Stumbled across this video and you have documented your journey perfectly. The correlation between impact sports and cycling for fitness are great, I love (loved) football but as I've gotten older (50yrs) I know how tough it is on the body. You have obviously put a lot of training in too, and like you mentioned you've seen the results of that effort. I think that Z2 power is what will make your real life riding more enjoyable, especially on long rides. Great video.
Thank you! Yes, I completely agree! This experience has given me so much in the past two years and I want to share everything I've learned and experienced. It's brought me to places that only cyclists would know about. I'm fitter than ever despite not getting any younger. And seeing how powerful and fit some of the older cyclists are just gives me motivation to keep this going. I've also learned so much more about myself (mentally & physically). It's been a blast, really. Thanks again for dropping by. Hope you enjoy your rides out there as well! ☺
It’s always nice to watch your videos Leonard! If you continue 10-12 hours a week I’m guessing you’ll cross over to Cat A in not too long, just make sure you continue to have fun with what you’re doing. If you feel like doing some TTTs as part of your training I’ll be happy to hook you up with some of our guys who are doing the Thursday TTTs, it’s really effective over/under training and a lot more fun than doing it in ERG mode ;-)
Hey Øyvind! Thanks for your kind words! I haven't thought about A tbh. I want to perform in Cat B as you did. Long overdue but it seems like you're about to move up soon hahaha! Congrats! Hopefully, we can get some of your teammates to move up in this division as well! Hahahhahahah! Yea! Some of my teammates are doing the Thu's TTT as well. Unfortunately, Thursday's my only leg day, I can't give that up 😢 Thanks for the offer! It really means a lot to me! 🙏🙏🙏
You're pretty much exactly my age, size and height 😅 Great motivation to see this kind of progress in someone my age. I think Zwift puts me in 270W FTP currently, but I haven't done a test since January when I started riding indoors.
i'm 183cm, 70kg and with ftp of 276 (3.9w/kg) and only riding about 150km every week. i did this without indoor cycling, running 5-10km outside when its bad weather or when i dont have access to my bike bcs i stay in 3 different places and move around alot. Only started cycling a year and a half ago. without any structured training. just riding with friends who do and just follow them. i learned from youtube and my past track and field trainings how trainings should look when it comes to intensity and recovery i'm young and have a background in track and field 400m hurdles. at first i struggled to keep my FTP powers during training. A bikefit got that fixed and it boosted my FTP up by 10watts overnight basically. its moderatly expensive but a 215 euro bikefit did something a 5000 euro bike couldnt help me with.
I'm glad you include some outdoor hill trailing, do other sports, weight training, and complete spectrum of power curve, not just "FTP". Now it become better to shift ramp test to 20 minutes or longer test. Ramp test is a good workout, but it's could be skewed too much when you have too strong anaerobic (punching power). Adding a few anaerobic/sprint dedicated structure intervals (and you feel almost dead at the end) - sometimes this may give a breakthrough. Complete cyclist also involve race/group ride, social ride (outside in real world) and bike handling skills as well. you have a lot of room to grow. Not sure how tall you are, but 68-70 kg (assume moderate % body fat) and keep FTP around 320 will make you a very potential local rider.
Hey my friend! Thanks for your kind words 😊 Yea, 100%! TBH, unless we go to the lab and get tested, whatever FTP test we do is really just an estimate. I see it as a number to guide my training. Nothing more than that. I could have a 350W FTP and still get dropped at a race. I'm older now and my competitive days are over. So, I really don't need to be a complete cyclist or a local legend hahaha! Just a middle age man trying to have fun. I used the Ramp Test as a really quick way to track my progress over the course of the year. The result might be inconsistent if I were to switch to another form of test. Anyway, progress is progress and if I didn't improve, the test won't lie. Ultimately, my goal is to show the results of honest training. 300W, as you might know, is common Cat B and above haha! Great win btw! Holding 7 w/kg at the last kicker is no small feat! I'll subscribe and follow your journey brother! Ride on!!
@@zwiftlegs I also sub your channel. I used to be runner many years ago, with no training knowledge plus unfortunate accident, I got chronic injury and knee issue and it's never back to normal again. Feel like I already reach my plateau of my training if I still cannot fix and be able to push harder in terms of peak power, only I can ride longer. I hope that is not become permanent damage or getting worse Please don't get injury in the first place and you will progress! Let's go. Edit: If you go to local races, especially longer Fondo, MTB or gravel race , 40-49 year-old age group are very very competitive, see their time and rank in the race make you wonder. 😁😁😁
@@benjapolcycling sorry to hear that! Yea, sports science has become widely adopted and accepted by non-professional athletes in the past 10-15 years. Hope you can find the right mix to fix your injuries 🙏 Yea! I've gotten my ass kicked by older athletes. I've been dropped by women on climbs... I don't feel embarrassed at all!! Haha! It's a fair sport. Always someone stronger, better in certain categories!!
I had an event with a famous Dutch ex-pro Maarten Tjallingi. He said: "Do not focus to much on the things you cannot. Focus on the things you can and improve them more". He said that because no person can be so good that you can do everything in live or cycling. Nice that you try to improve yourself again and again.
Hey Eloy! Yea! Words of wisdom, really. There are so many incremental improvements we can control and make every day. Diet, training, recoveries, peaking, race day condition, in-race decisions etc. We do our best and whatever will be will be 🤞 I just find all of these super fascinating and I'm glad that I managed to capture a part of this journey and share the experience (good & bad) with all of y'all.
@@zwiftlegs I still follow you. I'm interested when you hit the wall of your possibilities and at some point that you really need to choose your goals because you are crossing critical limits of your body.
