Trainerroad expectations

[E65Ross]

lufbramatt said:

The podcasts are quite good to listen to as well. Been listening to a few instead of music at work, good for explaining how the sessions relate to real scenarios and the structure of training plans etc. Obviously very US-centric but worth a go.

So yesterday I got my last 2 parcels- trainer tyre, big fan, iPad stand... no excuses to crack on with it now!

How do people set a target for their first FTP test? I appreciate that FTP tests are as much about learning the test as well as fitness. I know the numbers are very vague but recent longish rides I've uploaded to strava have estimated my average power about 175w, so aim for a bit higher than that and see how it goes?

Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 17th October 10:19

It is indeed very hard to judge. I remember doing my 1st one and went out too gently and the last 5mins I averaged a much higher power than the first 15mins.

It'll probably take a few attempts to get it right. When starting out I'd recommend doing your FTP test, doing 3-4 weeks of training, have a gentle week or few days before trying it again. I'd do one sooner if sessions that are designed to destroy you aren't doing that (sessions with an "IF" (intensity factor) of more than 0.9 including a warm up and cool down should definitely hurt.

[anonymous-user]

Yes, it is hard to judge.

If you have that strava data as a start point, it will help

You could put the 175 in for now, do a one or a couple of the trainer road sessions and then do the ftp?

You will be used to to trainer a bit by then and will have formed an opinion on how close to reality the 175 is...

Warm up properly

[WestyCarl]

lufbramatt said:

The podcasts are quite good to listen to as well. Been listening to a few instead of music at work, good for explaining how the sessions relate to real scenarios and the structure of training plans etc. Obviously very US-centric but worth a go.

So yesterday I got my last 2 parcels- trainer tyre, big fan, iPad stand... no excuses to crack on with it now!

How do people set a target for their first FTP test? I appreciate that FTP tests are as much about learning the test as well as fitness. I know the numbers are very vague but recent longish rides I've uploaded to strava have estimated my average power about 175w, so aim for a bit higher than that and see how it goes?

Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 17th October 10:19

If your first FTP ends up being a bit low I wouldn't worry too much. Training on a turbo is so much more intense it'll take you 3-4 weeks to get used to it.

I've spent 20yrs riding outside, averaging about 8 hours a week in the last few years. The first few weeks of 4.5hrs on TR were a big shock to me

[45Flipper]

I agree with all of the above, but also I would ask, do you wear a HR strap?

Whilst it does lag behind your power output, it can help to gauge how much effort you are putting in. As an example, when I do one, I set out at a fairly steady tough level, but give it a couple of minutes to let my HR catch up so that I have an idea of how much harder I can push. It's important to not get to hung up on it though, otherwise you may find you don't go as hard as possible.

[E65Ross]

45Flipper said:

I agree with all of the above, but also I would ask, do you wear a HR strap?

Whilst it does lag behind your power output, it can help to gauge how much effort you are putting in. As an example, when I do one, I set out at a fairly steady tough level, but give it a couple of minutes to let my HR catch up so that I have an idea of how much harder I can push. It's important to not get to hung up on it though, otherwise you may find you don't go as hard as possible.

I wear a HRM on every ride I do, be it indoors or outdoors. It simply varies too much to be reliable. If you're feeling fresh and haven't done much for a few days it'll be higher and you can think "oo, I'm working too hard here" when it simply isn't the case. Other days your legs feel like crap and you struggle to turn the pedals to even get it high enough. I have an electronic trainer and often do the same, gentle workout once per week before work. I've had my max HR vary from as low as 128bpm to as high as 146bpm....doing the exact same workout and power output!

[lufbramatt]

Yes I do wear a HRM, I know my max on a hard climb for example is 188 (about right for age 33) and I tend to average about 160 for a 2-3 hour "hardish" ride.

Looking at the various online resources I guess if I try to keep around 165-170bpm this should get me in the right ball park?

[wobert]

First FTP test for a while....pretty much nailed the level I was aiming for without any left in the tank on both 8 min tests.

Pleased with the increase from 211w to 229w, but from past experience, I know that every session will now be harder....gulp!

(I make that a 40% increase since January...)

[E65Ross]

That's an insane increase, although I wouldn't read a great deal into your 1st FTP test as the pacing is often so far out (or at least mine was!!). I'm going to be doing a thorough fitness test tomorrow....2x7s sprints to measure outright power, 3mins rest, 5mins all out effort, 5mins rest, 20min FTP test, 5mins rest, 1min all out effort (rest the remainder of the day I suspect )

It'll be very interesting to see how I fare...I've been using Sufferfest Rubber Glove as my FTP testers the last few attempts which don't include a 5min clearing effort. Looking at the last time I included a 5min flat out effort before my FTP test I was only able to manage a little under 250W almost 2 years ago....I did a flat out 5min effort the other day and despite going out too slow I managed 298W, the last 2mins averaged 310W. My FTP test after that 5min clearing effort was 230W.....I know full well I'll still be able to beat that tomorrorw. I've generally been working on my max aerobic capacity and anaerobic capacity over the summer and I think that has helped.

