Thanks for keeping this rolling! I think this could be a valuable motivational and accountability resource for the entire team, as it captures so much of what we're trying to do here:
Fitness/wattage gains, as a result of hard work and smart training.
Body composition improvements as the result of the healthy adoption of successful eating habits and lifestyle changes.
I'd like to have a collective discussion on how we can improve this resource so it becomes and remains a good tool for everyone.
Coach Rich's Desired End State
We've create a tool that is as valuable to TriTimmy, as he works hard to improve from 2.5 to 2.7w/kg, as it is for Freakshow Freddy, as he works to improve from 4.25 to 4.35w/kg. Both Timmy and Freddy feel that the WKK is a valuable and inclusive resource they can both use effectively.
Specifically, I think we recognize and reward improvements and successful accomplishment of goals vs the size of your "number:"
% improvement column(s)?
A system of badges to add to your signature as you progress upwards? For example, from 2.5 to 3.0 to 3.5w/kg, etc, just to toss out some numbers.
Rich-- Love the ideas. I'll take a crack at adding a % improvement Column, just need to think about how to capture the original starting point for everyone.
I'd love to see Studly Stefan I mean Freakshow Freddy even try to keep up with Tri Timmy on the %W/Kg improvement metric!!!
Long (5 years, to be exact) gone are the days when I could reach 4 w/kg. Just holding serve is hard enough now.
% improvement seems another worthwhile metric. Personally, I'm not a merit badge collecter. I guess that's why I never made Eagle scout. I'm more simpatico with this guy :
I'm a couple of weeks from testing my FTP and I hope for a significant jump as my current # is more a correlation to my current lack of fitness than anything else. I have been at 4.0 before and I shall be back there soon.
While I wont be joining the 4w/kg club any time soon, I Will join in the fun. Last year I DNF'd at placid (undertrained - didnt respect the distance), and had a NP of 131w on the way to an 8:45 bike split (8:35 moving - lost 10 minutes and the end of my power data due to a busted spoke). Weighed in at IMLP at 212 lbs. Post placid, i surged to 225 on September 13th which was the first day of a weight loss contest at work. Thats when I started exercising again, but not with any particular direction or focus. A couple weeks later, JW pointed me (again) to EN, and I joined 2 weeks before the november OS began. My weight loss contest at work finished on Nov 22, where I was a dehydrated 180 lbs. On that last day of weigh-in, there was quite a swing that day, ranging from 180.0 to 189.9 lbs in that one day, with 22% body fat according to my scale.
Wk1 OS: 165w 200lbs 1.818w/kg (24.4%bf) Wk8 OS: 197w 194lbs 2.238w/kg (23.6%bf) targeting Wk14 OS: 225w 193lbs. Once I hit my goal: 2.5702/kg
I know that my early gains will be much larger and quicker, but I also need to re-focus on eating right. My Goal weight for IMMT in August is in the 180-185 range, and I hope to get to 250w, which will put me in the best shape of my life. Once I've hit these number, I'll be going into Tremblant at 3.061w/kg, which should put me in line for a 6-6:15 bike split.
I had thought about %Change and Total Change over time, but whatever it is called doesn't matter. What would be better than just numbers would be charts.. lots of charts.. Ok, maybe not lots of charts. But charts in the EN portal so we can see the numbers on the Training Plan page, or a large community W/KG page that shows everything (or those who want to opt-in).
Number are great, but charts and are more visually interesting and easier to look at over time.
@Darren - Once we get a couple months worth of data, it might be easier to chart and graph some things. If you have ideas with what might look best, at any time, you can copy the data from any of the tabs in the google doc (but the W per Kg tab probably best) and paste it into a real Excel file as text only. Then you can then manipulate it or chart/graph it however you see fit without risking messing up the sheet in any way.
@ Bob-- You are a monster on the bike! I'm sure your gains will be swift, and you will be motivating a lot of us!
@Steve!!! You are the POSTER BOY for what this W/Kg challenge is all about. And a freaking walking advertisement for the benefits of EN!!! By my math, on Sept 13th, you were sitting at 1.62 W/KG! That means you have already had a 39% improvement!!!! Holy Sheet! And if you get to your goal for IMMT then you will have almost a 100% improvement in W/Kg! If Stefan did that, he'd be in the Tour du France! Nice work, THIS totally motivates e to eat better and keep working out harder!!! Work Works man, You are living proof! Nice work and keep it up!
