.
Also losing lean mass means not a lot given the low demands on muscle for cycling. What is the issue with doing this of the mass is not important to riding the bike?
Gotcha. Being fresh for a meaningful test makes sense. No value in a fatigued test then.
I'm keen to lose whatever fat (and unit weight) is unnecessary. It isn't much (another 3kg), but it serves no purpose and losing it will give a small advantage. We train hard for small advantages so I don't see any difference with body fat. I know I pushed too hard with that early on and lost a step so I'm simply cautious to monitor things and avoid making the same mistake again.
FTP only matters to me in as much as we have some sustained Alpine climbing to do and the stronger I am the less they 'cost' me for a given effort.
I'm keen to lose whatever fat (and unit weight) is unnecessary. It isn't much (another 3kg), but it serves no purpose and losing it will give a small advantage. We train hard for small advantages so I don't see any difference with body fat. I know I pushed too hard with that early on and lost a step so I'm simply cautious to monitor things and avoid making the same mistake again.
FTP only matters to me in as much as we have some sustained Alpine climbing to do and the stronger I am the less they 'cost' me for a given effort.
Just out of question okgo - how often do you FTP test? And do you do training cycles, in general (eg 3-4 weeks on, 1 week recovery)? I guess it largely depends on upcoming races etc... But in general?
During recovery weeks, do you keep the intensity the same but dial down the frequency, or down the intensity as well? Looking at trainerroad plans, and remembering back to my running days, I'm thinking of roughly halving my TSS for recovery weeks, but still doing one intense session, but rather than making it something like 2 hours 170tss, make it 1 hour 85-90tss or so...
During recovery weeks, do you keep the intensity the same but dial down the frequency, or down the intensity as well? Looking at trainerroad plans, and remembering back to my running days, I'm thinking of roughly halving my TSS for recovery weeks, but still doing one intense session, but rather than making it something like 2 hours 170tss, make it 1 hour 85-90tss or so...
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