It's going to hurt (quite a few times over!) but it should be interesting, nonetheless!

Edited by E65Ross on Tuesday 17th October 20:15

[wobert]

Good luck with that..... :-)

Checking back at two sessions, the first
was within 1w of the second, so at least I’m consistent....

[E65Ross]

wobert said:

Good luck with that..... :-)

Checking back at two sessions, the first
was within 1w of the second, so at least I’m consistent....

That sure is! And so if that really is a 40% improvement you should be mighty proud. Top work.

Edited by E65Ross on Tuesday 17th October 21:22

[E65Ross]

Bugger me!

Didn't quite go to plan. Sprints went pretty well....5min effort.....I went out too hard. I tried going out at the same wattage as I did the other day, but after 4mins I started to blow up (the 2x7secs flat out sprints took that bit out of the legs I think!) and my 1st 4mins were at 298W but the last 1 minute was at 255W!

I was cooked after that (as I was supposed to be). 7mins into the 20min test I was suffering quite badly and thought I went out too hard. 8mins in the app crashed! Rebooted and continued but the data was corrupt. I did the flat out 1 minute and paced that pretty well but it was all arguably meaningless after a totally inaccurate 20min test and pacing the 5min one wrong.

Live and learn! It seriously hurt though. I have decided to have a very easy spin before work tomorrow, day off the bike Friday and give it another crack Saturday.

I think even if it didn't crash it would have been worthwhile repeating it again anyway because I didn't quite pace it right.

I think this time I'll head off at 290W for the 5min effort rather than 295-300W. I'll head off the 20min test a shade lower too.

Disappointing but I should have recovered suitably to give it another crack Saturday.

[anonymous-user]

I was looking forward to your report of the new test

Pity about the crash, but as you say, some experience of how the early parts of the test sequence play out will be very useful for your next attempt

[E65Ross]

JPJPJP said:

I was looking forward to your report of the new test

Pity about the crash, but as you say, some experience of how the early parts of the test sequence play out will be very useful for your next attempt

I think the result I'll get Saturday will give me a lower FTP than what I've been working with for a while now, not by a huge amount but I suspect a couple of %.

It's one brutal workout, that's for sure.

[anonymous-user]

Training peaks putting a bit of distance between itself and Dr Coggan

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/new-training-me...

[E65Ross]

Don't blame them after some of his comments found elsewhere on the web!

[lufbramatt]

All set up and first session done. Took advice above and set an arbitrary ftp of 150 to get a feel for it. Selected an hour long sweet spot session which was 4x 5mins at ftp. Found it pretty easy and ended up turning the intensity up between each rep. Will do a proper 20 min test next weekend.

All worked well with the app on my iPad but highlighted some wear in the bottom bracket of my road bike and suspected wear in the freehub which is annoying :-/

[wobert]

lufbramatt said:

All set up and first session done. Took advice above and set an arbitrary ftp of 150 to get a feel for it. Selected an hour long sweet spot session which was 4x 5mins at ftp. Found it pretty easy and ended up turning the intensity up between each rep. Will do a proper 20 min test next weekend.

All worked well with the app on my iPad but highlighted some wear in the bottom bracket of my road bike and suspected wear in the freehub which is annoying :-/

Well done.

BTW your garage makes mine look like a paragon of tidiness..... :-)

[lufbramatt]

Bit if I tidy it up I won’t know where anything is! :-D

[tjdixon911]

I commenced my Trainerroad experience on Friday with the 8min FTP test my results were Current: 266, Suggested: 251 I'm not 100% what it all means at the moment or if it is any good, I'm approx 89kg (2.82w/kg?)...

I'm not 100% sure what to do from here - I am looking at some of the MTB specific programs (step 3) but don't know if I need to work on something else before (step 1 or 2)?

How do people fit it in? With my current commitments (including 2+ MTB rides a week) I would struggle to meet the schedules, I assume you can go at your own pace and a 8 week program may take 10 / 12+ weeks, or do you skip workouts when replaced with a normal ride?

I've been through the individual workouts and marked some as favorites to try, but this is just leading me to some non-structured training which I feel is missing the point of having Trainerroad...

[lufbramatt]

The jist of the training plans on TR is base > build > speciality, with different volumes of work for each plan depending on how much time you have.

I gather the stage 3 plans incorporate a taper, as if you're coming up to an event, so may not be as good for building fitness.

I'm about to start sweetspot base vol.1 after I do an FTP test at the weekend, it's 2 blocks of 6 weeks. On the low volume plan its 3.5 hours per week, so I'll be doing an hour in the evening on Tuesday, an hour early thrusday morning then a 90 min session at the weekend (if the weather is good I'll swap that for an outdoor ride)

Worth reading through some of the blog posts as they explain lots of stuff about the plans etc.

Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 24th October 10:48