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Can you add me to the invites for group meets please- vince (stw).
Are there any pros and cons in doing the workouts in order? Are they programmed or just a collection to complete through the week?
So I think there IS actually an order... but in not sure what it is!
DrP
I think, based on the authors original plan, the longer 1.5/2hr rides are at the weekend, but honestly I don't think it matters.
https://gccoaching.fit/2018/06/21/zwifts-build-me-up-flexible-training-plan/
Right then, I'm now sat in a pool of my own sweat, having just completed my first ever 20 min FTP test...
Holy *ing *balls.
I think I started out a little too hard, as at the 10 min mark when it prompts you to add 10% if it's feeling easy, I think I told zwift to 'go away' in slightly more unpleasant terms... 🤣
5 mins to go and I was truly, deeply in pain, and the last 3 mins I was basically hanging on for dear life.
This is what I said yesterday:
I think I’ll be aiming for 250w FTP… 😬 I did 8.5 mins after today’s 45 min workout ended to finish off lap I was on, at 244w average so I reckon holding 265w for 20 mins should be doable…
Today's result: 246w FTP. 😁 Previous FTP prior to completion of dirt destroyer was set at 210w.
Average of 259w over 20 mins. Max HR of 185bpm.
That gives me, at my current weight of 82.7kg, a 2.97w/kg FTP.
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I desperately wanted the 250w figure to give me 3w/kg but it just means I'll have to lose 700g 😁
Looking forward to starting this. Thursday is my group ride day but I’ll join meet-ups when I can.
I thought I was fairly fit until I got everything including my ass handed to me on the races… based on that this is probably a bit above me but hey, gotta start somewhere.
let's get rrreeeeaaddyyy.... toooooooo.....ruuuuuuuumble!!!
Good luck everyone!
Devedset for me tonight.. all this week's workouts added to my Google calendar!
DrP
I've been in denial about exactly how many sessions I can do this week. I need to do the final TdZ session tonight and then I'm away on Saturday and Sunday.
I'm busy on Wednesday night so I've got 3 nights available this week for Build Me Up!
I'm guessing Red Unicorn and Devedeset are the key ones to do?
Maybe I can squeeze in either Pedalling Drills or Zone Benchmarking tomorrow morning?
Next week's even worse unless the Airbnb has a Wattbike.
I'd focus on zone benchmarking and the 2 you mention, yup...
Zone benchmarking so you get a feel of things.
Morning workouts are always a great option too...really set you up for the day.
I'll frequently pop on from 6-7, getting the kids brekkie laid out all ready!
DrP
@DrP any chance of an invite for the group ride please? Just signed up to the workout plan on Zwift, it's saying the first workout is available in 7hrs 🙄 (Why?! oh yeah - cos it's Zwift 🤣) so I guess if it's 6.30pm kickoff that might not be any good... as a fallback plan I can just do the workout outside of the training plan, and then later tick the box to say I've done a RL ride instead to get credit (or something)... either way I will actually be doing the workout so will get the fitness benefit at least 😃
I did the Zone Benchmarking a couple of weeks ago with FTP set what both Zwift and Garmin said it should be from general riding - 242 and it seemed a bit easier than the on-screen prompts suggested it should. Tried an FTP test last week aiming for FTP of 250 (so maintaining 263W for 20 mins) and bailed at 10 mins as there was no way I was getting to the end of that.
So... FTP somewhere between 242 and 245 I think.
I'll be squeezing it in around actual rides outside and family life etc. Hard rides outside will likely replace some workouts and hopefully it will all work out.
Devedsets for me tonight then !
i've pinged out a few more invites for this coming thursday (red unicorn)..
Let me know if you're keen to join but haven't had an invite (thurs 10th at 1815..), maybe with zwift username as well!
Cheers
DrP
Hey DrP, did you send out an invite for Thur ?
Don't "appear" to have received it, Zwift ID is "Declan Fee STW" and I'm following you.
