How Much Faster After 2 Years Of Cycling? - New FTP Test

[@anze190]

Congrats! I am on similar journey so I totally understand your happiness, its the best feeling! I went from 175W(110kg) in 2022, 228W(100kg) in 2023 and 255W(87kg) yesterday. We got this!💪

[@BravoLimaA220]

Congrats man! I'm starting zwift tomorrow and you were definetly one of the motivations for me to start it. Good luck with all the projects and keep it up!

[@Windsail]

Mate that improvement is immense, keep going 💪 you're smashing it. And with limited time. Proving that barriers are only put up by you. Chapeau

[@theCLEcyclist]

wow congratulations for all the hard work that led to that awesome FTP jump!! To jump so much 2 consecutive years is truly a testiment to your work ethic and potential as a cyclist. Keep it up mate!!

[@CollinMcCartney]

Great video! I had a major surgery 4 months ago and bought the Zwift bike to reintroduce cardio. Granted diet restrictions have also helped, but I've gone from 86kg to 74kg and from 125 watts to 170 watts these past few months.

[@speedsociety9177]

dropping weight and upping the watts, awesome achievement!

[@aglees2b]

Yeah that's super impressive commitment, hats off to you for keeping it going

[@edam9461]

Your videos are really refreshing Benji. I watched from your first riding videos and love how you approach learning to ride as a way to feel better about yourself through setting achievable but hard to reach goals. Keep up the great work.

[@doc_need_helpr6469]

You inspire others who love cycling to start riding more. I just bought my first road bike. Cant wait to start. Keep it up 💪

[@heikkisanelma6625]

congrats! 9 more years and you are on pro peloton form! Tenerife and mt.teide is a classic! I will be there once again on january...

[@ChryskylodonInstitute]

great vid! it's been fantastic to follow your journey. keep on keeping on Benj!

[@JonReid]

Well done mate. 30 watts per year is a huge improvement. I’m also going to Teide in December. First time climbing that for me too. Fingers crossed for good weather!

[@DanCave]

I had a friend who's improved 30w in 4 months.. he's 68.

[@adamsvetlik6636]

Good job, Benji! Keep up the good work. Even if this video would inspire "only" one person, it was worth it. Nice!

[@emilringgaard7466]

Such a blast watching you improve (and lets be honest, see you suffer! ;))! Well done Benji, what a journey!

[@raymondrichardson538]

Great job, Benji! Inspiring stuff - brought a big smile to my face!

[@RyanCondon]

Fantastic video Benji. Congratulations on your weightloss and your cycling achievements. 🙌

[@BenjiNaesenbiggestfan]

Ohyes Daddybenji I am so proud of your journey to greatness. We are inspired gucho musto.

[@OliverKnittel]

Congratz Benji, true suffering, and true achivements, and also progress! I want to see you knock on the 300w barrier! You can do it!

[@Maxibsa]

Good Job keep pushing 💪🏻 I am cycling for one year and at the Moment on an ftp of 211 Watts. I Hope to get up to 230-240 Watts by the end of 2025 on 55KG.

[@adamloake]

Great work Benji! Awesome achievement, keep it up and look forward to the upcoming challenges

[@eloann]

Congrats on the journey so far. Pretty nice having someone scream at you for motivation. I usually ask my cat, with mixed results.

[@bailiejohn]

Great work Benji! Enjoying this series and watching your progress.👏🏽

[@oliverdowd1978]

7:41 egregious use of a bar chart instead of a line graph. It's great to see the progression of an every day person! Inspiring everyone that they can get there too.

[@victorpedro9809]

I started also 2 years ago on Zwift at an FTP of 180 w (82 kgs) and now I am at 300 (74 kgs) nice !

[@mathiaslisson5576]

Really like how you make progress, and love that you and timms do videos together :) its always incredible to watch how people of different levels do the climbs, even though it takes more time for some than others. For comparison the best zwifters in the world did the grade in around 9 min. At the zws event a month ago. But keep on fighting and you will improve even more 😊

[@brevorbrogitsky3760]

I did the same test today, and got the exact same FTP as you. Good job!

