Zero to Ironman: EP 8 - My First Ramp Test

Week 8 of my 7 month journey as I train from zero prior experience to complete an Ironman in order to raise awareness for T2KO and support those facing this tough battle.
This week's episode includes doing my first ever ramp test. It also includes an osteopathic consult and bike vlogging.
👥 LINKS:
💝 T2KO - Osteosarcoma Awareness Donations: www.mycause.co...
❓Why I am doing this 👉 www.brodysearl...
📺 Instagram: / brodysearle
🏃 Strava: / strava
💻 Personal Website: www.brodysearl...
If there is anything you would like to see or know, please feel free to comment or message me! :)

[@terbohh]

babe wake up, brody searle posted a new vid 😍

[@brodysearle]

Pin pin!

[@joel_rosen]

Hey Brody here from Massachusetts! You inspired me to sign up for my first 70.3 in July! Watching your right now on my first bike!

[@brodysearle]

Amazing mate!!! Let’s go!

[@bas2205]

Benchmark testing is not really for comparing to others, it's a tool to tailor&scale your training for maximum improvement! Don't be discouraged, the real test will be the next one, to see if you improved...

[@brodysearle]

There you go! Thanks mate!!! I just googled what averages were!

[@LifeLikeLinnea]

As someone who is thinking hard about signing up for an Ironman 70.3, I really enjoy following this series! Cheering you on!

[@brodysearle]

Thank you!! Sign up for sure! Best of luck :)

[@joshuafoulds8107]

Hey Brody, ramping to 300 is not a bad begin. 400 watts would have honestly been a ridiculous expectation. The pre-set "Sweet Spot" bike workouts are great choices for working that higher, but not super high effort.

[@brodysearle]

Thanks Josh!! I think I 100% set myself too high of an expectation 🤣

[@joshuafoulds8107]

@@brodysearle you're going for an Ironman in 7 months, expectations are meant to be high! Keep after it

[@brodysearle]

Thanks mate!! I am doing a swimming video in a few weeks also, I'll let you know when! Thanks for the constant support :)

[@joshuapryor2619]

Hello from California USA! Inspired you are doing this for charity! I've done 8 fulls and 30+ 70.3 races and I'll always remember my first! I have a CHALLENGE for your next video. In a single ride (Zwift or Outside) do as many Kms as you can (no limit) and I'll donate $2/Km you ride to T2KO when posted in your next video! :)

[@brodysearle]

That’s a lot of Ironman mate!! Insane work!! Wow that’s an insane gesture mate! A message has been sent straight away to my coach to see what we can do for the long ride Saturday 😅

[@joshuapryor2619]

@@brodysearleDon't destroy your legs too badly and have fun bro! :)

[@brodysearle]

@@joshuapryor2619 I would knowing me, so I’ll throw it over to the coach for the tick of approval haha!

[@montanagreider6057]

Never overthink your first ramp test! The first result is only a benchmark and you will quickly go up from there. Once you get the technique of the ramptest down, and more seat time, it will surprise you how high it can go!

[@brodysearle]

It looks so intimidating on the screen right!

[@haurdahl]

Great hustle lad. Don’t let anything knock your confidence, we all have sessions that we expected to go better. Trying to recover from illness myself the frustration is real when you know your body can do better but your lungs aren’t cooperating. Can’t wait to see what you get up to next week 👍🏻

[@brodysearle]

Illness is the worst when it comes to training mate! My first week into the training I was coming off the flu so I know exactly how you feel haha all the best mate and rest up!

[@Verbizzle]

You pushed me to take the jump and register for my first IRONMAN West-Friesland 70.3 in June 2024. Will follow your journey as I experience mine. LETS GO! 💪🏼

[@brodysearle]

Amazing!! Let’s goooo!

[@MrPMH559]

Cool! Do you live in NL @verbizzle?

[@Verbizzle]

Yes. I live in a small town called De Goorn, approximately 30 kilometers above Amsterdam. And even better, only a ten minute drive to the IRONMAN West-Friesland 70.3 course. The goal is to do a full IRONMAN in 2025.@@MrPMH559 Waiting for the next video 🔥

[@ajpsaint]

been waiting all week for this! Loving the content Brody!

[@brodysearle]

Thanks mate!! Appreciate it!