@Stark, I fixed the sheet. I just added a few columns to the sheet a couple of hours ago and didn't think to update the "Instructions" tab. Doh. It's fixed now. Can you go back into the sheet and insert your actual FTP on the FTP tab Column I. I put a dummy number in there just to make sure the sheet was working...
However . . . . when I adjusted my FT down in column I it gives me a -15% in the w/kg% Change column. Kinda kills my buzz. I would try and fix it but don't want to booger you spreadsheet.
I think the Tour of Sufferlandria might be in order to raise my roof in short order. Of course, I'm gonna have to dumb down the TrainerRoad % to 90% or so to get through it but 9 days of that stuff will be an asskicker!
I think the Tour of Sufferlandria might be in order to raise my roof in short order. Of course, I'm gonna have to dumb down the TrainerRoad % to 90% or so to get through it but 9 days of that stuff will be an asskicker!
Bob:
I need a BBW before IMTX training fires up. I will do this with you, if you want. Maybe start a group for it if others wanna join? Unless one is already going?
I think the Tour of Sufferlandria might be in order to raise my roof in short order. Of course, I'm gonna have to dumb down the TrainerRoad % to 90% or so to get through it but 9 days of that stuff will be an asskicker!
Bob:
I need a BBW before IMTX training fires up. I will do this with you, if you want. Maybe start a group for it if others wanna join? Unless one is already going?
Lemme know.
Stark
I'm really thinking about it but I have two issues: 1) I'm not in good shape right now. I took two months off from IMFL to Jan 1st. I have been trying to get in three S/B/R's per week for the last three weeks to get my fitness going. I'm afraid the TdS would destroy me. 2) I have a race in 10 weeks so that would be 9 days without running or swimming in the lead up.
@JW - How about a % body fat on the spreadsheet? I know it doenst really figure into Watts/Kg but I look more at decreasing that number over time vs my absolute weight. Theres also a lot of variablity in that number though due to type of scale, hydration level, athlete vs non-athlete mode etc.
I have an older Tanita scale, but considering the Withings wi-fi scale.
@Mark-- I agree that would be nice, but the variability among the people measuring would be massive. I also have an OLD Tanita that "supposedly" measures BF%, and I found very little correlation with the number it spits out and how lean I actually look/feel (how my jeans fit, etc.). I found it would vary by several percent just based on how hydrated I happened to be at the time. My scale is probably 5 yrs old so I wonder if the new expensive ones have gotten any better.
I would really like to keep the sheet as simple as possible (and "Pretty" for Dino). I put in some "conditional formatting" so people "should" get a nice visual surprise when they hit certain benchmarks. Someone else suggested to add in % (and/or total) change in weight and in FTP so you can see where the improvements are coming from. I think this makes a lot of sense but might wait a couple of months until we have more data so this is a more meaningful thing to look at. Or per Darren's suggestion, might just do a "monthly" snapshot where I (or he) copies the data from the google doc to something better for data manipulation to show all kinds of pretty graphs and charts, etc. This way we can give out monthly "awards" to the biggest movers in many different categories.
Holy crap guys/girls what kinda spread sheet we creating here! The SH topic has taken over half the thread. What's wrong with name, rank serial number. But when it's in it's final creation "we'll all like it no doubt" !
A co-worker and I had to travel to another office yesterday for work. They bought us donuts and plopped them at our workstation. It was like doing a 1000 watt interval but I passed on the donuts and had a healthy lunch when we went out to eat!
The spreadsheet is not automatically updating on the weight tab (and then onto the other tabs as well I guess). I just entered in my new body weight this morning and the grey cell with my current weight did not change in response. No biggie, just wanted to let you know.
The spreadsheet is not automatically updating on the weight tab (and then onto the other tabs as well I guess). I just entered in my new body weight this morning and the grey cell with my current weight did not change in response. No biggie, just wanted to let you know.
Oh the world of instant gratification!!! The sheet actually uses the "date" as the key to update... So you can certainly put your weight in the new cells a few days early, but it will update everyone's "current" weight and info when we actually get to 1/27/14 for instance. The same will be true for the FTP tab. If we get past 1/27/14 and it still doesn't update, then there is a problem. This sheet was meant to kind of "standardize" all of the data weekly for everyone which is why I set it up this way. Patience my friend. But nice job on the steady weight decline!