[@pschmeichelb]

Congrats brother!!! 🎉

[@Jessicastrange]

🎉 Congrats on the new FTP! Such a cool video, you give me hope for my next one. Also loved that you used The Grade, that’s some solid effort 🙌🏻 I don’t think I’m ready for that level yet, but maybe one day

[@DanCave]

Nice job... I love how you were totally spent at the end.. If you do threshold intervals 1-2 x a week you'll get better. ;)

[@kptprzemo]

You're the best, Benji! Keep it up, and soon you'll be climbing famous Grand Tour climbs :) I wish there were a series about you tackling the climbs of the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, or Vuelta a España

[@ShawnIsBatman]

I absolutely love everything about this video!! First, I am tremendously happy for you...congratulations!!! Second, this video provides the perfect message for all cyclists and anyone who wants to improve...consistency = improvement. Legends never appear from nowhere, legends are built each and every day when they show-up and put in the work. Benji = building a legend. I can't wait for the Willunga Hill showdown for LRCP!!

[@amsterdamraj1]

Very good Benji.I started seriously this year I use Rouvy.I'm 45 years old, weighed 75kg and had 220ftp watts in January.Now I weigh 67kg I have an hourly ftp of 300 watts. The best ftp test is an hourly 20 minute test, it's ok, but I don't use it. It's also good to lose weight to ride long distances in zone 2.11 months and about 20000 km.Good luck and further development and only good results.

[@baptisteseguy3280]

6:27 I absolutely love (and relate to) the unfiltered violence of the "STFU"! you know you're deep in the hurt zone when it comes out like that! XD Any way, congratulations on the journey, it's crazy to see just visually how much more comfortable in your own skin you look now! Ride on!

[@Cid0484]

Congratulations on the improved FTP! El Teide is a brilliant climb 🙂 Have fun on Tenerife!

[@drvarg01]

Nice work, Benji!!! Absolutely smashing it!!

[@Andrade-Zwift-Racing]

Great improvement, congrats! Today I'll do my FTP test using "The Grade" for the first time. I'm curious to see the differences between this test and the ramp and 20min tests I did before. Thanks for sharing your video Benji, it was really fun to watch.

[@swegfesh]

Congratulations brother! Starting my Zwift journey whenever my trainer arrives. I'm very unfit due to heart problems, and i want to see what type of performance i can reach with my limitations.

[@richardhowarth4230]

Excellent news Benji you are an inspiration. Simply fantastic👍👍👍

[@jamesbancroft2418]

Well done, Benji!

[@jentheverstraete8680]

Great improvement Benji! Keep going!

[@pogromcywgniecen4666]

I was started in 2020. With 220wat FTP Now with the 330 show. Good luck. My weight from 118kg dropped to 82kg. You can make it.

[@notpogi]

Fair play Benji that’s some increase mate, very inspirational 👍🏻 Let me know if you want a domestique for the Alpe!

[@austinsympson2635]

Amazing Benji, hope you stick with it!

[@nielsdekker2930]

Amazing process Benji!!! Keep going

[@joshceo1270]

Well done Benji. Keep it up!

[@tomschenk5148]

Congratulating. Well earned. Bravo.

[@eltribun]

The power rises ↗↗↗- the Benji sufferface remains .... love it, keep goin 🔥🔥🔥

[@Norwegianwatts]

Amazing work Benji! ❤

[@DABERAL]

🎉🎉congrats and keep going like that

[@arrieredupeloton]

Great stuff Benji. Also hopefully on the start of my weight loss fitness journey again. I have managed to conquer shin splints also! Haha When you climbing Alpe D’Huez for REAL though that’s the real question…

[@FiloVF4]

Some advidse from guy who have more than 5 w/kg. Focusing only on FTP is a dead-end when it comes to becoming a better cyclist. You’ve done a lot already, but there’s still plenty you can improve! Besides a more structured training program that emphasizes aerobic endurance and intervals (when you’re supposed to ride in Zone 2, stick to Zone 2, even if you feel strong enough for Zone 3 or Zone 5), add a proper 4-2-1 diet (proportions of carbs, protein, and fats) and consume 60 to 120 grams of carbs per hour during workouts or races. For an amateur, 8-12% body fat is perfectly sufficient. I have a goal for you-try to complete a 10k Everest Challenge!

