WHY YOUR FTP IS STUCK: THE METRIC YOU'RE NOT TRACKING | Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast 600

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// TOPICS COVERED

(00:00:00) Why Consistency Is the Key to Getting Faster

(00:01:33) What Is Training Variability? The Formula Explained

(00:02:28) Training Variability Scores: Steady, Moderate, Uneven, Erratic

(00:03:19) How We Analyzed 30,000 Everyday Cyclists

(00:06:54) What Steady vs Erratic Training Looks Like

(00:08:25) Steady Riders Gain More FTP at Every Training Volume

(00:10:46) Consistency vs More Training Hours: Which Raises FTP More?

(00:12:11) Erratic Training Makes You 3 to 4x More Likely to Lose FTP

(00:13:02) Does It Hold Up for 20 and 60 Minute Power?

(00:13:37) Steady vs Erratic Training Over 12 Months

(00:14:57) Why Big Training Weeks and Training Camps Can Backfire

(00:17:28) One Long Ride vs Three Rides Per Week

(00:19:43) How to Calculate Your Training Variability Score

(00:20:16) Key Takeaways: Steady Low Hours Beat Erratic High Hours

(00:20:39) Do Recovery Weeks Hurt Your Consistency Score?

(00:22:05) What Helps Cyclists Train More Consistently

(00:23:18) Real Athlete Tips for Staying Consistent

Training variability is a new way to measure training consistency, and it may be the reason your FTP is stuck. Coach Jonathan Lee looks at a sample of more than 30,000 everyday cyclists to show how closely steady training weeks are linked to FTP gains, and why both skipped weeks and huge weeks come with worse results.

You'll learn what training variability is, how to calculate your own score from your last 12 weeks of riding, what a good score looks like, and why recovery weeks don't count against you. Plus, real tips from TrainerRoad athletes on how to train more consistently.

This is a correlational analysis of TrainerRoad athlete data, not a controlled experiment. The same pattern showed up in 20 and 60 minute power, not just FTP.

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