Thanks
thanks for the invite, think I got the wrong end of the stick slightly - just for clarification, we're starting the plan tonight, but there's only one actual group ride per week (this week on Thurs)? All other training rides, we're solo (with just this thread for motivation/sharing of pain)?
thanks for the invite, think I got the wrong end of the stick slightly – just for clarification, we’re starting the plan tonight, but there’s only one actual group ride per week (this week on Thurs)? All other training rides, we’re solo (with just this thread for motivation/sharing of pain)?
Correct. If you want to and can join the group workout then great, but you don't have to.
I thing DrP is planning on setting up 1 group workout per week, but there'll be 5 workouts a week in the latter stages so all the others you'll just schedule as any other training plan 👍
we’re starting the plan tonight, but there’s only one actual group ride per week (this week on Thurs)? All other training rides, we’re solo (with just this thread for motivation/sharing of pain)?
Bang on..100% correct...
Motivation and accountablity are the main goals of this thread!!
Oh, also discussion, moaning, excuses, and complaints ;D !!!
DrP
zilog6128
thanks for the invite, think I got the wrong end of the stick slightly – just for clarification, we’re starting the plan tonight, but there’s only one actual group ride per week (this week on Thurs)? All other training rides, we’re solo (with just this thread for motivation/sharing of pain)?
Sorry for being an interloper - I'm not actually signed up to do the plan.....but.....just wanted to say that doing workouts in some kind of group is way more motivational than trying to do it on your own.
You have an arranged time & are doing it with other people. You feel that you don't want to let people down, which encourages you to not only attend but also push hard in the workout & you get the added benefit of messages during the workouts to help push each other.
It might be worth seeing within your workout group if there are other times/days that suit certain people & set-up group workouts for other sessions, rather than just rely on the one that DrP is setting up.
It's probably easier to find times that a few of you can do together, than all of you?
Good luck everyone! Hope you all smash it!
Rest day for me today, but I'll be doing devedeset tomorrow evening. Or maybe zone benchmarking...
I'll be racing in the STW Zwift race series!!!
Streaming it here!
DrP
Devedeset done, not bad, can you say you enjoy these types of sessions? Anyway the hour passed quite quickly, wouldn't say I was knackered or owt mind you.
Type 2 'fun' I think it's called, right? 🤣
Just on the warmup....
I think some sessions are enjoyable, some hateful!
DrP
Yep, got Devedset done just now, not too bad. Started off doing it in resistance mode but by the end with the cadence changes I switched to ERG as I couldn’t be bothered faffing finding the right gear.
Just accepted the invite for Thursday, should have recovered from tomorrow's race by then! Going to do the introductory one this evening, should get the others ticked off the rest of the week.
I've just done the first session, need some structure post Covid. Been a really inactive month apart from a handful of short runs each week and FTP dropped by 40 - missed every single STW race despite looking forward to them pre-Covid.
Set my new FTP to where I thought it would be, and it felt about right. Weirdly though, while my legs had very little more on the final effort the heart was only at about 160, about 36 under what I'd consider my max - admittedly a short effort.
Might have tired legs, we walked about 7 miles yesterday and another 4 today taking the kids to school, but still...
My heart rate is roughly 20bpm lower on the trainer compared to outside, I put it down to he lack of adrenaline from dodging trees. Can push it another 10bpm in the reces though.
Done the Zone Benchmarking workout and I'm confident my FTP is set correctly. Was actually a nice short one to do after work, didn't leave me too tired for the race tomorrow but got the lags and heart going nicely.
Just done the Benchmark and I think my FTP is about right at 150 - how crap is that.
Still, it is what it is and more the reason to keep going for a good summer outdoors 🙂
What was more annoying is the fact I haven't been near a bike in about 4 months and thought 35 minutes would be ok without undercarriage cream.
Sore bits after 20 minutes 🤦♂️😂
Devedeset done.. first 10 min felt like a rude awakening, but the subsequent ones felt good!
It's nice to be back in a plan again!
Also..new chain on teh bike was LUSH! Silent, and smooth!
Don't forget to ensure your bike is in good working order chaps! Even though it's indoors, it still needs to run nicely!!!
Bravo all who've taken a chunk out of the week so far!
DrP
I think it's just the nature of intervals, I can easily get into the 180's in heart rate outside on a decent long climb when I'm going for it, and did the same on my FTP test yesterday.