@@eloyzwift I see! That's a good one and I haven't put much thought into that. When I was lifting, I read somewhere that most people will not reach their genetic limit. The mind often breaks before the body. And speaking of Dutch cyclists, I recently saw TH-camr cyclist Jasper Verkuijl post a 421W for 20 minutes on Strava. Which really put me into perspective. When I look at my critical powers and how it compares to the others on Zwiftpower, can I do more? Even with plateaus, athletes and coaches are constantly devising ways to look for the breakthrough. So, I think I have a long way to go if that makes sense hahah!
Great video Leonard. Similar start to my cycling journey, managed to get to 4w/kg but due to losing weight quickly, I got sick for 2months late on that year - my immune system was heavily compromised for all the training and weight loss that came with it. Fast fwd few yrs later and i am kg heavier as I have added weight training to my cycling program and feel so and look alot stronger; no more skinny upper torso. Like you touched on near the end, I no longer focus much on the numbers and just go out and race crits and grand fondos; its much more enjoyable than chasing numbers on a screen, all alone in your garage\bedroom.
Hey my friend! Wow, sounds like a heck of a journey! Thanks for sharing your experience and insights. 🙏🙏🙏 I cannot agree more. If it comes, it comes. The most important thing is to really have fun in the process!! Stay strong boss!! 👍💪
Oh wow my first ramp test was 135w! a year in on Zwift and latest ramp test at 251. Was surprised you can hold FTP as my ramp test overreads massively. 251 on ramp and probs only actually 220-230.
Hey Tom! Congrats! Work don't lie! Mine overestimates my FTP as well as I'm anaerobically stronger. I always take 10W off and use that to establish my training zones. So, 305W is actually more realistic and as you can see, it can be produced if need be in races. More work to do! Ride on!!!
Great video, I'm very similar stats, (183cm, 78kg, 34 later in the year!) but don't have that underlying background fitness, so my body comp is likely way different - very cool to see where I can get to - consistency has been my issue so far, so thanks for showing a possible outcome and helping motivate me. Keep it up!
Hey Jon! Thanks! And yea, I think the human body is capable of so much more. I've been following a couple of cyclists to track their progress and I know it's not something that's impossible. We just have to keep at it!!! All the best, Jon!!!
Thanks, Mark! I've attributed it to my sports background. I've seen it with quite a few other cyclists as well. Including a friend I invited over for a FTP test.
Quick question bro, how heavy (compare to body weight) do you Squat before start cycling, and what is your weight lift maintenance program looks like? It could be an interesting video..as for now, I myself are back to cycling base building period, while ramping up my Squat.. I’ve been cycling since 2019, but just start weight training consistently for 3 months
Hey @@TheCyclingCardio ! Max I could confidently lift without failure was 120kg. I could try more but there's a risk of failure and there are people living below so.... 🤣 Thursday is my squat day. It's after the two intense days (Tue & Wed). 50kg x8, 70kg x8, 90kg x5, 100kg x3, 110kg x1. Then it's pin squats at 120, 130, 140. Then i would focus on eccentric and isometric at 145 quarter squat. 5s down, 5s hold. I get the volume I need at the lower weight and the max strength stimulus at the end. I realised the body quickly ditches the top strength as soon as I let it go. So, this is how I go about maintenance. I get DOMS on the Fri. Barely able to recover on the Sat. It's a totally different game here and I plan to periodise my training as soon as I'm satisfied with my base fitness. I learned a lot from Isaiah Rivera, kneesovertoesguy and a big fan of chinese weightlifters 🏋️
Hey, Nice content. Thank you for your explanations. I started zwift with build me up like you. Started FTP 240w to 311w (updated in my last race). For now, it’s difficult to me to find the right way of training. 😬
That's very similar, my fellow BMU graduate!!! Hahahha!! Regardless of the training method, so long we're having fun, that's all right!! Ride on my friend!! 👍💪🚀
Hey buddy! You can check this video out to see the breakdown of my training in 2024. th-cam.com/video/6uf-lzkq-24/w-d-xo.html But the overview looks something like this: 2022: 7-10 hours Threshold work + 1 race per week. I didn't understand the importance of base training. 2023: 10-12 hours (Polarise model) Mostly Z2 + 1 Zwift race + 1 VO2 Max session per week. I could ride more with less fatigue. 2024: 14-15 hours (Periodise training model) Take a break, go to the gym, then 12 weeks of base training, then another 8-12 weeks of build, then peak sometime in September/October.
You’re such an inspiration! I’m a beginner as well, away from any sports since 2016 and started cycling April 2021. But my FTP is way lower 😂 My goal is to reach 250W at Z2 (around 3W/kg). Current FTP is 213W, there’s still a lot of works to do. Do you stop and rest while doing intervals indoor? Not sure why, I just couldnt stand the tiredness when riding indoor. It suffers more as compared to riding outdoor.
Hey Elisha!! Thanks for your kind words haha 😊 It's actually very doable! It's a long game and we just have to invest the time and work and it will come eventually! Intervals? Yes! Haha. There are just some days when the body's just not feeling it. I'd decrease the power and so long my HR is in the VO2 Max zone I think it's fine! If it happens too often then the FTP is probably off! There are many ways to do the intervals as well. 40/20s, 7x3, 5x4 etc. You can play around and keep your body guessing! Ride on! 💪💪💪
Hey Leonard thanks for the update and what an amazing journey 💪. Did you do the eight weeks build me up from zwift or? If you were to start all over again knowing what you know now, how would you get to 300+w step by step. This will help us a lot. Again, thank you for your transparency Leonard 🙂
Hey, my friend! Thanks for dropping by! Yep! Build Me Up is a 12 weeks program that you can do on Zwift. That's a good question! I have thought about it myself. I would've told the old me to do the program. The old me has a sporting background, so, the initial threshold program would be more stimulating with a reasonable amount of work per week. It has good cadence drills and a variety of workouts to keep it interesting. Most of it is just fancy SSTs if we look at it haha! This will also save me 3 months of planning. After that, I'd perhaps start to slowly increase the volume via Zone 2 over time to build the base. The body's got to learn the different ways it can get energy from. Then keep the interval sessions hard and respect the recovery days and weeks. It can be as simple as this. We could dive deeper into the details but that would be an entire topic itself! Took me a while to understand and accept that going hard every time can actually impede progression. Hope this helps!
