Hi, there!
I was playing around with the settings for the base, build, peak block in Coach Jack training plan generator. I don’t have a specific date or event to target but I have set it to 6 months. My goal is to increase my FTP, what’s the recommended settings for best results?
Thanks!
So there are many coaches talking about this problem is that cyclists want to “increase their FTP” but the reality this is not the optimum goal. Most people are doing a ramp test, so you can “game the system,” and do whatever helps you perform better on a ramp test which which is likely not taking you towards your real goal of improving your cycling performance.
So can you first clarify if you want to improve your Ramp Test or you want to improve your outdoor performance and if it is outdoor performance what duration of ride and ride type (hills or flat…) are you trying to improve?
You could also set a goal of trying to improve your 60 minute best average power but that is painful to test without races. This is closer aligned with most peoples performance goals but still is not a number you likely want to test. More likely you would say I want to improve my upper zone 3 (or sweet spot) power for 60 minutes, which means going faster with your friends. But I would say in addition to this you also want some of that 5 minute power so you don’t get dropped on climbs… Again the most important thing is making sure you have the right goal.
Finally it’s about what aligns with your body and mind, that is “fun” and sustainable. How do you want to feel in 6 months? Totally burned out and tired of cycling or excited ready to go attack. The fastest results come from the hardest work but that will have a greater risk of being sick, injured or burned out in 6 months.
So this stuff is all a bit complex, I know you wanted a simple answer. My favorite combination is
Base+, Serious Italian, Big Climbs.
This is likely to leave you in a very good position in 6 months in top shape without burnout. Ending this plan with as many hours a week you can train.
Thanks for the insight - I will try that combination. The races I want to join are mostly endurance rides like 100km but that’s rare on where I live. So most of my “races” and also fun factor for me comes from the sunday group ride with mates. So I guess my goal is to be faster than them. haha We usually do 80-100km 3-4 hour rides. I understand that I cannot be “strong” all the time but in my logic, if I can get my ftp higher it means I can ride faster with less effort. I’m using 20 minute test to track my fitness so I’m thinking if I can get my 20-minute power up, it pulls all my other zones below threshold up, so I can ride zone 2 at a higher power and therefor faster.
Oh if you are motivated enough to do 20-minute tests yes this is a better indicator, there is still about a 6 minute anaerobic contribution to this but it is less influenced. So with some training you can increase 20 minutes without increasing 60 minutes much. But still it’s ok.
So I would say getting FTP test up is a byproduct of doing the right training to improve your outdoor performance. The difference being, at some points your FTP test might not improve but you see other indicators like zone 2 power vs heart rate… or just doing better with your friends.
So 80-100 in 3-4 hrs sounds like it’s not a huge amount of hills unless you weight 50kg 
if you find that you are not getting dropped on climbs and it tends to stay in the tempo / sweet spot ranges I would do “big days” instead of “big climbs” for the last block.
