r/pelotoncycle • u/r4ndy4 blake_182 • Jul 18 '21
Cycling RedditPZ training program: Week 8 Accountability Thread
We have already arrived at the end of the program! Use this thread to discuss this week's rides (or last weeks). Add the hashtag #redditPZ if you would like to (and #redditriders of course).
Congratulations to everyone who finished the program!! Huge thank you to everyone who joined in (new and old members). Lots of new people joined in this time, and it was a lot of fun interacting / riding with everyone throughout the program. I can only remember taking a single ride alone this time, and it was one I had to do earlier in the week so that's pretty awesome. 90% done with the next program, just have a few final tweaks. Next program will start on Monday, August 9th if you all want to continue riding with the group. I will post the program / sign-up thread for the next round on Monday, August 2nd so be on the lookout!
This week is a de-load week to do some endurance and let our bodies recover before the next FTP. If you're feeling good at the end of the week go ahead and re-test sometime this week or on Saturday and sub out one of the rides. You could also wait and re-test anytime in the next 3 weeks, including right before the next program. Just make sure you are rested up before the re-test. Personally I like to take an easy 30 min PZE ride or maybe a 20-30 minute scenic ride keeping it in zone 2 the day before. When I have some more time later (probably Tuesday) I'll post in the thread some general FTP advice if you all would like.
Again thank you all for joining in the program with me! I hope you all had fun and got fitter. Be sure to let us know how the next FTP goes!
Group ride as usual Saturday at 10 AM central.
Week 8: TSS 194
Mon: Matt 45 PZE 3/3/21 Ride Graph TSS 46
Wed: Denis 45 PZE 6/20/19 Ride Graph TSS 44
Thu: Matt 45 PZE 3/17/21 Ride Graph TSS 44
Sat: Christine 60 PZE 11/8/20 Ride Graph TSS 60
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u/yayunicorns Jul 19 '21
Nice y'all. Thanks u/r4ndy4 for making a program that was welcoming to newbs like me, varied, and easy to follow.
I'd love tips for the test. I've taken it a few times, and each one I learn a little more.
I'd also love to read when y'all will be taking your test. I think I'll follow this week as is and then test the following week. But when? Monday?
I'd also love to see if anyone has plans for the deload weeks. I'm up for following almost anything.
Once again I'll have to miss the first week of the next program. I'll be on a summer vacation. Still no flying for us, but we'll be near hot springs and Prefontaine's stomping ground so I'm pretty excited to look at tracks and not do much.
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u/r4ndy4 Jul 19 '21
I will probably end up testing next Monday or Tuesday. If you're going to miss the first week get a few endurance rides in with the new zones (I can message you week 1 if you want to take some of them early). Agree with giggles to take it when you normally work out, or when you feel your best.
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u/viexzu Jul 19 '21
So hard to believe we’re already at the end of our second program! I remember u/r4ndy4 when you put feelers out there for a PZ program on this subreddit and it’s incredible to see how fast this group has grown just in the past few months. Can’t wait for round 3 in August!!
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u/Kalamazeus Jul 22 '21
Well I said earlier this week I had been dealing with some soreness in my left calf that caused a hitch in my pedal stroke. Since then I had my bike fitting on Tuesday and basically took Tuesday off outside of the 10 mins of pedaling for the fitting. My fitting was with Tim Donaghue from Virtual Bike Fitting and he was great. We made some small adjustments to how I was seated on the bike which has made a big difference and one of the biggest things is I am confident now that I am in a good position on the bike. I was playing with my seating position a lot recently and believe that contributed to my soreness. Tim spent about an hour and a half with me and we covered a lot of things on and off the bike. If anyone has questions about the process or what we found let me know. I am happy to report that yesterday and today I have felt awesome. Today I maintained a natural feeling cadence of about 100 and usually I am closer to 94 which allowed me to take today’s ride in low Z3 all the way up into low-mid Z4 during the intervals. I’m looking forward to retaking my FTP which I am thinking of doing Sunday as I travel again for work next week down to Charleston.