I'm on my last week of active offseason. Seems like it was decent I used it asa base builder. Just can be hard to schedule the weeks with two 3 hour z2 rides. Though i picked it as its an outlier on Zwift
Thank you, Larry! The results from the Ramp Test would give me a rough idea of my power zones. It's helpful because it gives me an approximate range of my power level. That's all I need as a recreational cyclist. Should I return to training after a hiatus (drop in fitness level), using the same test would quickly help establish my power zones. I find it to be fairly accurate. If anything, it overestimates my FTP a little, which I would then dial back so that training makes sense. No point trying to do an interval session at a power level I cannot hold hahaha! On top of that, Zwiftpower actively captures my performance in all my Zwift races. So, it's an additional layer of information that I can rely on to give me clarity on my current fitness level. Hope that helps! Cheers! 😊
Hey fellow zwift addict in sg, great vid btw. Probably same age as u, and play volleyball at all level. Transitioned to cycling after knee surgery and almost all my teammates have their acl/mcl injuries as well😂. I finished the ftp builder and build me up, seen progress. But kinda at a loss on what to focus now. Still pretty new to cycling. Should I focus on v02max or threshold workout weekly to further my ftp? What do u think , thanks
Hey buddy, great work! Seriously, good job. It's never easy committing and completing programmes. I've seen many try and give up. It's like everyone wants a 40-inch vertical but no one wants to work for it. Losers blame genetics for that haha! I see that your goal is to further increase your FTP and I think there are many ways to achieve that. I'm tempted to give you an entire essay because I'm really very enthusiastic about the science of performance. But TL;DR.. To get stronger, you need volume training at low intensity in Z2 or Z3. Time spent here triggers mitochondria biogenesis (building base), and time spent in Z4/5/6/7 triggers mitochondria adaptation (optimising performance to stimuli). Like with any sport, getting stronger in cycling is a long game. We're talking years! You can try polarising (Z2 and Z5) your training at an 80:20 ratio, gradually increasing the time spent on the saddle. e.g. if you're doing 7H now, you can try increasing it to 10H gradually. Since both the FTP Builder and BMU are low-volume introductory programmes, increasing the volume to 10H a week might be helpful to continue squeezing those beginner's gains. If you're crunched for time, 7H at Z3 and Z5 might do the job as well. Also, you can consider throwing in a midweek Zwift race. That way, you can identify your weaknesses as a cyclist. As the saying goes, "Ride your strengths, train your weaknesses". I've long given up on chasing FTP. The FTP is just a byproduct of you becoming stronger. Let it chase you, don't go chasing it. Lastly.... Outdoor social group rides are super difficult to get real work done. Once you're in the pack's draft, you're basically not working. If you're riding for fun, that's fine. If you want to train, that's what they call junk miles. Avoid that! Most importantly, have fun in the process! Cheers!
Wow thanks for responding w so much useful info.I just wanna get stronger/faster, climb better via cycling, I’m using ftp just as a benchmark over time to see if I have improved. Got to admit I haven’t place much focus on z2, been doing those hard intervals because I thought only higher intensity workout will make me stronger. Gotta give your advice a try and see the result in 3 months maybe. Thanks mate! And yeah unless I’m the one pulling, I come to realise recently much of my outdoor rides are junk miles even if the avg speed at the end of the ride is high.
@@RainieYang889 np at all 😉 Speed and distance are not important! Time in desired zone is the metric you would want to focus on! Have fun training! Hope to see your progress soon! 🤙🤙🤙
Awesome video Leonard, I recently signed up with zwift and would love to have a plan to work from in order to make the best of my cycling training and experience. Do you have your plan available anywhere for reference?
Hey Michael! Nice! Hope you have a good time on Zwift! I don't have it but Zwift have loads of plans! Myself, I'm just using the multiple options that Zwift offers to meet my cycling needs. Some days I'd just do a zone 2 ride with Zwift's pace partner. Other days I'd do a boring 90 mins ride using ERG mode. I create workouts and just use it when I need it!
Great video, and so motivate me as a beginer, I'm a beginner start cycling at july 2022, i just try zwift 2 months a go, and i did ramp test and my ftp is 231 (I'm 180cm and 86kg), if you were to start all over again, what you will do to get 300watt (by your experience), hope i can follow your journey to reach 300watt by following your experience
Hey buddy, great job getting onto Zwift. I'd suggest you get onto a programme like Build Me Up to get yourself comfortable with spinning non-stop for hours. 100% you will see huge improvements at the end of the programme. From then on, it's a long long journey of progression. Whatever you do, never give up. I've seen people who stopped wanting to improve, and they will never improve. You've got to want it bad. That's the one common trait I've seen in super successful people and athletes. All the best! Ride on!
