Why Your FTP Isn’t Improving | Real Athlete Calendar Analysis | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 506

[@Gufolicious]

Best episode ever. Funny thing i was that guy this year. Now i ride half the volume but all structured and suddenly i get better.

[@TrainerRoad]

Love to see it!

[@mintomaster4215]

39:30 The crit circuit Nate is trying to remember the name of is Heffron Park in Sydney.

[@vincentslusser9205]

BIG TIP: Stay as cool as possible with indoor structured hard intervals. I have two huge fans. I also drop the thermostat to 67 or 68 degrees. And, do all structured intervals indoors if possible.

[@TrainerRoad]

So key! Can't get enough fans.

[@sturdyvw]

I do them all with a space heater, hard efforts with a fan, zone 2 and below with no fan. You’ll get stronger if you get through them in the heat, just make sure you hydrate and fuel appropriately.

[@starlitshadows]

I go even lower on the temp this because the room I train in is often colder. Prefer that for intervals. 2 fans as well.

[@Joecycles]

these are one of the best pod casts we see keep this sort of stuff up

[@TrainerRoad]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lokerola]

In-person podcast is the best! Their outdoor stochastic ride looks like almost all my outdoor rides. I live in the city and there's no way to ride more than 1 mile without stopping, restarting, etc. It's quite challenging to get a long, steady ride when you live in the city.

[@TrainerRoad]

This is the main reason why TrainerRoad exists. It's actually a joke that the best road to do workouts is called "Trainer Road!" :-D. No stop lights or cars!

[@roleypup]

I hear you. I have a closed circuit an easy 25-minute ride away where I can do intervals or sustained power. Otherwise if I want to get out of the city to lay down sustained power it's at least an hour commute each way, adding 2h to the ride time.

[@romankarabutin3781]

Awesome! Waiting for upcoming TR - Chris Miller Crossover🔥🔥🔥

[@keithcyk6663]

Jonathan, regarding your kits or light. You will get your set of valet bags on saturday (the day before the event). For you situation, there is 1x return valet bag you can use to pack up you lights. You have to stop at Dinner plain rest stop (This is where most people stop for Lunch break is) to collect your return valet bag (to be placed inside Dinner Plain valet bag). When you get your return valet bag place your light inside, seal the bag and hand it back to organizer. Wish you all the best, have a nice flight to Melb and hopefully get to meet you at FC.

[@Jono01]

Jonathan, it would be awesome to meet you at 3 Peaks Challenge! 😊 If you haven’t at arranged your accommodation yet, please do it ASAP. Try to stay on top of Falls Creek otherwise you’ll need to catch an early morning shuttle bus. As someone already mentioned there is a pick up bag at Dinner Plain rest stop to put any unwanted clothes etc into and it will be returned to Falls Creek for you. There are two other stops and you can have your food/drinks dropped off there for you. If it’s a hot day. I’m going to put a bottle of semi frozen drink at Dinner Plain and then drop any excess clothing off there.

[@ChinCycling]

This might be the best episode yet, this kind of FTP, race prep and planning chat is really informative, excited to see how everything goes in the build up and on race day for Peaks.

[@TrainerRoad]

Glad you liked it, and thank you!

[@charliemin]

Loving the new training analysis on people. Can't wait for the episode on Jon's Peaks Challenge experience!

[@DanielJahrusso]

As a cycling newbie, your podcasts helped me a lot to get a structured plan which fitted Fighttraining, Weightlifting and Cycling within one week. With a FTP of ~2W/kg I see I have a lot of work to do xD

[@MiguelAugusto1982]

27:00 yes! Do that feature! :P Shame people on bad behaviour/unstructured workout etc! :P

[@MiguelAugusto1982]

You could add a duck sound and image on the end of that workout! hahaha and keep that on the calendar view! :D

[@DJMSydney]

Jonathan awesome news about your participation in Falls Creek Peaks Challenge 2025! 1. You are able to forward deploy provision to be waiting for you at the Dinner Plains (1/2 way) rest stop. You also have an option to dump some kit there and it will be transported to the finish line for you. 2. Whatever gears you are thinking of running, you’ll need one gear easier! 3. By way of comparison, have a quick look at the training plans provided on the Falls Creek Peaks website. Most of us use the mid volume program to ensure a finish at Peaks. 4. The first decent is technical and there is an absence of safety rails in many places; falling off a cliff while still clip in is generally discouraged. 5. Spare a thought for us mere mortals who are out on course for 12-13hrs in the heat..