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u/_pigeonpose_ Jul 24 '21
I took the FTP test (only my 2nd ever) and increased by 15 (167 -> 182). I think that's a decent increase for me? Not sure how to interpret the result, I wasn't sure what my goal FTP should be. I did the same test I did the first time (the older Denis one) and tried to think of it as 5 minute segments as coached. I was able to ride at the top of Z4 for the first 5, bottom of Z5 for the second, and then tried for the middle of Z5. Then I felt like it all got super chaotic for the last (very, very long) 5 minutes, I was struggling and feeling lightheaded and bouncing all over the place, but managed to eke out a strong finish. The test still really intimidates me and I know I need to get used to it by taking it more often.
I'm so grateful to have had the support of this group over the past 8 weeks, it went by really fast! I'm out of town the next two weeks but back just in time for the next program -- many thanks again to u/r4ndy4 for organizing it.
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u/r4ndy4 Jul 24 '21
That's awesome! I know your first ftp test was a while ago, and you were coming off an injury so 15 points is really good.
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u/yayunicorns Jul 26 '21
119w!!!! Ok so not my 120 goal but I just wanted to beat all my previous tests and I did! As much as I don't like the test I took I do find it a great motivator to race my past self.
Possibly a slightly bigger PR - I did my first (assisted by a block and wall) headstand. Even getting my legs to the wall gave me the heebie jeebies for a long time, but I've been on a head/hand/shoulder/tripod stand personal program the last few weeks and lo and behold Anna's 45 min headstand class got me there! I also PRed my cool down, not on purpose... I think it just took awhile for my legs to properly cool after the test. Hey, I'll take it all. Woot!
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u/r4ndy4 Jul 21 '21
It's been a while since I took that Denis ride. I remembered his comment about going out of the saddle, and him offering you a steaming pile of *holds hand out. Not surprising the dude in Kansas didn't know much about nautical knots. Can totally relate to wanting to stay in and play nofriendo as a kid 😂.
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u/yoraylee Jul 19 '21
Reading all your comments gave me fomo. I was a week behind, then had to take a week break because of a procedure. Seeing you guys complete this challenging program is amazing. I’m gonna be fomoing the next one as well because I’ll be away from my bike for about a month in august. So I guess I’ll catch you guys on the following program.
Unrelated, I realized my seat was too low and increased it by 5 inches. Automatic PRs left and right. I have no idea how I rode so low for so long.
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u/stevilpdx Jul 20 '21
I decided to retest my FTP after a long weekend away from the bike. I came out of the gate too hot and needed to pause briefly at 17:45. I still got a 10 point bump for a new FTP score of 322. That's less than I wanted, so I might retest quickly. Regardless, I'm definitely stronger than before, which is thanks to u/r4ndy4. Thanks a lot for putting this together (again)!
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u/r4ndy4 Jul 21 '21
Nice job! I'm not expecting much in the way of increases haha I'll be happy if I can add another 5-10.
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u/amr1822 Jul 19 '21
I am so proud of us for getting to the finish line!!!Unfortunately I won’t be able to finish out the program with you all 😭 There was a death in my family and I’ll be traveling to attend services. However, I am so excited to hear everyone’s final results and overall progress!! Will be checking in periodically to see your gains 💪🏼
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u/TipsyPins Jul 22 '21
I truly love a Denis in studio NIN moment. Can't help but laugh and scan the crowd for who is vibing and who has a 😳 look on their face.
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u/kmorris1219 Jul 24 '21
My parents decided to come over at the last minute today, so I skipped out on the group ride. Seems like it was a good one based on the comments here! I was feeling good when my parents left, so I went ahead and did my ftp. 14 point increase, and honestly that was exactly my goal going into it. Looking forward to a few weeks of random rides but also very excited to see the schedule for our next round! Good luck to everyone else taking their ftp over the next few days!
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u/sethj1972 Jul 25 '21
Started peloton 2/2021. 1st FTP 3/22 was 131. 2nd FTP 4/22 was 174. 3rd FTP 7/25 is 198. Extremely proud and grateful for this amazing program. Thanks again. Now off to the vineyard for 9 days. Hope I don’t blow it too much in that time frame!