@@zwiftlegs are you just straight follow the build me up plan, or you add more ride when you have time while run the build me up program? Cause i watch build me up is around 4 days a week and start with 3-4hours per week (right now im usually ride around 6-10 hours per week)
@@northernlightay Yes! I followed the plan when I first started cycling. I didn't have the legs to do anything else lol. I think what you do in the 6-10 hours is very important as well. If it's mostly social rides with a lot of Z1 work, freewheeling, drafting etc. then it's not going to be beneficial. If you have a training programme and you stick to it, staying zone, you should be seeing gains easily. There are actually no secrets, just hours and hours of staying locked in, staying in zone.
@@zwiftlegs thank you for your explanation, i dont have any specific program right now, just doing a lot of zone 2, and sometimes push my self in hilly area around my place (I live in mountain 😅), maybe i will try the build me up, and add more zone 2 if i still have the legs to do haha, Thank you buddy 👍
Hey Matt! Sorry to hear that! 😟 hope you're better now! That's some serious watts 😯🔥 I heard it's easier to get back, hope you'll be back to your best soon!!!
in your experience what is the most effective training in increasing FTP? is it the vo2 max training? or TH? and most of the time you do z2 training? thank you for you response in advance. niice video
It really depends on your goals, my friend! For beginners, just riding a lot will see results! Structured threshold program like Zwift's Build Me Up worked well for me! However, I've seen friends who gave up! The hardest part is getting started! Start a plan, stick to it and 100% money-back guarantee you'll see results!! Go get it!!! 💪
@@livehealthy9858 hmm.. there are lots of factors that might affect an athlete's progress. Age, nutrition, lack of recovery, lack of stimulus etc. I've seen riders hit a plateau, and when I looked at their activities, it's crazy. Intense work after intense work. Then there's still running in between with barely any days off. This is just an example that I thought could illustrate a plateau in progress. There could be so much more. The human body is an adaptive machine. Most of us will never reach its true potential. We just have to figure a stimulate a breakthrough. Most of my best results came right after a recovery week! Dylan Johnson on YT covers a wide range of performance related topics. Should be informative!!!
Hey, my friend! Mon: Rest Tue: Intervals Wed: SST/Race/OverUnders Thu: Endurance Fri: Active recovery Sat: Intervals & endurance Sun: Endurance I do this for 3 weeks before taking a recovery week. It's the same thing that GCN, Dylan Johnson and Cam Nicholls have been talking about in their videos 😊
@@zwiftlegs thanks for getting back to me. Ok so looks like 3 days of intensity with the race in there on a Wednesday. I'm following a similar plan a la GCN but with 2 hard days and the rest zone 2. Thanks again and all the best with your training 🙂
It’s not really your FTP if you can’t hold it for an hour. If you are afraid to test a pure hour power then at least try to find a lower wattage that you can confidently sustain for an hour with repeatability.
Not really. FTP stands for functional threshold power, what you are referring to is CP60 which is technically the maximum amount of power you can sustain for an hour. Different people have different power profiles, some have a more anaerobic component, others like me are diesel engines and can sustain close to their FTP for a very long time. In the end what you are essentially doing is a ramp test which gives you an estimate of your FTP based on an arbitrary percentage of your maximal aerobic power (which you get to a bit before you fail). This number is then used to determine training zones, but training is already recovering for your next training session. You don't do a full hour of threshold unless you want to tackle an hour record, because if you do that you will take a long time to recover and it's not efficient from a training perspective. I'd love to do an hour in a velodrome some day though, it must be an amazing experience.
@@neoneherefrom5836 FTP is just an estimate. Teams like EF don’t use FTP. They use DTP. Be it FTP or DTP, usually it’s to set how your training is going to be like. As mentioned above, the general consensus for max hour power is CP60.
Stumbled across this video and you have documented your journey perfectly. The correlation between impact sports and cycling for fitness are great, I love (loved) football but as I've gotten older (50yrs) I know how tough it is on the body. You have obviously put a lot of training in too, and like you mentioned you've seen the results of that effort. I think that Z2 power is what will make your real life riding more enjoyable, especially on long rides. Great video.
Thank you! Yes, I completely agree!
This experience has given me so much in the past two years and I want to share everything I've learned and experienced.
It's brought me to places that only cyclists would know about.
I'm fitter than ever despite not getting any younger. And seeing how powerful and fit some of the older cyclists are just gives me motivation to keep this going.
I've also learned so much more about myself (mentally & physically).
It's been a blast, really.
Thanks again for dropping by. Hope you enjoy your rides out there as well! ☺
It’s always nice to watch your videos Leonard! If you continue 10-12 hours a week I’m guessing you’ll cross over to Cat A in not too long, just make sure you continue to have fun with what you’re doing. If you feel like doing some TTTs as part of your training I’ll be happy to hook you up with some of our guys who are doing the Thursday TTTs, it’s really effective over/under training and a lot more fun than doing it in ERG mode ;-)
Hey Øyvind! Thanks for your kind words! I haven't thought about A tbh. I want to perform in Cat B as you did.
Long overdue but it seems like you're about to move up soon hahaha! Congrats! Hopefully, we can get some of your teammates to move up in this division as well! Hahahhahahah!
Yea! Some of my teammates are doing the Thu's TTT as well. Unfortunately, Thursday's my only leg day, I can't give that up 😢
Thanks for the offer! It really means a lot to me! 🙏🙏🙏
You're pretty much exactly my age, size and height 😅 Great motivation to see this kind of progress in someone my age. I think Zwift puts me in 270W FTP currently, but I haven't done a test since January when I started riding indoors.
Nice one, Chris! Yea! Our body is capable of so much more!!! Go get it!!!!
i'm 183cm, 70kg and with ftp of 276 (3.9w/kg) and only riding about 150km every week. i did this without indoor cycling, running 5-10km outside when its bad weather or when i dont have access to my bike bcs i stay in 3 different places and move around alot.
