How long does it take you to see gains? I used to be an ok cyclist, like when I was 18. I'm almost 31 now and just barely back on the bike for a few months after 10 years off with basically no riding. I'm still not riding consistently, and have maybe 2000 miles this whole year. Just a few days ago I bought a Kickr trainer and ran the 20 minute FTP test, and got 292. At 6'3" and 185 lbs, I am a bigger rider, so my watts/kg is only 3.47.
I have a big event in May 2018, about 8 months away exactly, that I would like to do well in. Specifically it's the Assault on Mt Mitchell century, and I'm aiming for a sub-6 hour time. I did a local flat century with only 3500 feet of climbing in 4:37 and another hilly century with 9000 feet of climbing in 5:51, but the Assault has an additional 1000 feet of climbing, so I'll need to be faster.Is it possible to raise my FTP from 292 to around 350 in 8 months?
I'm hoping that since I'm relatively untrained right now that I can get a big boost just from sticking with some structured training. That would put my watts/kg at around 4.1. I know I've got about 5-10 lbs to lose, so it's possible I could raise that watts/kg to 4.2 or even 4.4 if I get down to 175 lbs. My racing weight when I was actually fast was 165 lbs and around 4.5% body fat, but then again that was a long time ago and I was still a teenager. I'm somewhere around 16-18% body fat now. What do you think, is this even a realistic goal?
My 3-4 year goal is an FTP of 400 at a weight of 175, which would put my watts/kg at 5.03. I'm sure that would be just during the peak for a season, but that would give me a good shot at performing well on a few select events. Well, you never know unless you try!
I have a big event in May 2018, about 8 months away exactly, that I would like to do well in. Specifically it's the Assault on Mt Mitchell century, and I'm aiming for a sub-6 hour time. I did a local flat century with only 3500 feet of climbing in 4:37 and another hilly century with 9000 feet of climbing in 5:51, but the Assault has an additional 1000 feet of climbing, so I'll need to be faster.Is it possible to raise my FTP from 292 to around 350 in 8 months?
I'm hoping that since I'm relatively untrained right now that I can get a big boost just from sticking with some structured training. That would put my watts/kg at around 4.1. I know I've got about 5-10 lbs to lose, so it's possible I could raise that watts/kg to 4.2 or even 4.4 if I get down to 175 lbs. My racing weight when I was actually fast was 165 lbs and around 4.5% body fat, but then again that was a long time ago and I was still a teenager. I'm somewhere around 16-18% body fat now. What do you think, is this even a realistic goal?
My 3-4 year goal is an FTP of 400 at a weight of 175, which would put my watts/kg at 5.03. I'm sure that would be just during the peak for a season, but that would give me a good shot at performing well on a few select events. Well, you never know unless you try!