But workouts will generally have maybe 5 minutes at 120% FTP followed by a rest period, if I see over 150bpm heart rate I know it's a tough workout.
Benchmark done!
Considering doing that next one before work in the morning
Devedset done - wasn’t too bad, then got to the standing intervals followed by the final hi cadence which killed me off 😀
Haven’t done the Benchmark yet tho as had psyched myself up for a “proper” workout; will do that next & see if I’ve got FTP set right or not.
I'm about 2 weeks in front of you guys, just done my first 3 week block, finishing with a 1hr 45 session yesterday, which was not nice, it definitely gets harder ☹️🥵
It's quite interesting watching the HR go up for the same power levels towards the end of the session when the fatigue starts to set in.
Devedset done - not too hard, not too easy.
I’m now hunting on FB marketplace and eBay for a cheap buy “good enough” bike / frame so I can stop abusing my poor nice summer bike onthe turbo in prep for all the training to come
🤣🤣 commitment to the turbo training! I like it!
I've just the one road/gravel bike.. have already snapped some dropouts on the turbo, but can't justify another bike for the turbo!
Righto... I'm looking at next week...
Gonna do "what goes up" on Wed at 1830, and "halfvems" on Thurs at 1830....
Shall I make a group workout for one/another/both??
DrP
My vote would go for Thu as on Wed I will hopefully be outside riding an actual bike !
Edit - by which I mean yes …
Managed to squeeze in the final Tour de Zwift session and the benchmarking this evening so feeling positive!
FTP felt right and my last ramp test wasn't too long ago. Zone 5 felt much worse than zone 6 though - I think only 1 minute is more manageable even if it's higher power.
Did my first FTP test tonight so will start training tomorrow 😬
Managed to squeeze in the final Tour de Zwift session and the benchmarking this evening so feeling positive!
That was a good idea. I finished the TdZ this evening but should have done the benchmarking too. Doubt I'll have time before Thursday. Hey ho, some social training sessions will do me good.
I’m often out riding on Thursday nights, so make both group workouts and people can take their pick?
Pedalling drill done!
Not sure I’ll be doing another before work tho!
A bit late to the party here but I'm up for giving this a go. I was planning on doing the STW Tuesday night races but not had much luck with getting time around work etc. Hopefully the training plan being a bit more flexible will make it a bit easier!
Whoop whoop....
How's everyone doing?
I'm planning pedalling drills for the 30 min before the race tonight... as a warm up I guess...
Red unicorn on Thurs as the group, and possibly benchmarking on Friday am... maybe..
DrP
Just done Devedeset this morning. My FTP is probably too high although it could just be bad form as I didn’t do a recovery ride after a pretty intense (for me) session on Sunday.
Probably do Pedal Drills tomorrow as I’m out at work so short on time and Red Unicorn on Thursday AM.
Hoping to make it beyond week two as I’ve started this a couple of times and junked it after week two.
Devedeset done last night, I ended up increasing FTP on zwift companion for the rest periods, some of the efforts and flicked erg off for all of cooldown so I could get the Innsbruck route ticked off before my fajitas went cold, can't forget about the XP points 🙂
Will do the unicorn on Thursday.
doesn't [I]seem[/I] like a terrible idea (unless it's a lot more intense than it sounds!!I’m planning pedalling drills for the 30 min before the race tonight… as a warm up I guess…
I didn’t do the Zone Benchmarking before the end of Sunday. It’s now red and presumably I can no longer do it. Do I just carry on or does it affect the rest of the training plan?
I didn’t do the Zone Benchmarking before the end of Sunday. It’s now red and presumably I can no longer do it. Do I just carry on or does it affect the rest of the training plan?
Anything prior to Monday this week was pre workout and not actually part of the 12 weeks.
You should have these 4 for this week, aka week 1.
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I'll be doing my first session tonight, either zone benchmarking or devedeset.
I have them. They’re all green/available now but Benchmarking was red before. Must’ve been a glitch.
I’m going to do one or two tonight.
Good luck 👍🏼
Just tried to do Devedeset and my old Zwift gremlin came back.