Only started cycling a year and a half ago. without any structured training. just riding with friends who do and just follow them. i learned from youtube and my past track and field trainings how trainings should look when it comes to intensity and recovery
i'm young and have a background in track and field 400m hurdles. at first i struggled to keep my FTP powers during training. A bikefit got that fixed and it boosted my FTP up by 10watts overnight basically. its moderatly expensive but a 215 euro bikefit did something a 5000 euro bike couldnt help me with.
That sounds like a lot of fun, my friend!
The good ol' riding-with-people-who-are-faster-than-you continues to bear fruit!
Wow good for you. Polarized training is super beneficial. You're wiser than your years! I'm 55 and just figuring this out.
Never too late, Bill! Met a lot of ass kickers your age!!!
Great video. Well done on your progress and thanks for sharing. And presenting the journey so well here
Thanks, Keith! 😊🙏
Holy crap Alpe D’ Zwift in 50 minutes. You are a beast.
Barely, Brent! Haha! The As are doing it the 30s and 40s 😵💫😵💫😵💫
I'm glad you include some outdoor hill trailing, do other sports, weight training, and complete spectrum of power curve, not just "FTP".
Now it become better to shift ramp test to 20 minutes or longer test. Ramp test is a good workout, but it's could be skewed too much when you have too strong anaerobic (punching power).
Adding a few anaerobic/sprint dedicated structure intervals (and you feel almost dead at the end) - sometimes this may give a breakthrough.
Complete cyclist also involve race/group ride, social ride (outside in real world) and bike handling skills as well.
you have a lot of room to grow. Not sure how tall you are, but 68-70 kg (assume moderate % body fat) and keep FTP around 320 will make you a very potential local rider.
Hey my friend! Thanks for your kind words 😊
Yea, 100%! TBH, unless we go to the lab and get tested, whatever FTP test we do is really just an estimate.
I see it as a number to guide my training. Nothing more than that. I could have a 350W FTP and still get dropped at a race.
I'm older now and my competitive days are over. So, I really don't need to be a complete cyclist or a local legend hahaha! Just a middle age man trying to have fun.
I used the Ramp Test as a really quick way to track my progress over the course of the year. The result might be inconsistent if I were to switch to another form of test. Anyway, progress is progress and if I didn't improve, the test won't lie.
Ultimately, my goal is to show the results of honest training. 300W, as you might know, is common Cat B and above haha!
Great win btw! Holding 7 w/kg at the last kicker is no small feat! I'll subscribe and follow your journey brother! Ride on!!
@@zwiftlegs I also sub your channel. I used to be runner many years ago, with no training knowledge plus unfortunate accident, I got chronic injury and knee issue and it's never back to normal again. Feel like I already reach my plateau of my training if I still cannot fix and be able to push harder in terms of peak power, only I can ride longer. I hope that is not become permanent damage or getting worse Please don't get injury in the first place and you will progress! Let's go.
Edit: If you go to local races, especially longer Fondo, MTB or gravel race , 40-49 year-old age group are very very competitive, see their time and rank in the race make you wonder. 😁😁😁
@@benjapolcycling sorry to hear that! Yea, sports science has become widely adopted and accepted by non-professional athletes in the past 10-15 years. Hope you can find the right mix to fix your injuries 🙏
Yea! I've gotten my ass kicked by older athletes. I've been dropped by women on climbs...
I don't feel embarrassed at all!! Haha! It's a fair sport. Always someone stronger, better in certain categories!!
I had an event with a famous Dutch ex-pro Maarten Tjallingi. He said: "Do not focus to much on the things you cannot. Focus on the things you can and improve them more". He said that because no person can be so good that you can do everything in live or cycling.
Nice that you try to improve yourself again and again.
Hey Eloy! Yea! Words of wisdom, really.
There are so many incremental improvements we can control and make every day. Diet, training, recoveries, peaking, race day condition, in-race decisions etc.
We do our best and whatever will be will be 🤞
I just find all of these super fascinating and I'm glad that I managed to capture a part of this journey and share the experience (good & bad) with all of y'all.
@@zwiftlegs I still follow you. I'm interested when you hit the wall of your possibilities and at some point that you really need to choose your goals because you are crossing critical limits of your body.
@@eloyzwift I see! That's a good one and I haven't put much thought into that. When I was lifting, I read somewhere that most people will not reach their genetic limit. The mind often breaks before the body.
And speaking of Dutch cyclists, I recently saw TH-camr cyclist Jasper Verkuijl post a 421W for 20 minutes on Strava. Which really put me into perspective. When I look at my critical powers and how it compares to the others on Zwiftpower, can I do more?
Even with plateaus, athletes and coaches are constantly devising ways to look for the breakthrough. So, I think I have a long way to go if that makes sense hahah!
Great video Leonard. Similar start to my cycling journey, managed to get to 4w/kg but due to losing weight quickly, I got sick for 2months late on that year - my immune system was heavily compromised for all the training and weight loss that came with it. Fast fwd few yrs later and i am kg heavier as I have added weight training to my cycling program and feel so and look alot stronger; no more skinny upper torso. Like you touched on near the end, I no longer focus much on the numbers and just go out and race crits and grand fondos; its much more enjoyable than chasing numbers on a screen, all alone in your garage\bedroom.
Hey my friend!
Wow, sounds like a heck of a journey! Thanks for sharing your experience and insights. 🙏🙏🙏
I cannot agree more. If it comes, it comes. The most important thing is to really have fun in the process!!
