I’m following The Serious Italian Plan (12 weeks, 5 days a week) and today, after 6 weeks, I did the FulGaz FTP test to see if there had been any improvement.
Well, for the first time in years, my FTP value has gone down instead of up compared to the test done in mid-November. It is true that it only dropped by 3 points, but I expected an improvement, even if it was minimal. I’m considering changing my training plan
(Please excuse any grammatical or syntax errors, but English is not my language.)
Hi, so I am not sure what you were doing prior to starting this plan but it is very common for someone to keep training moderately hard most of the year and their FTP never improves or very little. If you were stuck at a specific FTP for a long time this could be your case. I also know this can be scary to see an FTP drop starting a new plan. Our plans are not like TrainerRoad’s or all the sweet spot plans out or even harder plans out there that are trying to give everyone immediate gratification of improvement. We are focused on the big picture long term and making you a heathly, competitive cyclist. Quick short term gains are not a part of being the best you can be unless you are right before your primary race or performance season (peak).
The most typical way to succeed in achieving continual improvements is through periodization which includes periods of up and downs in your FTP but each season can be a little higher than the last assuming you are riding at the same or slighly longer durations and following a reasonable plan for yourself.
Coach Jack plans start easy, so if you were doing a base period before this you might see a small improvement in FTP in the first 6 weeks but if you were doing something harder than it would be completely normal it would drop a little since CJ plans start easy. Personally I would say a 3w drop starting your build period is great because that means by the end of your build and especially the end of your peak you should see some solid gains.
I don’t know if this is reassuring enough but if we need to look deeper into what you were doing prior to starting this as well as the exact plan that would be great. Starting with for example the weekly strava hours chart for the last year is a good place to start.
Alex,
Thank you very much for your complete and comprehensive answer. You are really reassuring me and I’ll continue with the plan.
I sync my indoor trainings with TrainingPeaks only and I keep Strava for outdoor trainings(99% MTB and Snoeshoeing).
Oh cool. Since it sounds like you are fine with my response we could leave it at that. If you wanted you could share weekly hours from TP also. Really PMC chart would even be better for last 6-months if it is fairly accurate (you have all your TSS in there)
Oh, yes and you don’t have PMC either on the free account. Watching your seasonal weekly hours can be very good for spotting problems with your training. We do plan on doing some light reporting in the future, which would likely be a merger of Garmin, Strava, Possibly TP and our data.
I agree wholeheartedly with Alex.
I would add that FTP can vary somewhat from app to app and from your own fatigue or stress or lack of it on the day. Periodisation/Polarised training is the key with easy periods and of course the fairly easy week prior to the test.
You could give a thought to Low intensity training as well. Look up Stephen Seiler and Inigo Millan on Youtube if you want to know more. I believe Coach Jack has some plans based on this principal. I’ve been following this method for 6 months now and although I have lost some FTP I have a higher power to Heart rate than before and my FTP is creeping back up again now and my HR zones are changing positively. Hope this helps
Exactly, it takes quite a bit of time to see the positive results of low intensity training, but onces it get’s going, it never stops.
First thing you will probably notice for hard efforts, is that your max avg is a bit lower but that you are recovering from the effort way faster.
Once you crest over the top of that hill, you’re ready to go again in a blink. While people training the threshold principle, may be a bit faster at the top but are still recovering when you pass them again…
I participated in a 220km lumpy event in Norway last June and I was frustrated by the fatigue that set in, mainly because I followed a group of guys much younger and faster than me. I vowed that that wouldn’t happen again hence my starting in this more endurance focused training. I’m not too worried about FTP its HR to power thats my main focus now. So looking forward to smashing my time next June.
PS: I’m 75 so no spring chicken anymore
Congrats on being that active at a respectable age. I hope to do just as good in about 15 years from now.
There’s a reason why senior cyclists are more represented in long events. Our top gets more shallow, but our base has had the time to grow…
Something you might find interesting, is I coached a 75 year old cyclist to win his state championship in the US and qualify for the senior olympics. I felt like I did very little in the process and he felt like I made a huge difference.
He was super motivated and talented so the only thing I did is tell him to do more zone 2 (especially during a long winter base). Also before, during and after any stressful events maybe even shift down to zone 1/zone 2 to avoid excess stress. and keep from getting sick. He felt this did more for his cycling than anything in the last 20-years.
Thanks Alex. In fact thats what I am doing. Well 5 days with Z1/2 one day with strength (on the bike) and one day rest. Slowly building duration. Its worked so far. I’ve started doing lactate testing. Did the second one on Thursday and already a month after the last one there was improvement, so I’m, as we say in English, " a happy bunny"
It’s the one that Coach Jack call “Serious Italian” Plan. I started at the end of November with an FTP of 183 (test done two weeks earlier). At that point I did something that probably shouldn’t be done: I increased the FTP value of 2 or 3 points almost every week, especially in the first half of the plan.
I like that approach I think people should get more creative with their training plans and follow some ideas that feel logical to them. In this case you almost created your own higher FTP You said you are 197 and your body agreed with you. In TrainerRoad this would be a bad idea but with Coach Jack plans, especially if you are not boosting ride feel to the max then I think this is a fine approach.
This SFR is really interesting. And the Dynamic Force sequence is the extension of that to take you to the max. Nice work.
because that means by the end of your build and especially the end of your peak you should see some solid gains.