[@alexwilliams01]

be proud mate ur doing amazing. I'll be doing my first tri next year and your so motivational

[@brodysearle]

Thanks Alex!

[@user-fn6bs7nz4l]

Let's go! Love these Sunday posts, can't wait for the next one 😎

[@brodysearle]

Thanks mate!! Appreciate it a lot :)

[@EduardoHenrique-nd1ro]

Hey Brody! Always good to get a notification from your YT! Amazing video, as usual! Cheers form Brazil, mate!

[@brodysearle]

Thanks for the support mate!!

[@ShawnXiaoMelb]

well done for both editing and training! Keep it up!!

[@brodysearle]

Thanks mate!! Look forward to you being in the series 😎

[@midjanhadzidulbic3136]

Top quality production, wow

[@brodysearle]

Appreciate that a lot mate!! Thanks :)

[@danielfarrell2823]

Just found your channel, keep up the good work!! Would be really cool if you could explain your zwift setup, I would love to start using zwift but I have no idea how to get set up or how to pick a good trainer to us. Keep it up!!

[@brodysearle]

Hey mate! I’m using a V5 Kickr that I got from marketplace! My zwift setup is super cheap to be honest, it’s just the kickr, a mat and the bike all from marketplace! Happy to help you out on Instagram if you want to flick me a message.

[@N1kki86]

Hey Brody, I've been loving following your journey through all. I happen to be a swim coach, without seeing your actual technique my guess for the rash would be lack of rotation when you breath or your other thing to consider might be breathing timing might be off. If you need any help in the pool area feel free to reach out, happy to help for such a great cause.

[@brodysearle]

Thanks mate!! I know for that swimming session so changed; looking down and reaching out more. Not sure if this would’ve resulted in what happened or not too? Thanks heaps for the help also!

[@N1kki86]

@@brodysearle, most likely under rotation if you are reaching out more. When you swim think of having an vertical axis through your body and you rotate through this each stroke. So if you are stretching out further without rotating then your arm will come close to your face, where if you stretch out from your shoulder and allow your body to follow through you will get a more efficient stroke. If you do a quick youtube search for body rotation in freestyle you will get a heap of examples which might make more sense seeing it.

[@brodysearle]

@@N1kki86 Ah ok! I get you! Thank you!! That’s really helpful!

[@isaacgibson1472]

Hey Brody, love watching the content as I’m also training for an Ironman. I highly recommend using body glide (or some other sort of lubricant) on your shoulder before swimming. I also put it between the top of my chest and upper bicep as well. It has helped me out immensely with rashes

[@brodysearle]

Going into a running store to buy it tomorrow!!! I imagine it's the same thing?

[@isaacgibson1472]

@@brodysearle yes, I just use the same original Body Glide in the pool, they make a swim specific one but the original hasn’t given me any issues!

[@brodysearle]

@@isaacgibson1472 sweeet!!! Thank you!

[@wrongname3636]

like David Goggins says THEY DONT KNOW YOU SON!! keep it tha fuck up!!!

[@brodysearle]

Let’s go!! Thanks mate!!!

[@Emma-Maze]

Look at you gooooo! 💛

[@brodysearle]

Thank you ❤️

[@mcaxz]

228 is awesome... you will improve a lot. Congrats

[@brodysearle]

Thank you!!

[@bswims]

Grow your whiskers longer to stop the shoulder rub. Great effort!

[@brodysearle]

I have the worst beard growing effort of all time 🤣 thanks mate!

[@rashaykotecha2055]

beast mode

[@brodysearle]

Thanks mate!!

[@espenandersen2766]

228 is not bad :) will follow this journey, greetings from Norway

[@brodysearle]

Thank you!! :)

[@mark_verbos]

228 ain't bad, especially for a first test. Do yourself a favor and focus on zone 2 training (80/20 is what all the cool kids are doing). It's a long race and the endurance is what you need. The #1 concern on your first one is to complete.

[@brodysearle]

100% mate!! Prior to this I only did zone 1-2 riding! We won’t talk about the first two weeks 😅

[@tomburger4620]

Keep it up mate! Backing you in

[@brodysearle]

Thanks legend!!

[@mpmurphy107]

Is there a training plan you are following or do you have a coach?