Stay strong boss!! 👍💪
Oh wow my first ramp test was 135w! a year in on Zwift and latest ramp test at 251. Was surprised you can hold FTP as my ramp test overreads massively. 251 on ramp and probs only actually 220-230.
Hey Tom! Congrats! Work don't lie!
Mine overestimates my FTP as well as I'm anaerobically stronger. I always take 10W off and use that to establish my training zones.
So, 305W is actually more realistic and as you can see, it can be produced if need be in races.
More work to do! Ride on!!!
Great video, I'm very similar stats, (183cm, 78kg, 34 later in the year!) but don't have that underlying background fitness, so my body comp is likely way different - very cool to see where I can get to - consistency has been my issue so far, so thanks for showing a possible outcome and helping motivate me. Keep it up!
Hey Jon! Thanks!
And yea, I think the human body is capable of so much more. I've been following a couple of cyclists to track their progress and I know it's not something that's impossible. We just have to keep at it!!!
All the best, Jon!!!
Super good video mate… love the aesthetic of your videos so keep it up
Thanks, John! I just subbed to follow your journey as well ☺
Thanks for sharing 🫡
Happy to contribute! 🤙🤙🤙
I think it's pretty impressive that you were starting at 232 W. That puts you pretty close to 3 W/kg right out of the gate.
Thanks, Mark! I've attributed it to my sports background. I've seen it with quite a few other cyclists as well. Including a friend I invited over for a FTP test.
Thanks for sharing 👍 😊
😊🙏
You’re pretty Jacked, I think your body comps are just fine 👍🏼
Thank you, Aron!
Quick question bro, how heavy (compare to body weight) do you Squat before start cycling, and what is your weight lift maintenance program looks like? It could be an interesting video..as for now, I myself are back to cycling base building period, while ramping up my Squat.. I’ve been cycling since 2019, but just start weight training consistently for 3 months
Hey @@TheCyclingCardio !
Max I could confidently lift without failure was 120kg. I could try more but there's a risk of failure and there are people living below so.... 🤣
Thursday is my squat day. It's after the two intense days (Tue & Wed).
50kg x8, 70kg x8, 90kg x5, 100kg x3, 110kg x1. Then it's pin squats at 120, 130, 140. Then i would focus on eccentric and isometric at 145 quarter squat. 5s down, 5s hold.
I get the volume I need at the lower weight and the max strength stimulus at the end.
I realised the body quickly ditches the top strength as soon as I let it go. So, this is how I go about maintenance.
I get DOMS on the Fri. Barely able to recover on the Sat.
It's a totally different game here and I plan to periodise my training as soon as I'm satisfied with my base fitness.
I learned a lot from Isaiah Rivera, kneesovertoesguy and a big fan of chinese weightlifters 🏋️
Great video, I think we’ve races together but can’t recall when. I wish I’d started when I was your age! You’re going to be super awesome!
Thanks, my friend! Holy moly.. 500 races. The probability is high that we raced together at some point!
You're doing amazing! Hope to see more!!! 🚀🚀🚀
well done nice progress 🎉
😊🙏
Hey, Nice content. Thank you for your explanations. I started zwift with build me up like you. Started FTP 240w to 311w (updated in my last race). For now, it’s difficult to me to find the right way of training. 😬
That's very similar, my fellow BMU graduate!!! Hahahha!!
Regardless of the training method, so long we're having fun, that's all right!! Ride on my friend!! 👍💪🚀
Great stuff. I need to settle in for some training over the next few months so I can be a proper C
Hey, my friend! Great work in the ZRL! Loads of time before the next season, let's get it!
Hey sweet video! Are you able to share a weekly/monthly schedule of your workouts?
Hey buddy! You can check this video out to see the breakdown of my training in 2024.
th-cam.com/video/6uf-lzkq-24/w-d-xo.html
But the overview looks something like this:
2022: 7-10 hours
Threshold work + 1 race per week.
I didn't understand the importance of base training.
2023: 10-12 hours (Polarise model)
Mostly Z2 + 1 Zwift race + 1 VO2 Max session per week. I could ride more with less fatigue.
2024: 14-15 hours (Periodise training model)
Take a break, go to the gym, then 12 weeks of base training, then another 8-12 weeks of build, then peak sometime in September/October.
Big fan of ur vids!
Thanks ZW 😊
You’re such an inspiration! I’m a beginner as well, away from any sports since 2016 and started cycling April 2021. But my FTP is way lower 😂
My goal is to reach 250W at Z2 (around 3W/kg). Current FTP is 213W, there’s still a lot of works to do.
Do you stop and rest while doing intervals indoor? Not sure why, I just couldnt stand the tiredness when riding indoor. It suffers more as compared to riding outdoor.
Hey Elisha!! Thanks for your kind words haha 😊
It's actually very doable! It's a long game and we just have to invest the time and work and it will come eventually!
Intervals? Yes! Haha. There are just some days when the body's just not feeling it. I'd decrease the power and so long my HR is in the VO2 Max zone I think it's fine!
If it happens too often then the FTP is probably off!
There are many ways to do the intervals as well. 40/20s, 7x3, 5x4 etc. You can play around and keep your body guessing!
Ride on! 💪💪💪
Hey Leonard thanks for the update and what an amazing journey 💪.
Did you do the eight weeks build me up from zwift or?
If you were to start all over again knowing what you know now, how would you get to 300+w step by step. This will help us a lot.
Again, thank you for your transparency Leonard 🙂
Hey, my friend! Thanks for dropping by!
Yep! Build Me Up is a 12 weeks program that you can do on Zwift.
That's a good question! I have thought about it myself.