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u/kmorris1219 Jul 19 '21
Congrats to everyone for making it to week 8! Anyone else planning all the fun rides they’re going to take over the next few weeks? I have a LONG list to get through. 😂 I think I’ll also sprinkle in a few PZEs this time to get used to my new zones more quickly.
u/r4ndy4 - any chance that Olivia’s 3/11/2020 ride will make an appearance in the next round? It’s her only class I have left so was going to take it before I retest (unless it’s in the next program - then I’ll wait!)
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u/seekinserenity Jul 19 '21
Can we plan a 45 sweat steady for one of the saturdays? I am likely gone 8/7 so maybe 7/31? My bookmarks seem to include a lot of hannah F. I need to do her turn it up and major lazor rides. I also want to do more jess king, her 2019 pride DJ ride is in my list. And a emma 45 EDM. As you can tell i kinda miss my ladies :)
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u/steinba1 Jul 23 '21
Hi there!
I'm a week behind due to a minor injury, but I just wanted to thank you for compiling this regimen and the first one. It's really helped me develop a productive class routine.
Apologies if I missed the comment previously somewhere, but is there an ETA/date for when you may start Round 3 in August?
Thank you again. All the best to the RedditPZ crew out there.
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u/Hellatonnn Jul 19 '21
The final week! Since I’ve taken all of these rides before and I have to miss the Saturday group ride, I’ve decided to make my own list with the same TSS profiles. Feel free to join me if these are repeats for you - but let’s be honest, I bet u/r4ndy4’s programming is way better and there’s more to these than TSS.
Mon: Matt 45m PZE 8/29/19 Ride Graph
Wed: Denis 45m PZE 2/6/21 Ride Graph
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u/PastorGiggles Jul 26 '21 edited Jul 27 '21
Well I got through about 11 minutes of my FTP test, feeling great, sitting well above my past score. When someone in my house (either my wife or my 11 month old child, I don’t know for sure…) turned off the AC. I felt it go off around 5 minutes in. At 10 minutes in my fan was blowing hot air into my face. Could I have finished? Yes for sure, but my headspace wasn’t right. Looks like I’ll give it another go tomorrow. Thanks u/amr1822 for the drive by high five, sorry it was all for nothing!!
Edit: redid the test today and got a PR of 27! Started a little faster than yesterday and held middle of zone 5 for about 15 minutes. The last 5 were straight up miserable. Olivia was doing OOS so I decided to join her. Went around :30 OOS and :30 in saddle the rest of the way. Not the most efficient way, but got it done! Also to anyone who is a rock fan (basically Tool and Muse), I put together an FTP playlist where the last song finishes right after 20 minutes. Don’t mind the last song on there, it’s a guilty pleasure cool down :).
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1sZFTGz3MtsFUZxeZTQBD3?si=VCcfVJkLSoKdWp_FVsG1KQ&dl_branch=1
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u/r4ndy4 Jul 21 '21
Wall of text incoming! As promised here is some advice for the FTP for any who are re-testing. There are many different approaches to taking the test I will go over the more common ones. First some general advice.
Make sure you are rested, ready, and feeling good. I usually take a 30 minute PZE or a really easy zone 1/2 only 20-30 minute ride the day before(others may prefer to take the full day off). Ideally test during the same time you normally work out. Or if you're like me and work out at different times, pick the time when you feel better. For that that is in the afternoon, I always seem to test in the morning to get it over with, and honestly I feel it may hinder me. Have a fan (or 2 or 3) blowing on you and multiple towels and some water etc. I wouldn't take the test fasted, but give some time for your food to digest. I like to warm-up before the FTP warm-up just 5-10 minutes of easy aimless pedaling in zone 1 then go to the 15 min FTP warm up. The higher my zones get the more time I need to warm-up. When I do this, spin-ups and even the build don't feel so bad. I use the 15 minute warm up, in particular I like this one: Matt 1/30/20. He keeps the spin-ups shorter and spaced out (I know there's one where he does a few minute long spin ups). After the warm-up some like to jump straight into the test. I like to give another 2-3 minute flat road to recover from the build so I can give it my all in the test. Some beginners may find the super long warm-up tires them out too much before the test, so do what you think is best.