[@SanderMichiels]

And ofcourse enjoy riding your bike without thinking too much about numbers seems like a good one to me

[@pierrex3226]

If you use a garmin device, it will give you VO2max estimates, which are useful to get a sense for your genetics and the size of your engine. You should also specify your weight on the end table and put a watt/kg ratio, because FTP alone paired with a big weight loss is really only half the picture.

[@steezzee]

This is spot on - don't disregard the weight side of the equation. Your first improvement from 190w to ~225w was likely also accompanied by some weight reduction, resulting in a bigger improvement than it might seem.

[@leonardhofstadter2453]

@@steezzee FTP does NOT depend on your weight.

[@steezzee]

@@leonardhofstadter2453 - I'm not saying it does. I'm saying that FTP is effectively enhanced when combined with weight loss.. watts/kg is a more indicative measure that pure FTP.

[@TimMatheeussen]

Congrats Benji!

[@TBarsss]

Straight rawdogging an ftp test is wild! Idk how you did that without music

[@homiertcw]

Great work benji!

[@peterthornton7030]

What a huge improvement!!

[@bengt_axle]

Love the sound effects.

[@ob4327]

You look amazing! Thanks for posting an honest record. Nowadays I'm tired of ego-inflated fast progress reports, like PWR4.0 in less than a year. May I ask how tall are you? Keep up the good work!

[@TheMadkozzie]

Proficiat Benji!! Leuk om te zien dat je zo’n vorderingen maakt! Ik zou ook willen starten met Zwiften, ik den er aan om ook de zwift ride aan te schaffen, twijfel alleen nog om te wachten op de jet black victory of toch voor de wahoo kickr te gaan (blijkbaar zou de jetblack meer functies en aansluitmogelijkheden hebben) Hoelang kunnen we nog gebruik maken van je kortingscode (kwestie dat ik u een plezier kan doen als ik er eentje koop 😊)?

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Thanks voor de steun! Omtent kortingscode, normaal sowieso tot Januari. Ja, heb ook gehoord dat de JetBlack Victory zeer goed is. Zelfs wel nog niet geprobeerd.

[@enjoycycling8608]

Great job! Your WKG must be much better too.

[@skiny9467]

Congrats, we are the same bodytyp and i have a near same story, as i hit 250 watts i was very very happy and proud. I stuck at 100 Kilos but my ftp goes to 300 watts atm

[@erikgarfinkel3304]

Excellent Benji!!!!

[@mikekent9488]

I love this. Thanks for sharing

[@_xnk7257]

More data please! You mention you've wanted to ride your bike more year on year, how many kms do you typically ride? How much did your W/kg change etc. Very inspiring to watch!

[@JakkakkJannajak-px3yr]

I did my first race 2 months ago. 18th out of 120. I was so disappointed, I really thought I was great. I’m now 2 months into zwift. Level 32, 100,000 feet of ascent. Averaging 24 miles per day. My ftp went from 230 to 299. I can’t get off the bike now. Any time, any day and any weather. My brand new aeroad is neglected due to the zwift ride

[@hoodyps]

Try the ramp test, we'll see how different the results are. I prefer it more than the 20min test. Great job 👍

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I’ve done the Ramp Test numerous times before, but it overrates my FTP by a lot because I’m better at shorter efforts.

[@boefferken8712]

Dit zijn echt top video's!

[@agrajag24]

Just started zwift last month. Overweight and ftp at 165. Cannot wait to get to 250 :D

[@tmelendezmia]

Way to.go Benji!!👏👏👏🥳

[@thewattlife]

I ran up Tiede this summer and it nearly killed me ! Good luck

[@WesleyNobels]

Dit is zo enorm motiverend!

[@thenoclue90]

Benji, you legend. 😤

[@BurningHorizons]

Chapeau Benji 🎉😎

[@Bukoe]

First off amazing progress .=) Now your getting to a point maby within the next year or so where you will start to stagnate and the progress will slow down.. Here you will have some options if you want to keep improving .. Loosing weight / lifting weights / structure with Programs / Or more Hours pr week on the bike .. For me more hours was not a option . So I have for the last 5 years or so done a little of everyting else .. Last one that might be the mental part is just accepting that you are happy with a 270-300 FTP and have fun with the bike and enjoy where you are .. I am 50 years old have fully accepted that I will not get above 300 FTP again.. My goal is to try to stay close and maintain for as long as posible =) ..

