# FTP improvement rate



## plx (Mar 28, 2011)

Hi guys. I like to read a lot of theory about training and stuff like that, i find it interesting to know how our body works and how it reacts to training. 
Anyway, yesterday i read something on a forum that i had never read anywhere else, they were saying that 1 hour of L4s training in a relatively untrained person would improve FTP by ~2 watts.
Is this true? if yes then someone who builds a good base would be able to improve at a faster rate and plateau at a higher level right?

thks


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## thirstyman (May 6, 2007)

No idea if that number is fact-based but I would expect that the fastest gains are made by the recently untrained. It is hard to know if the number you cite is simply reflective of an untrained person getting used to making an effort rather than any real improvement in capacity. If you really commit to suffereing you can sometimes do a lot more than you might think is possible. 

Once you have a base level of fitness gains can be harder to achieve. By base I don't mean seasonal base. I mean a foundation level achieved over a few seasons. I have been riding seriously for 5 years. I'm 46. I train 10-13 hours a week. Previously a runner my level of fitness was decent to start. My first year on the bike I made huge progress with my FTP increasing over 25%. Year 2 about 15%. Year 3 about 10%. More recently I can boost my ~3-8% FTP within a month of very hard interval training. I have a hard time holding that increase. More typical progress is about 1% (for me about 3 watts) every 2 months (about 90 hours) with a bit of two steps forward one step back. I'd suggest 5% a year within well establish training loads might be typical for some one of my age. However, you can shift focus within your range of fitness (5s, 1, 5,20, 60 minutes) to target different aspects of your strength. Here you almost always expect ongoing shifts and some will decline if not actively trained. Overall, there is at least as much variability in your ability to any achieve level of power at any given moment from differing levels of motivation and willingness to suffer than training aspects - probably more.


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## Ric_Stern/RST (Oct 22, 2004)

thirstyman said:


> No idea if that number is fact-based but I would expect that the fastest gains are made by the recently untrained. It is hard to know if the number you cite is simply reflective of an untrained person getting used to making an effort rather than any real improvement in capacity. If you really commit to suffereing you can sometimes do a lot more than you might think is possible.
> 
> Once you have a base level of fitness gains can be harder to achieve. By base I don't mean seasonal base. I mean a foundation level achieved over a few seasons. I have been riding seriously for 5 years. I'm 46. I train 10-13 hours a week. Previously a runner my level of fitness was decent to start. My first year on the bike I made huge progress with my FTP increasing over 25%. Year 2 about 15%. Year 3 about 10%. More recently I can boost my ~3-8% FTP within a month of very hard interval training. I have a hard time holding that increase. More typical progress is about 1% (for me about 3 watts) every 2 months (about 90 hours) with a bit of two steps forward one step back. I'd suggest 5% a year within well establish training loads might be typical for some one of my age. However, you can shift focus within your range of fitness (5s, 1, 5,20, 60 minutes) to target different aspects of your strength. Here you almost always expect ongoing shifts and some will decline if not actively trained. Overall, there is at least as much variability in your ability to any achieve level of power at any given moment from differing levels of motivation and willingness to suffer than training aspects - probably more.



the number has no basis in fact. people's progression would be related to starting level, motivation, genetic trainability, training programme, etc, etc.

for someone of your age, the amount you can improve (year on year) will be related to the above. add in issues such as training time availability (although 10 - 13hrs/week is pretty reasonable).

cheers
ric


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