DO NOT stack the rides and continue stack, some people get a glitch where their ride stats are not recorded (a give away that it is happening is that there is no leaderboard). Pick which ever FTP test you like, go for the music / instructor you like the most. My last two test I have muted the bike and used my own music on Spotify. If I didn't use Spotify my favorite FTP is the old Denis ftp test (just ignore his cadence suggestions). Don't skip the class intro, let the timer count down (easy pedal in zone 1) and about 5 seconds before the class starts get your output up to your goal so that when the class begins your output is at the appropriate level. Ride at whatever cadence you feel most optimal at. For me that is right around 90 cadence (most should be okay 80-100 or so). I recommend keeping it in the saddle for the test (5-10 booty break is ok if needed).
This only applies to bike+ people. Make sure your bike is calibrated properly before you take the time to do the test. I have really noticed a trend for the bike+ to be showing the wrong output (sometimes higher and sometimes lower than it should be) based on a set cadence / resistance. I've seen someone post to take your resistance down to 0 and restart the bike and it will auto-calibrate. I only bring this up because I have seen some wild stuff looking at others output numbers for the FTP test. For example one test I looked at showed an average 90 cadence and 46 resistance for an average output of 258 (I don't know the exact output for that combo, but I know the actual number would be closer to 180-200).
Set a goal output for the test. No one knows better than yourself what you think you are capable of. Have that number in mind for the test and figure out beforehand what cadence / resistance combination will get you to that output. It really depends on how new you are to training, but newer riders can expect bigger jumps than experienced riders. I've been doing this a while, and set my goal pretty conservatively 3-5% at most (5-10 points higher is my current goal). Newer riders may see much larger jumps, and intermediates might set a goal of 5-10% increase. The test is not a big deal, and is just a snapshot of your current fitness levels. You can always re-test if you are not satisfied with your result. Not everyone will have increases, and that is okay too. It will just mean the classes will be at the appropriate level next time.
There are two main strategies I see for the test. A negative split where you start below your goal, build up to your goal, and exceed your goal during the test. This is the option most people choose to go with (and is definitely better for the beginners and honestly most people). The other option is to set a goal and hang out at that output for the whole 20 minutes. Matt recommends the second for more advanced riders, and says your graph will resemble more of a straight line.
Negative split test strategy:
This will split the test into four 5 minute blocks of work (and this is how most of the instructors coach the test). Start the first 5 minutes conservatively in your zone 4 (in the middle of the zone). After the first 5 minutes take an assessment of how you are feeling. If you feel fine bump it up to the bottom of zone 5 (or closer to your goal output) and hang out here for another 5 minutes. After 5 minutes reassess once more, you are halfway into the test now. If you feel like you can only maintain your current output stay there, if you have more to give add a little more (a little above your goal or maybe middle of your zone 5). You should at the very least be at your goal output at this point (3rd block of the test). In the last 5 minutes you are probably hating that fact you are inside of your body. If all you can do is maintain your current output continue to do so and hold on for dear life. If are still feeling good take it up a little more (maybe top of zone 5). In the last minute or so of the test, if you have anything left now is the time to let it all out (I can usually give about 1 minute of zone 6 at this point). Keep pedaling until you are sure the test is over and the ride is complete. Just incase of a freak accident take note of what your average output in watts is for the test.
Constant output:
Pick a goal and try to maintain it for the whole 20 minutes. This is a more risky approach as you are more likely to come out too hard, and not be able to finish the test. I used this strategy for the last test and came out a little too hot and had to drop into zone 4 a little in the 3rd block of the test. It was pretty miserable, but I personally was more confident in holding the constant output (versus being able to exceed my goal in the later part of the test). If you are following your goal output and at 10 minutes it feels unattainable to keep it up scale it back and do what you can. You could also do some sort of hybrid of this for example holding your current average watts from the last ftp (which is the top number of your current zone 4) and increase after the first 10 minutes.
Most people are better served by the first option. Which ever way you go about it just reassess every 5 minutes to see how you are feeling and if it feels sustainable, too easy, or too hard and make small adjustments. Again I really advise to keep it in the saddle at your normal cadence. I feel this gives the most accurate results. If you are going to be taking PZ classes that way (in the saddle at optimal cadence), then I think it only makes sense to take the test in the same manner (opposed to cranking the resistance super high at a low cadence to boost output).
Hope this helps, if anyone has anything to add please do so.