[@kennyxsd]

11:35 pushing workouts to zwift!!! Please do this!!

[@TrainerRoad]

It's in progress!

[@ianw3592]

Powerful statement right there Jon "Meet me where I'm at and step-up from there" @56:55

[@paulw677]

Staying in zone is a very underrated skill, and tricky if you live in a hilly location and your FTP is low - meaning your upper Z2 is below 200w. Even with a 34 x 34 gear range. I ride TR a 2-3 times per week but also love outdoors. Living in Sydney its very uncommon not to ride outdoors given the beautiful weather. It's a trade off between performance (structured training on the smart trainer) and enjoyment (riding outdoors with mates in beautiful weather and scenery).

[@studio_TLC]

Last few podcasts have been some of the best. Hannah should be full time! Quick question from this one for Johnathan...when discussing nutrition as part of Peaks training (good luck) you mentioned replacing carbs post ride as part of recovery. How are you calculating that number per ride? I have an almost identical nutrition approach to what you're describing otherwise (count ride nutrition separate from daily nutrition needs, fuel endurance rides at 60g/hr, ss-thresh at 90g, and race at 100-120g) but wondering how you land on that post-ride number as that bit I'm always kinda going on feel. Also...Withings scales have an "eyes closed" mode that will log weights in app and track body comp but not show you on the scale every time you step on it.

[@JulAlxAU]

For early morning workouts, just drink sugar water and have your breakfast post workout.

[@TrainerRoad]

Underrated approach!

[@martinemptage6798]

dont underestimate the climbing for peaks, aim more for sub 10 hours. i don't think you'll be able to maintain speed during the climbs especially after the half way point as the average gradients don't reflect what you'll actually ride up. There are some points that are much steeper than you'll expect. Aiming for 8 hours or less seems overly ambitious. I strongly recommend you study all the climbs and maybe look at loading a GPX file of the climbs into BikeTerra and do some practice climbing.

[@lisalists7760]

I would love to have a ride summary because I'm often going to look at my heart rate to try to figure out what exactly was accomplished

[@lisalists7760]

I would also love a review of this week. What is the best strategy to deal with when life gets in the way and you can't complete a given training ride? This Wednesday was too crazy and I couldn't fit in the perscribed ride so ended up with a rest day. The next day I did the planned free ride so the following day that was supposed to be a rest day I did the plan I missed on Wednesday and now tomorrow which had a planned training ride has been adapted but it is also a yellow day. Would it be better to make tomorrow a rest day and do tomorrow's mellow ride on Saturday instead because tomorrow is a yellow day now?

[@foodbymark]

Love to see this analysis. very useful. Question, when is the TrainerRoad push workout to Zwift coming?

[@TrainerRoad]

Its in progress now, but no ETA yet.

[@lejake]

OMG, first time in a long time clicking on the video (I usually just listen to the podcasts) and I'm shocked at how goodlooking Nate is. I knew that Jon was a looker, but woah!

[@starlitshadows]

Sure are a lot of folks doing those unstructured days with lots of intensity back to back. I like to think of training like a hard day then Z2 or rest day to allow the body to recuperate and adapt for the next hard day. If I throw in too much intensity it gets harder to get quality workouts in. That's almost like going to the gym and doing the same muscle hard every day. It needs time to recover and build.

[@starlitshadows]

When you mentioned you'd be doing a race weeks ago and Peaks came up Chris actually mentioned it on his podcast. You should link up with him Jonathon. I bet he'd even want you on his podcast if he could. Would be super cool to get a little TR Nero crossover.