Got 6 minutes into the first 10 minute block and lost the will to do anything.
Wasn't overly stressed although I was blowing a bit - probably 7/10, which is I guess where it should be.
Main problem is I have a mental block with 5+ minutes of doing the same thing. Just get bored and give up.
Have a multitude of excuses ready but ultimately I don't enjoy Zwift, much prefer Sufferfest.
Will do the Thursday meet up to see if being part of a group helps.
Zone benchmarking done, glad I did that as it was the first workout after my FTP increase, and confirmed I'm at just the right level. Although I enjoyed the last 2 segments (270w and 310w for me) a little too much, I don't know why but I like the short big power intervals!
I'm also functioning on 4.5hrs sleep after an issue with my neice and some boiling water last night, I don't think I had devedeset in me today. Tomorrow! 😁
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Oh and yet another VO2 max increase from my Garmin, I'll be into the purple for the first time in my life on the next increase!
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I’m planning pedaling drills for the 30 min before the race tonight… as a warm up I guess…
good plan, went with that idea as well. Did "Zone Bench marking" yesterday. Red Unicorn Thur and prob Friday for "Devedeset" will see out week 1.
Did the Zone Benchmarking. During the warmup it mentioned ftp so I checked mine and it was still at 158 so I changed it to 190 as per the Ramp test I completed yesterday. Will that have changed the Benchmarking test accordingly? Last two segments were 230 and 240.
Yeah that's correct, the final 2 segments are 110% and 125% of FTP. I think it was actually 210w and 240w btw 👍
If you're ever in doubt, this link lets you check the workouts via % of FTP or by watts by entering your FTP.
https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/build-me-up/week-1-pre-training-plan
Just be aware the ramp test can over estimate by a little, especially if you have good 1 min power, so if things start getting really tough, you might want to drop it by 10 or 15w.
That's what I did for the dirt destroyer plan, it had me at 227 on a ramp test, I then had 2.5 months with barely any riding so judged my FTP at 210 which was a good level for the 6 weeks.
Did zone benchmarking on Monday, Devedeset yesterday and will probably do pedal drills tonight so I can keep the weekend clear.
My 20 min FTP was about 30W lower than the quick ramp test I did, may be a bit too low as I didn't really know how to pace it. Think I'll see how this first couple of weeks goes and bump it up a bit if I'm feeling OK.
Just did Zone Benchmarking, was pretty happy with where my FTP was already but thought it was an interesting concept so wanted to see how it went. Confirmed what I thought so I'll leave FTP where it is.
Kind of wanted to do the pedalling drills straight after but obviously it won't let you and I couldn't find it in the normal workout folder so just did half an hour with the C pace partner to round it up.
Won't make the group wrokout tomorrow I'm afraid as I think tomorrow is the one day I can get outside for a ride so will do the unicorn one on Fri/Sat/Sun. I don't work normal hours so if there is ever appetite for a group workout earlier in the day then I'd probably be keen for that.
Also did the Zone Benchmarking ride tonight, seemed ok, last effort probably could have been a bit harder but I think I'll leave it as is.
50/50 on tomorrow nights group ride, need a bit of schedule juggling.
Devedeset for me tonight, group red Unicorn tomorrow, which leaves pedalling drills for the weekend, which I'll probably fit in after an hour with one of the pace partners for some base work.
completed Benchmarking FTP-203 so I am in. No sooner had I signed up, I tested positive for CV so wasn't sure I would be able to join you all but no ill effects (well set a new HR record)
DrP please could you add jaminbSTW to the group.
Red Unicorn done! Last main set rep is a killer!
You lot doing the group ride tomorrow are in for a treat
I am now committed. Well for at least a couple of sessions a week. Benchmarking done. Not done anything like it before but instructions on the screen and how I should be feeling all seemed in line with what I was feeling. See you tomorrow.
Devedeset done, phew... Sweaty!
I'll admit the 2x 10 min segments at the same cadence are a bit monotonous, but it's a case of getting through it. I think my weak area is long intervals at 80-90% of FTP so it's a good job this plan seems to have a lot of it!