I would've told the old me to do the program. The old me has a sporting background, so, the initial threshold program would be more stimulating with a reasonable amount of work per week. It has good cadence drills and a variety of workouts to keep it interesting. Most of it is just fancy SSTs if we look at it haha! This will also save me 3 months of planning.
After that, I'd perhaps start to slowly increase the volume via Zone 2 over time to build the base. The body's got to learn the different ways it can get energy from. Then keep the interval sessions hard and respect the recovery days and weeks. It can be as simple as this. We could dive deeper into the details but that would be an entire topic itself!
Took me a while to understand and accept that going hard every time can actually impede progression. Hope this helps!
Glad you got away from zwift plans. Too much intensity gives quick gains but brings burnout quicker. -U10
Hey, U10! Yea, and the quick gains taper off real quick as well!
I'm on my last week of active offseason. Seems like it was decent I used it asa base builder. Just can be hard to schedule the weeks with two 3 hour z2 rides. Though i picked it as its an outlier on Zwift
Enjoyed your vid mate - Is that a spin bike that I see you're using for Zwift?
Yes it is, my friend!
It's the Stages SB20. Used to be on a direct drive trainer and the difference is day and night 🤯
Awesome video mate!! Really honest 👍🏼 how did you find your threshold power once you stopped and started doing more Vo2 intervals?
Thank you, Larry!
The results from the Ramp Test would give me a rough idea of my power zones.
It's helpful because it gives me an approximate range of my power level. That's all I need as a recreational cyclist. Should I return to training after a hiatus (drop in fitness level), using the same test would quickly help establish my power zones.
I find it to be fairly accurate. If anything, it overestimates my FTP a little, which I would then dial back so that training makes sense. No point trying to do an interval session at a power level I cannot hold hahaha!
On top of that, Zwiftpower actively captures my performance in all my Zwift races. So, it's an additional layer of information that I can rely on to give me clarity on my current fitness level.
Hope that helps! Cheers! 😊
Bravo.
🙏🙏🙏
Hey fellow zwift addict in sg, great vid btw. Probably same age as u, and play volleyball at all level. Transitioned to cycling after knee surgery and almost all my teammates have their acl/mcl injuries as well😂. I finished the ftp builder and build me up, seen progress. But kinda at a loss on what to focus now. Still pretty new to cycling. Should I focus on v02max or threshold workout weekly to further my ftp? What do u think , thanks
Hey buddy, great work! Seriously, good job. It's never easy committing and completing programmes. I've seen many try and give up.
It's like everyone wants a 40-inch vertical but no one wants to work for it. Losers blame genetics for that haha!
I see that your goal is to further increase your FTP and I think there are many ways to achieve that.
I'm tempted to give you an entire essay because I'm really very enthusiastic about the science of performance. But TL;DR..
To get stronger, you need volume training at low intensity in Z2 or Z3. Time spent here triggers mitochondria biogenesis (building base), and time spent in Z4/5/6/7 triggers mitochondria adaptation (optimising performance to stimuli).
Like with any sport, getting stronger in cycling is a long game. We're talking years! You can try polarising (Z2 and Z5) your training at an 80:20 ratio, gradually increasing the time spent on the saddle. e.g. if you're doing 7H now, you can try increasing it to 10H gradually.
Since both the FTP Builder and BMU are low-volume introductory programmes, increasing the volume to 10H a week might be helpful to continue squeezing those beginner's gains. If you're crunched for time, 7H at Z3 and Z5 might do the job as well.
Also, you can consider throwing in a midweek Zwift race. That way, you can identify your weaknesses as a cyclist. As the saying goes, "Ride your strengths, train your weaknesses".
I've long given up on chasing FTP. The FTP is just a byproduct of you becoming stronger. Let it chase you, don't go chasing it.
Lastly....
Outdoor social group rides are super difficult to get real work done. Once you're in the pack's draft, you're basically not working. If you're riding for fun, that's fine. If you want to train, that's what they call junk miles. Avoid that!
Most importantly, have fun in the process! Cheers!
Wow thanks for responding w so much useful info.I just wanna get stronger/faster, climb better via cycling, I’m using ftp just as a benchmark over time to see if I have improved. Got to admit I haven’t place much focus on z2, been doing those hard intervals because I thought only higher intensity workout will make me stronger.
Gotta give your advice a try and see the result in 3 months maybe. Thanks mate!
And yeah unless I’m the one pulling, I come to realise recently much of my outdoor rides are junk miles even if the avg speed at the end of the ride is high.
@@RainieYang889 np at all 😉
Speed and distance are not important! Time in desired zone is the metric you would want to focus on!
Have fun training! Hope to see your progress soon! 🤙🤙🤙
What platform do you use for editing your videos? I really enjoy the transition!
Hey buddy! Thanks for dropping by! 😊
I'm using Premiere Pro!
Awesome video Leonard, I recently signed up with zwift and would love to have a plan to work from in order to make the best of my cycling training and experience. Do you have your plan available anywhere for reference?
Hey Michael! Nice! Hope you have a good time on Zwift!
I don't have it but Zwift have loads of plans!
Myself, I'm just using the multiple options that Zwift offers to meet my cycling needs.
Some days I'd just do a zone 2 ride with Zwift's pace partner. Other days I'd do a boring 90 mins ride using ERG mode.
I create workouts and just use it when I need it!
hi there, what bracket did you use to place your mobile phone? i saw in the video it's an elevated bracket connected to the bike?
Hey buddy, it came with the trainer bike 😊
Great video, and so motivate me as a beginer, I'm a beginner start cycling at july 2022, i just try zwift 2 months a go, and i did ramp test and my ftp is 231 (I'm 180cm and 86kg), if you were to start all over again, what you will do to get 300watt (by your experience), hope i can follow your journey to reach 300watt by following your experience
Hey buddy, great job getting onto Zwift.
