Upping the power
I only started cycling with power mid last season, so I'm still new to this game. But, I have been cycling for many years and have been tested many times.
Last year, my FTP was lap-testet at 294..and for this season, I have set the ambitiois goal of an FTP of 325 in july.
However, this weekend, when I went through some old papers, I came across a lot of old bike tests, that I have done over the last 10 years or so. These bike tests have been done at different times of year, different bikes, different labs, different testing protocols, etc, etc.
What struck me was that in all the tests, there seemed to be the same 290 W (ish) threshold. Even in a test going back as early as 2000!
Obviously, I guess I should be happy, that I'm still able to push the same amount of Watt that I did when I was 25, but it also got me worried about the possibilities of me reaching my 325W goal... Am I just stuck at 294 regardless of training and goals, or is there still hope for me....? :
It just looked a bit odd....10 years and no change..
Comments
At the end of the day, the only way to find out if it's a real plateau is to push for the OS and try to break through. Never know whether the limit is in the muscles or the mind...
Bo, sounds like you were doing lab test, which would mean that someone said you were at watts x when your HR, blood whatever, etc was at point y. That method depends on the accuracy of the test and the interpretation of the tester. In other words, if I say that LT is one thing and another guy says it's another thing, we could each test you and end up with 280w and 300w respectively...but both call it LT. This sorta thing actually happens a lot.
By contrast, our tests here are functional field tests. No labs, no equipment, no specialist interpreting the results. Just put weight on the bar and lift it.
So the short answer is to ignore the results of your previous tests. Do ours and try to improve on those performances over time.