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Losing weight is an aim next year.

[@SpencerSnow]

Impressive weight loss! I'd be interested in how you're structuring your non-race/test Zwift workouts. Intervals? Z2 with movies? Etc

[@thomasdarling7026]

Congrats man! Can I ask, do you use a fan and if so what fan do you use?

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I use a JetBlack trainer fan.

[@mattgilmour9761]

Well done Benji

[@Woutermsk]

Knap resultaat! Keep on riding ;)

[@XavierHipolito]

That's it, Cycling is a battle with yourself

[@SteakandChains]

Great job! If you’d like to make your AdZ PR attempt an open event I’d love to help with pacing.

[@kiralymate3d]

I understand that on Zwift and on many places they say that stay seated, however many others say that feel free to not follow that rule, if you check pro riders, they also stand up relatively often during big efforts. If you stand up you can also relax/'shake' your muscles. At this point I cannot imagine doing a 20 minute big effort only seated. I would recommend you the same :D

[@Hafiz_Vanyar]

awesome 🎉 well done

[@RyonBeachner]

One thing that may be valuable to consider isn’t just improving FTP, but look at the improvement in power to weight ratio. Losing 19kg in and of itself is like raising your FTP 100w on a long 7% climb. 😅

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I'm purposely keeping it out of the video to discuss it next year. I have a specific weight goal in mind before I want to talk about it.

[@RyonBeachner]

@ Best of luck man, it’s fun following along. If you ever make it to southern California I’d be happy to show you around.

[@thsaintful]

Dont beat yourself up: a 30W increase in FTP in one year is MASSIVE. Especially if you do it again a year later. Most people would be happy to see a 5% increase over a year. Also, you lost weight, so your W/kg (an even more important metric than pure FTP) has increased even more. You're doing incredibly well man!!

[@TGShunai]

That is simply not true, a 30 watt increase it not a lot over a period of an entire year, especially when you're just starting out. You can get 30 watts in 6-8 weeks in the beginning given you have a structured training, eating and sleeping schedule. A 5% increase is what you can expect to see if you've already been riding for years and you then switch to a structured training program.

[@garysladek9110]

Cheers Benji, I'm curious about your Zwift setup, do you have a fan or fans blowing on you? I would have a hard time riding indoors without mine. Luv ya.

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I have a JetBlack fan and I'm honestly quite happy with it.

[@pieterbauwens5607]

Benji, ik ben in Tenerife eind December. Ik wil graag met u de Teide op fietsen. Greets Pieter.

[@chrisko6439]

30W improvement per year - in 10 years, you'll drop Pogi ;)

[@duarteribeiro4787]

What a journey. The gap from last year to this year is incredible. 300W incoming 😅

[@peterm4969]

Whats your weight now?

[@jonasosa5126]

1 hour FTP test is the way to go over a 20 min test.

[@kalleandersson916]

Think of where you was when you started. What was the top notch performance is now the warm up

[@Ih8GoogleandApple]

The suffering was epic

[@dabsyyy]

man, are you not using a fan while indoor training? that would be a game changer

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I am using a fan, a good one.

[@CasualCreationsjr]

Haha fk the shin splints. I tried running when I originally loss my weight. Same thing and now I’m addicted to cycling

[@itschify]

Benji, congratulations on your improvement and suffering! However, I do not understand why you put a number of "320 something" watts on your start screen. You do you. Don't go fishing for higher attention with this number on display if you can not deliver. Your improvements have been stunning enough. That's my little remark about your video. :) I guess, "don't over-promise."

[@jameseastwood402]

BOOM!

[@ConnorCanRead]

That's an everesting jersey at 43 seconds, how did everesting not make your list of accomplishments?!

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

I haven't everested anything I'm afraid. Not sure how I got that. 😂

[@luigenius5556]

How much km was that Paris-Roubaix challenge?

[@ArthurUndercover]

jheese refuel water is the superpower

[@Robcobes]

More importantly, what's Timmsoski doing there?

[@czeckson74]

strange ZWIFT calculation: 30´ 262W x 0,96 = 252W personally I think your FTP is a bit higher than 252W

[@BenjiNaesenTV]

Honestly, I don't care too much about the minute differences. I just use it to motivate myself that I'm going in the right direction, and to aim for higher next time.