I'd suggest you get onto a programme like Build Me Up to get yourself comfortable with spinning non-stop for hours.
100% you will see huge improvements at the end of the programme.
From then on, it's a long long journey of progression. Whatever you do, never give up.
I've seen people who stopped wanting to improve, and they will never improve.
You've got to want it bad. That's the one common trait I've seen in super successful people and athletes.
All the best! Ride on!
@@zwiftlegs are you just straight follow the build me up plan, or you add more ride when you have time while run the build me up program? Cause i watch build me up is around 4 days a week and start with 3-4hours per week (right now im usually ride around 6-10 hours per week)
@@northernlightay Yes! I followed the plan when I first started cycling. I didn't have the legs to do anything else lol.
I think what you do in the 6-10 hours is very important as well. If it's mostly social rides with a lot of Z1 work, freewheeling, drafting etc. then it's not going to be beneficial.
If you have a training programme and you stick to it, staying zone, you should be seeing gains easily.
There are actually no secrets, just hours and hours of staying locked in, staying in zone.
@@zwiftlegs thank you for your explanation, i dont have any specific program right now, just doing a lot of zone 2, and sometimes push my self in hilly area around my place (I live in mountain 😅), maybe i will try the build me up, and add more zone 2 if i still have the legs to do haha, Thank you buddy 👍
@@northernlightay whoa! Mountains are the best!! All the best, my friend!!!
I got sick dropped off to 250W from 344W. Back to building it’s been going slow.
Hey Matt! Sorry to hear that! 😟 hope you're better now!
That's some serious watts 😯🔥
I heard it's easier to get back, hope you'll be back to your best soon!!!
in your experience what is the most effective training in increasing FTP? is it the vo2 max training? or TH? and most of the time you do z2 training? thank you for you response in advance. niice video
It really depends on your goals, my friend!
For beginners, just riding a lot will see results!
Structured threshold program like Zwift's Build Me Up worked well for me! However, I've seen friends who gave up!
The hardest part is getting started! Start a plan, stick to it and 100% money-back guarantee you'll see results!! Go get it!!! 💪
@@zwiftlegs Im at 240 watts ftp but i think its hard to increase it. may be its a plateau?
@@livehealthy9858 hmm.. there are lots of factors that might affect an athlete's progress. Age, nutrition, lack of recovery, lack of stimulus etc.
I've seen riders hit a plateau, and when I looked at their activities, it's crazy.
Intense work after intense work. Then there's still running in between with barely any days off. This is just an example that I thought could illustrate a plateau in progress. There could be so much more.
The human body is an adaptive machine. Most of us will never reach its true potential. We just have to figure a stimulate a breakthrough.
Most of my best results came right after a recovery week!
Dylan Johnson on YT covers a wide range of performance related topics. Should be informative!!!
FTP in w/kg would be much more easy to understand, as I am 120kg and 300W FTP is nothing to write home about :D
Have you ever tried testing with the 20 min power *95% protocol?
Yes! I prefer the Ramp Test because it's more repeatable!
Do you mind clarifying how many high/low intensity workouts a week you were doing towards the end?
Hey, my friend!
Mon: Rest
Tue: Intervals
Wed: SST/Race/OverUnders
Thu: Endurance
Fri: Active recovery
Sat: Intervals & endurance
Sun: Endurance
I do this for 3 weeks before taking a recovery week.
It's the same thing that GCN, Dylan Johnson and Cam Nicholls have been talking about in their videos 😊
@@zwiftlegs thanks for getting back to me. Ok so looks like 3 days of intensity with the race in there on a Wednesday. I'm following a similar plan a la GCN but with 2 hard days and the rest zone 2. Thanks again and all the best with your training 🙂
A 300Watt FTP can be achieved by riding to work Every day and throwing in 2 Zwift races a week, change my mind
I won't! Haha! So many ways to achieve the same result 👍
What is your FTP in W/KG?
I based my workouts around 3.6 - 4.0W/KG FTP
您好,你是台灣人嗎?看了你的訓練覺得很厲害,您是做極化訓練嗎
您好!過獎了😅
是的,目前是在做極化訓練!覺得還蠻有效的。騎行的時間也提升了。又不會感覺過度的疲勞。
新加坡人 😅
It’s not really your FTP if you can’t hold it for an hour.
If you are afraid to test a pure hour power then at least try to find a lower wattage that you can confidently sustain for an hour with repeatability.
@@itstrbo you’re an animal, bro! Lol
Not really. FTP stands for functional threshold power, what you are referring to is CP60 which is technically the maximum amount of power you can sustain for an hour. Different people have different power profiles, some have a more anaerobic component, others like me are diesel engines and can sustain close to their FTP for a very long time. In the end what you are essentially doing is a ramp test which gives you an estimate of your FTP based on an arbitrary percentage of your maximal aerobic power (which you get to a bit before you fail). This number is then used to determine training zones, but training is already recovering for your next training session. You don't do a full hour of threshold unless you want to tackle an hour record, because if you do that you will take a long time to recover and it's not efficient from a training perspective. I'd love to do an hour in a velodrome some day though, it must be an amazing experience.
@@xGshikamaru every FTP definition I’ve ever seen says it’s supposed to measure your “theoretical” hour power.
@@neoneherefrom5836 FTP is just an estimate. Teams like EF don’t use FTP. They use DTP. Be it FTP or DTP, usually it’s to set how your training is going to be like.
As mentioned above, the general consensus for max hour power is CP60.