I did an FTP test today. I tested 3 weeks ago at the beginning of Jan OS and did well considering I had slacked for several weeks prior. Last week I knew some of my fitness was back so I decided to test today and it went pretty well. Here is my wko on Garmin, the test is lap 2: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/435476220
I've tried the 5/20 testing method 2 different times but I haven't been able to get it down. I kill myself during that 5 minute interval and I feel like my legs are gone for that 2nd 20 minute interval.
In WKO it broke down as: Duration: 42:06 Work: 723 kJ TSS: 75.8 (intensity factor 1.039) Norm Power: 288 VI: 1.01 Min Max Avg Power: 68 402 286 watts Heart Rate: 128 180 168 bpm Cadence: 44 101 88 rpm
I started to feel a little burn towards the end of the first 20 minutes but I still felt really strong. About 10 minutes into the 2nd interval I started to wonder if I could hang on to the numbers I had put up to that point. The last 4 minutes were really tough physically and my legs were feeling weak but mentally if I can get to this point without dying I won because I know I can bring it home, which is what I did. My test at the beginning of January OS was 264. I thought if I could hit high 270's very low 280's for this test it would be great so I'm pretty stoked about the results. At my current weight this equals 3.5 W/Kg. At my typical race weight it would put me at 3.8. My highest ever FTP test is 305. I've got some room at both ends of the equation still.
Comments
Hey Folks,
Thanks for keeping this rolling! I think this could be a valuable motivational and accountability resource for the entire team, as it captures so much of what we're trying to do here:
I'd like to have a collective discussion on how we can improve this resource so it becomes and remains a good tool for everyone.
Coach Rich's Desired End State
We've create a tool that is as valuable to TriTimmy, as he works hard to improve from 2.5 to 2.7w/kg, as it is for Freakshow Freddy, as he works to improve from 4.25 to 4.35w/kg. Both Timmy and Freddy feel that the WKK
is a valuable and inclusive resource they can both use effectively.
Specifically, I think we recognize and reward improvements and successful accomplishment of goals vs the size of your "number:"
Thanks!
I'd love to see Studly Stefan I mean Freakshow Freddy even try to keep up with Tri Timmy on the %W/Kg improvement metric!!!
Long (5 years, to be exact) gone are the days when I could reach 4 w/kg. Just holding serve is hard enough now.
% improvement seems another worthwhile metric. Personally, I'm not a merit badge collecter. I guess that's why I never made Eagle scout. I'm more simpatico with this guy
:
Wk1 OS: 165w 200lbs 1.818w/kg (24.4%bf)
Wk8 OS: 197w 194lbs 2.238w/kg (23.6%bf)
targeting Wk14 OS: 225w 193lbs. Once I hit my goal: 2.5702/kg
I know that my early gains will be much larger and quicker, but I also need to re-focus on eating right. My Goal weight for IMMT in August is in the 180-185 range, and I hope to get to 250w, which will put me in the best shape of my life. Once I've hit these number, I'll be going into Tremblant at 3.061w/kg, which should put me in line for a 6-6:15 bike split.
I had thought about %Change and Total Change over time, but whatever it is called doesn't matter. What would be better than just numbers would be charts.. lots of charts.. Ok, maybe not lots of charts. But charts in the EN portal so we can see the numbers on the Training Plan page, or a large community W/KG page that shows everything (or those who want to opt-in).
Number are great, but charts and are more visually interesting and easier to look at over time.
@Darren - Once we get a couple months worth of data, it might be easier to chart and graph some things. If you have ideas with what might look best, at any time, you can copy the data from any of the tabs in the google doc (but the W per Kg tab probably best) and paste it into a real Excel file as text only. Then you can then manipulate it or chart/graph it however you see fit without risking messing up the sheet in any way.
@ Bob-- You are a monster on the bike! I'm sure your gains will be swift, and you will be motivating a lot of us!
@Steve!!! You are the POSTER BOY for what this W/Kg challenge is all about. And a freaking walking advertisement for the benefits of EN!!! By my math, on Sept 13th, you were sitting at 1.62 W/KG! That means you have already had a 39% improvement!!!! Holy Sheet! And if you get to your goal for IMMT then you will have almost a 100% improvement in W/Kg! If Stefan did that, he'd be in the Tour du France! Nice work, THIS totally motivates e to eat better and keep working out harder!!! Work Works man, You are living proof! Nice work and keep it up!
OK, I am IN!
Can someone look at the spreadsheet? I populated the cells in the instructions and it doesn't appear to populate across the other sheets?
Is also notes: Put your most recet FTP test in your cell in Column G (in the yellow column) However, the G column is great, not yellow.
