Monday: strength + easy ride
Tuesday: FTP intervals
Wednesday off
Thursday: FTP intervals with some speed implemented
Friday: Strength
Saturday: Long day easy/moderate
Sunday: easy/off

I have been doing the routine listed below and went from FTP of 250 ish to 300 ish at ~178 lbs.

2x per week:
7 x 2:00 w/ 2:00 Rest or 5 x 3:00 w/ 3:00 rest
These are max power sessions the first couple are hard but doable, the last 2 should feel like death :) 115% FTP is probably a good place to start.

Make these part of a 1 or 1.5 hr ride.

1x per week:
Over unders 3 x (2:00 @ power used above, 3:00 @ Just under ftp, 2 @ power above, 3:00 @ just under ftp, 2:00 @ power used above, 3:00 @ just under ftp) 5:00 rest between set.
Make this part of a 1.5 or 2.0 hr ride

Ride easy the other days.

I was riding hard 2x per week before and it didn’t get me the bump. 3x per week I was able to absorb the training and get faster.

Good luck!

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ost=2932446#p2932446

I would hire a coach or use a coach-led program like TrainerRoad. I have subscribed to TrainerRoad for about 3 years, and it is very good at building you up. I am old, and I am a little above 280W FTP on 4 rides/week with TrainerRoad.

+1
One of the best posts ever on slowtwitch. This got me from 260ish to over 300, in 6 months or so. Also should be noted that I only ran twice a week during this time.

Totally agree with the 2:00 and 3:00 intervals! At "best effort" intensity, these have been by far the most efficacious in augmenting my FTP. I'll do these workouts three times per week, consisting of 10 intervals with one minute in between (for transparency, this represents the entirety of my bike work). Then after the series of 2:00 or 3:00, I'll often do 10 x 0:30 with a minute in between also. I'm not completely confident that the 0:30 are terribly useful, but I've kind of been using them as strength training. I could probably stand to give myself more rest in between, but I don't feel like editing the Zwift protocol. It takes quite a bit of motivation to get started with one of these, but I think you'll be shocked how well it translates to 5:00, 20:00 and 60:00 power.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

Those are just shorter VO2 Max intervals. There are more efficient ways to increase FTP, such as the intervals provided in the link in Post #4 above.

+1

What is your training/racing history? This will be somewhere between easy and impossible, depending...

I'll assume you want to maximize FTP. If your timeframe is a year, then slowly increasing mileage would be the first thing. Low intensity (50-70% FTP). Lots of hours. Every day.

After a 6 months of that, start incorporating hard efforts once a week. Whatever you like (a variety of durations); but it should be as hard as you can go. Rest (easy spin) the day before and after.

8 weeks before the end (ie race) cut back on mileage and do 2 hard sessions per week. These should be intervals in the 5-12 min range where you are >FTP, and longer intervals with +- FTP segments... for instance 2x20' where the "on" section is 2min at 105% then 2min at 90%, repeat.

Make sure you are well rested the week before the race.

It's really nothing more than consistent steady progression. Over 1 year you'll probably only need 3 or 4 different outlined schedules, repeating some of them depending on what time of year it is.

5 watts a month doesn't sound too daunting, but 60 watts over a year sounds like a really good year. Being smart about your race season too, as some people gain fitness over a season and others don't. Once again keeping an eye on your total load so that you don't go too deep in to the well and mess up your consistency.

Fwiw, i have consistently gained about 10 watts per 6 to 8 week base or built cycle on trainer road, but i also customize the plans to meet my schedule and recovery needs. The best cycling gains I've had were while doing minimal running intensity, just working on base miles. This is probably reason why bike fitness gains are harder during the season with more focus on quality runs.

So just to follow up on this: "Day 1 = 2x20 with <5 min between @ ~95% of FTP"

This means riding 2 rides for 20 minutes each with a 5 minute break at 95% of FTP. I guess I thought that short-term intervals were the way to get faster. Just wanted to make sure I was riding this right. 20 minutes seems longer than what I have read in the past - typically 2-4 minute intervals. Thanks!

Yes, threshold intervals are typically 15-20 minutes long. I usually do 2 x 30' or a single 60-minute interval at 93%-95% FTP. 2-4 minute intervals are VO2 Max intervals.

It boils down to specificity. You want stronger biceps, do bicep curls. You want to improve your sprint or crit performance, do VO Max intervals. You want to improve your FTP, do longer intervals either at or near FTP.

Good read except when Frank Day chimes in for over half the thread

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Twitter@Forsey37

Thanks for the response. I had a coach for 3 years but I do have access to TrainerRoad, Zwift and Sufferfest. Wasn’t sure if anyone actually had any success with any of the programs. Any specific programs you use. I am old as well.

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Twitter@Forsey37

Congrats on the nice improvement. Were your runs easy and did you do any swimming.

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Twitter@Forsey37

Ive racing since 2013 and took last year off and getting back into it now. Started training again about 5-6 months ago 3-4 times a week to get a base built up again. We start going 5-6 days a week here shortly.

When I race I usually win my AG in our local races and finish in the top 10 OA.

My FTP hasn’t changed since I started which is the odd part.

I don’t have any races planned again until next year.

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Twitter@Forsey37

I just rotate through TrainerRoad's HIM mid-volume base, build, & optimize plans. I usually do the base & build until I am 8 weeks out and flip to optimize leading up to a race.

Yup runs were easy, and I didn’t swim during that period. This was the beginning of my transition into bike racing and away from triathlons. The plan is still great if you want to raise your FTP and a great bike focus.

Curious about this... when was the "start" exactly? 5-6 months ago when you began riding again, or in 2013?

I did a similar improvement (~250 -> ~295 @ 80kg, i.e 3w/kg -> 3.7w/kg) using Trainerroad plans, although during an extended gardening leave.

After that I think gains would have been easier with a coach. So basically, I think without knowing your weight, it's hard to assess. I am by no means a coach though, so take it as an N=1.

Since I started triathlon in 2013.

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Twitter@Forsey37

I’m 73kg

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Twitter@Forsey37

I'm guessing that prior to 2013 you were in good shape from running? And since you started riding in 2013 your FTP hasn't increased at all? How long was it after you started riding before you checked it?

Best way to get your FTP up is generally to ride long intervals near FTP.
I agree that the Flanagan programme is probably a great way to go, but you'd need the will to stick to it. In the short term it could be great but having come across that a year or two back I decided it wasn't going to be sustainable for me and I'd want more variety and fewer back to back hard days. I got into the habit of doing long steady intervals, long over/under intervals, group rides on Zwift that would have me at 80-110%FTP for about an hour, and easier VTP intervals. I'd do these two or three evenings a week and a long ride on a Sunday. If I had the opportunity to add an occasional evening ride or an extra ride on a Saturday, I'd do that too.

Some of my typical sessions were:
2x20min @95%FTP on 4 min recovery
3x15min over/under interval blocks (alternating 60s@110%FTP/ 90s@90%FTP) on 5min recoveries
6x3min@125%FTP with 5min intervals
25x1min@113%FTP on 1min recoveries@50%FTP
I did try the 5x5min@110-115%FTP sessions as per Flanagan but I found them especially unpleasant. They may have done a lot of good for my FTP, but I decided against them most of the time and did 6 or 7 shorter intervals of 3mins at higher intensities of about 120% instead.