[@suadmahmutovic6542]

People's biggest enemy is trying to keep certain average speed and they forgot they are doing intervals and steady power is only thing that matters!

[@digamondvonn]

for beginner & lightweight riders, i think it is harder to stay in zone specially riding outdoors. small inclines might cause power to spike out of z1-z2 range much easier than the more experienced rider since their z1-z2 is much wider than that of the beginner rider..just my two cents, would like to hear more about this. anyway, love this kind of real athlete calendar analysis! i learned a lot!

[@paulw677]

completely agree, I'm in the same scenario. Sydney Australia is very hilly, short climbs but difficult to stay in zone. It's a very underrated skill. I ride TR a 2-3 times per week but also love outdoors

[@Themasilii]

would love a podcast (and training program) for multi-day cycling trip. Doing a 7day ~500mile with ~60k feet of climbing in Norther Spain in July (includes the l'Angliru). Did one in 2022 in France with about the same, so can do it, but want to be fitter for this one. I am in my early 50's with 35+ Years cycling. Have 5-8 hours to train now but will do more in the last couple months. France was a horrible grind (but fun non the less) - so would be interesting to hear on this. This is not a race, but supported tour.

[@polovr-n1v]

It would be cool if you did an unstructured ride and it matched it to the closest workout or if too unstructured marked it as junk ride

[@Forest_velo]

Tr: HammerUK. Been using TR for years and it’s kept me fit but I’ve plateaued in the last few years! As I close in on 60 yrs old is the it for my ftp?

[@TrainerRoad]

Added to the list of candidates for review!

[@geoffnash2609]

FTP is limited somewhat by VO2. You can bump up against a VO2 "ceiling". If you have not undertaken a block of VO2 work for a while the change in stimulus may be what is needed. Also as we age, our VO2 does decline, so incorporating VO2 work into your training is not a bad approach anyway. If "legs" are the limiter, I tend to prescribe unders and overs to help improve lactate clearance (zone 2 training also helps build mitochondria which recycle lactate). If it is lungs, then VO2 work. Your body does get used to a stimulus and banging away at the same thing can lead to a plateau. A change of approach is often good for your head and for your training. I am 57 and currently coach 2 athletes over 70. Both are improving. There's more in you yet!

[@fraserherman8754]

It would be great if you could do a video on peaks challenge. I think 250W NP for 8 hours with a 290W FTP is impossible. Good luck!

[@4wardnutrition]

When did Nate start eating dumbbells?

[@TrainerRoad]

There's a direct correlation to the growing of the 'stache... 🥸

[@thenoclue90]

Jon about to be a guest on the Nero show 😂 @chrismillercycling

[@brittanybreaux6898]

I would love a training plan analysis - Brittany Breaux - long time TR user, 41 yo female, wife and mom of 2, business professional. Have been training consistently and wanting to ramp up to do the full waffle Belgian waffle ride with my brother in law. Using plan builder but would love feedback if I’m hitting the mark. Thanks for all you do!!

[@PJC3DP]

I have been following TR training plans for a few months now, Indoor and outdoor. My FTP is increasing and I am happy with the progress. I have found that the suggested red light-green light days don’t seem to reflect my actual fatigue levels, and wonder if I had respected the suggested reduction in training load would my FTP have ended up been lower than it is now. (TR user name Portzal)

[@TrainerRoad]

Glad to hear the FTP is increasing! We'll add your account to the candidate list!

[@Mikeferguson1980]

I’d love a review of my account, the biggest thing I need to work on is consistency longer than a few months but I’m not sure how to do that and get a CTL towards 100, do I just add endurance rides to a low volume plan to do that?

[@Matt.dodgson]

I’m going to renew my subscription when you can push all this to Zwift - what’s the timeline on this?