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Devedeset also done.
Half way through, I found myself wondering why, at 47 and no future plans to race, I am following a program again when there's beer in the fridge.
I didn't figure out the answer before finishing it.
Devedeset done and Benchmarking done. Is there a group thing tomorrow?
Devedeset and Zone Benchmark done. I’ll be riding IRL tomorrow evening so will have to do the 🦄 on Saturday.
Devedeset complete 👍🏼
@jodafett.
We're doing a group red unicorn ride at 1815 tonight... have I invited you?
I think I'm going to skip zone benchmarking tbh... it's REALLY useful if this is your first workout plan to gauge FTP... I know mine is fine, and scheduled in running instead!
See you tonight..
Remember... join the meetup EARLY, and then pick the workout whilst waiting!
DrP
DrP
Red Unicorn finished just now.
Not looking forward to the rest of the unicorns.
Tonight is gonna be a 2 bottle job, for sure.
Maybe even level 2 on the vacmaster... 😦
OMG! I’ve TWO vacmasters, both at level 3…and a big 12 inch fan blowing from the rear onto my legs…
DrP burn hooooot!!!
DrP
Jeez! I only ever have my 1 vacmaster at level 1, my FTP test I upped it to level 2 🤣
Sweat was dripping off me at the end mind you...
Sweat dripping = wasted sweat 😉🥵
Wet sweat is no good... it's gotta evaporate away...
Turn that fan up to 3 dude!
DrP
Did the zone thing yesterday, think I've managed to hold onto my 255 FTP through a dose of the plague, won't make the group workout tonight unfortunately but going to grab another session now - Devedeset I think.
I’m not going to make the group thing tonight. Dads taxi services are required 🙄
That's cool....
But remember... these plans are hard to fit in, so sometimes YOU need to get it in the diary and YOU take priority... time never 'appears'... we need to make time....!
DrP
Devedeset Done. That’s week one all ticked off.
How did everyone get on with the unicorn on the group ride?
Well that was bloody annoying!
Got through the first 50 minutes just about, had even started to get into a rhythm, then the ERG mode on my trainer went haywire, stuck at showing 330~odd watts with a cadence of 66. I was keeping going without even pedalling! Then it reset but continued to get stuck at 233w and a cadence of 66 but it was making the pedals impossible to turn, tried a few things to fix it but I just gave up in the end. Really annoyed as I've had a very positive day, was totally up for nailing the workout with others and was doing well up until that point. Still, got a solid hour under my belt so it wasn't completely wasted. Just got to decide whether to do it again solo or just do Davedeset (not doing pedalling drills) in addition to riding IRL this weekend.
I blame DrP's Fruit Salad kit 🤣😮🤣
Annoying over here too.
Nearly didn't start it as I really wasn't feeling the need or desire but, thought I couldn't let myself down after committing.
35 ish minutes in, screen freezes then get this.
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No option but to quit and start again.
Couldn't get back in and set about it again, skipping up to where I was roughly.
Managed 1 more set before quitting.
DrP - I believe you said it in the group - a ride together prevents quitting - or words to that effect. I think you're right !
Anyway, time to buy an Apple TV and run Zwift on that. Thought I'd seen the last of the PC freezing with Zwift. 🙁
Top stuff this that survived it!
I find by the third or fourth set (in the first half) you start to warm up to it!
Gonna have a recovery shake and shower, then watch simpsons with the kiddies!
Will post up next week's workout(s... maybe) in a bit!
DrP
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Phew! That was pretty tough in the middle, good though!
I definitely need to get a second fan set up, I think because my last plan had only hour long sessions I was ok, but I was VERY sweaty after this. I had been wondering why my left hand/bar area gets sweatier than the right, it's because my fan is on the right of my front wheel!
I'll try and work out how too get a fan at body height with a smart switch as I won't need both at full blast until 30 mins in or so.
Good effort guys!!
Glad to see it wasn't just me with technical issues. My connection failed as soon as the warm up started. I have just about calmed down knowing I cannot rage at Virgin about by mega expensive super fibre broadband, as they are too busy to respond!
Well done those that managed to build it up.