Any help is appreciated.
John
@JW - BOOM!
However . . . . when I adjusted my FT down in column I it gives me a -15% in the w/kg% Change column. Kinda kills my buzz.
I would try and fix it but don't want to booger you spreadsheet.
Google docs are such a P.I.T.A.
Bob:
I need a BBW before IMTX training fires up. I will do this with you, if you want. Maybe start a group for it if others wanna join? Unless one is already going?
Lemme know.
Stark
@JW - Thanks! You are my favorite EN member. Just don't tell anyone else I said that.
Stark
I'm really thinking about it but I have two issues: 1) I'm not in good shape right now. I took two months off from IMFL to Jan 1st. I have been trying to get in three S/B/R's per week for the last three weeks to get my fitness going. I'm afraid the TdS would destroy me. 2) I have a race in 10 weeks so that would be 9 days without running or swimming in the lead up.
Not sure, not sure.
I have an older Tanita scale, but considering the Withings wi-fi scale.
Mark
I would really like to keep the sheet as simple as possible (and "Pretty" for Dino). I put in some "conditional formatting" so people "should" get a nice visual surprise when they hit certain benchmarks. Someone else suggested to add in % (and/or total) change in weight and in FTP so you can see where the improvements are coming from. I think this makes a lot of sense but might wait a couple of months until we have more data so this is a more meaningful thing to look at. Or per Darren's suggestion, might just do a "monthly" snapshot where I (or he) copies the data from the google doc to something better for data manipulation to show all kinds of pretty graphs and charts, etc. This way we can give out monthly "awards" to the biggest movers in many different categories.
Holy crap guys/girls what kinda spread sheet we creating here!
The SH topic has taken over half the thread. What's wrong with name, rank serial number.
But when it's in it's final creation "we'll all like it no doubt" !
PS - I have nothing to offer SH wise !
@David SH ='spreadsheet !
Canadian acronyms-----
FTP/Vo2
Wk1 165/203 (1.83w/kg)
Wk8 197/225 (2.24w/kg)
Wk14 217/267(2.47w/kg)
Hey John,
The spreadsheet is not automatically updating on the weight tab (and then onto the other tabs as well I guess). I just entered in my new body weight this morning and the grey cell with my current weight did not change in response. No biggie, just wanted to let you know.
Oh the world of instant gratification!!! The sheet actually uses the "date" as the key to update... So you can certainly put your weight in the new cells a few days early, but it will update everyone's "current" weight and info when we actually get to 1/27/14 for instance. The same will be true for the FTP tab. If we get past 1/27/14 and it still doesn't update, then there is a problem. This sheet was meant to kind of "standardize" all of the data weekly for everyone which is why I set it up this way. Patience my friend. But nice job on the steady weight decline!
Ahh! I didn't catch the inner code triggering updates on the column's date. Thanks. I'm coming for that 4, JW.
I've tried the 5/20 testing method 2 different times but I haven't been able to get it down. I kill myself during that 5 minute interval and I feel like my legs are gone for that 2nd 20 minute interval.
In WKO it broke down as:
Duration: 42:06
Work: 723 kJ
TSS: 75.8 (intensity factor 1.039)
Norm Power: 288
VI: 1.01
Min Max Avg
Power: 68 402 286 watts
Heart Rate: 128 180 168 bpm
Cadence: 44 101 88 rpm
1st 20 minutes NP = 288 1st 5' = 281, 2nd 5' = 291, 3rd 5' = 287, last 5' = 293
2 minute rest interval AP = 175
2nd 20 minutes NP = 293 1st 5' = 288, 2nd 5' = 292, 3rd 5' = 292, last 5' = 300
I started to feel a little burn towards the end of the first 20 minutes but I still felt really strong. About 10 minutes into the 2nd interval I started to wonder if I could hang on to the numbers I had put up to that point. The last 4 minutes were really tough physically and my legs were feeling weak but mentally if I can get to this point without dying I won because I know I can bring it home, which is what I did. My test at the beginning of January OS was 264. I thought if I could hit high 270's very low 280's for this test it would be great so I'm pretty stoked about the results. At my current weight this equals 3.5 W/Kg. At my typical race weight it would put me at 3.8. My highest ever FTP test is 305. I've got some room at both ends of the equation still.
THANK YOU John AKA Spreadsheet Fairy
Doug: BAM! Nice job on your test and thanks for sharing the deets. Sounds very well executed!