[@RXP91]

No way i can hit power that smoothly with the gravel and mud i ride. But Heart rate is much easier to keep smooth

[@darrellcroft.1727]

When will we see Trainer road workouts on Zwift

[@MrBongo1111]

Great episode as usual . As a masters athlete on trainer road exclusively since two rest weeks in October, long time user ,I have been doing weight training on Sunday Thursday . Sunday legs upper body and core ,Thursday just core and upper body . Legs will throw a red day so it’s been good for me just one day a week . I’m seeing improvement weekly . Is there a down side to this . The goal being raise ftp . David Orelli is my user name

[@suadmahmutovic6542]

Ty! I can't belive that you don't know about carbs 😮 Ita carbs that drive performance not protein...save that for recovery and load up carbs....simple carbs because you need to and simply just get a bottle of electrolytes amd drop 60 to 80g of table sugar which is amazing 1 to 1 ratio shake it up and you will be flying bro 🤙

[@tombarnes2652]

Is TR gonna allow all features for those using it on Zwift? Was looking at signing up before but some features such as ai FTP only worked if you did the workouts on TR (I only ever wanna do structured workouts on Zwift and outdoor rides) without recording on TR (I like the Zwift rides showing on Strava) I don't wanna be paying to be a "second class customer" or I wanna pay less 😂

[@tombarnes2652]

Or if you could publish an official supported feature list when only using outdoor and zwift rides that would be useful to weigh up

[@TrainerRoad]

Yes, you can just use Zwift and have your workouts scored, AI FTP Detection, training plans, etc. You can also get those sam features except workout scoring if you just ride outside :-D. Good idea to publish an official list of what's supported if you ride with Zwift.

[@joex9276]

I’d love you to review my training, JoeX is my TR username. Iron distance triathlete, seven seasons with TR looking for a breakthrough season to get to the next level at 70.3 FoP - (or better) and don’t care what it takes to get there! 😀

[@TrainerRoad]

Added to the list of candidates!

[@jaredmickel7750]

Buy some cheap lights or take a donation of some with some fatigued batteries and dump them. Lights are cheap compared to a flight to the other side of the world.

[@TrainerRoad]

Good point!

[@SeanBrenner-o5b]

Hello all. It is not rocket science on how to do endurance. No more than 10% of total ride time in zone 1 and 90% in zone 2. You’ll only see a little in zone 3 if your doing an endurance ride top of zone with intervals @ 75% as you will drift a bit of power into zone 3. My TR calendar is perfect representation of quality training.

[@geoffnash2609]

That's assuming the top of your Z2 is actually 75% of your FTP. For many people it is not. I coach to power, but the differences in "Zones" as a % of FTP for individuals is quite large. If that works for you great, but there are lots of different humans out there with great variations in % of FTP for both LT1 and VO2.

[@ketsujin]

Jonathan can just put a piece of tape over his scale and have it sync to his phone away from him so that he doesn't see it.

[@TrainerRoad]

Right, but it would be great to get just the rolling average trend delivered in a helpful way. - Jonathan

[@keepingtherubberdown5715]

anthonyjames420 if you could review. But, this being off season I feel it may not look normal as I am lifting, running and doing some light riding.

[@kiksdealba]

Great episode I love the analysis and feedback, I would love to have your feedback on my account, almost always training for Ironman since years ago with mainly bike and run because my schedule does not allow me to swim much. Edealba is my user name happy since 2010

[@jordandimaculangan8219]

Hello! JordanDMC pls

[@TrainerRoad]

Added to the list of candidates!

[@MiguelAugusto1982]

Nate! WTF?! You exploded in muscle mass!! All natural? (it's ok if you're not) Did you discover you're a mesomorph or what?

[@MiserereMei]

Why is Jon wearing a sweat suit? Is he doing heat acclimation during the podcast?

[@TrainerRoad]

Never not marginally gaining 😤

[@jeromybishop6330]

I'd love to have you guys review me. My TR name is the same as my YT username.

[@TrainerRoad]

Only if we can pretend you're the legend "Jeremiah Bishop" ;)

[@kupa18]

wow. what happened here. back to the old days huh!!!!

[@crailwah]

John aka erg mode

[@TrainerRoad]

🤖

[@polovr-n1v]

It would be cool if you did an unstructured ride and it matched it to the closest workout or if too unstructured marked it as junk ride