[@brodysearle]

Have a coach from last week onwards mate! Will touch more on this also. Hard to make everyone’s schedules align with work and training 😅

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

5:40 - mate - an FTP of 228 is nothing to sneeze at. 22 years ago - when I did my second ironman aged 32 my FTP was about the same, and Im guessing I weighed more than you do now (83kg) & yet I rode 5 hours 50 minutes at IMNZ - which is not an easy course by any means. I suspect that without really trying your FTP will go up another 10% or so over the next 5 months leading into IMA. FTP is a good measure - a useful tool to set training zones and also work out a reasonable limitation for power output on the day of the race so as to not bonk the marathon, but it is not the be all and end all.

[@brodysearle]

Hey mate! I’m fluctuating between 84-86kg at the moment! I think I read too much into it when I was googling after finding out what average FTP cyclist get 😅 I feel like this is a good question to ask you - how do you maintain certain watts on zwift on a free ride? Or is it mainly workout you can only do this on?

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

@@brodysearle there is a few websites that estimate speed based on power out and other variables (aerbars, tyres etc) but as a very rough rule of thumb you should be looking to sustain 70% of FTP for the duration of the bike leg in an ironman. Trained athletes of coarse can sustain higher percentages, but 70% is a good benchmark for a new to ironman triathlete. 70% should give you a target of around 150-155 watts at your current FTP, which given your weight and bike set up (a pretty smick road bike with aero clip bars) should give you an average of around 30kmh for the bike leg - or 6 hours. This a good and realistic target for you. As your FTP improves, then so might your average pace. However, i caution you that there are certain stretches of the course at Port Macquarie where the surface is rough, or you are exposed to block headwinds, or some significant hills, so even if you are pacing at 30kmh for most of the day, allow another 15-20 minutes to deal with those adversities. Still, anything under 6:30 hours will give you ample time to punch out a marathon & its better to start that off as fresh as possible - because when you bonk on a marathon, you can easily lose 10-20 minutes per kilometre slowing from a jog to a crawl! Ps. I dont use zwift much (I’m old school TrainerRoad), but when I do I usually stick it in ergo mode by doing one of their workouts (there is usually a constant watt one available). That being said, you could do a lot worse than subscribing to one of the cycling apps and paying for it & then accessing their training plans. If you have a coach, they can direct you in this. If not, Zwifts various ‘building’ plans are pretty good. I reckon you’d get a lot of ‘bang for buck’ out of their 6 week ‘FTP Builder’ plan (26 workouts in 6 weeks, so not a lot of time for outdoor cycling in that period, but the benefits in strength by the end of that will be appreciable (and if you start now, by mid January you will be well placed to build volume in your outdoor cycling)).

[@brodysearle]

@@andrewmetcalfe9898 unreal reply mate! Tonnes of information - thanks heaps! Heard that port mac is a bit rough too!

[@maxmax-tz6is]

What tips did rob give you?

[@brodysearle]

I’ll touch on it next week bro! Sorry I filmed this super late haha

[@maxmax-tz6is]

@@brodysearle All right, I'm looking forward to it xD

[@CaseyCaiCai]

keeeeeeep uuuuuup!

[@brodysearle]

Let’s go!

[@patricia_w]

do the 20 min FTP next, my coach only gives me that one tbh

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

Absolutely do not do the 20 minute test. It is only for really serious athletes who have spend the time getting used to the protocol involved. A ramp test is pretty hard to fuck up, and will give you enough data to set training zones as a newcomer to the sport. In fact there is a real trend away from the 20 minute test now - even amongst really serious athletes. I could bore you with the details of ‘critical power’ testing and the like but after all these years the good old ramp test is still the best bet to get the best data.

[@brodysearle]

@@andrewmetcalfe9898 alright easy! Will stick to 40 then mate thanks!

[@terezakoudelkova508]

@@brodysearle I was going to say the same thing as Patricia. 20min is not straight forward - but I personally get much more accurate results (as measured by ability to execute ensuing trainings). I can push really hard intensities for a short period so Ramp test overestimates my FTP - I simply cannot maintain that effort in subsequent trainings. I do think that it's great to do Ramp as an initial assessment - because it gives you baseline for the power you should be pushing for the 20mins tests that you do as you progress the training...

[@Starbuckiez]

Shoulder pash rash 😂

[@brodysearle]

🤣