For those of you that have been following your power since you started or for at least a couple of years. I would like to pick your brain, or your stats.

I am wondering whether most riders start out with a low number and progressively add 10-30w a year onto their FTP, or whether you start out with a FTP that is pretty close to your max and you really only move up 50-70w at the peak of your career.

Data would greatly be appreciated.

I started training with power last season. It will be interesting to see how this season compares.

The biggest thing that training with power has done for me thus far is helped me to understand better what level of effort incandescent exert and for how long. I, like many, used to go gang busters at the beginning of a long ride only to blow up part way through. Now I closely watch my power output and based on the length of the ride and other factors, can make sire I have plenty of energy left at the end of the ride.

Case in point is LOTOJA 2011. It is a hilly, 206 mile road race. 3 big climbs in the first 100 miles. I made sure and kept my power under 260 watts for the lost part and hung with the group. With about 10 miles left I had plenty of energy left to redline it and make a strong finish....and felt great afterwords. Had I not been able to monitor my power it would have been very easy to expend a lot more energy earlier in the ride (like in the past) and limped to the finish line with heavy, dead legs.

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been riding with power since 2004 and coached a few others. a few things i've noticed:

- if you stop training for any length of time you go back to the same baseline.
- starting every year from a similar baseline the initial improvements are fast, then the closer you get to previously attained limits the slower the improvement comes. that is to say, if you train as you did last year, you may not reach a higher level than last year.
- patience is key. the longer you take to achieve a high level, the higher it is. you should reach a higher peak over 3 months of easier intervals then 6-8 weeks always going at the red line.
- i've not personally been committed enough to do the 10-11 months a year of training that might result in higher peaks every year. those who do tend to find that improvements get smaller and smaller year on year. unless you're really shooting for the top the jury is out on whether it's worth it.
- over a number of years with a power meter you reeeaaallly get to know your body. you get better and better at reaching the levels you want to reach, without wasting time and at exactly the times you want.

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"-starting every year from a similar baseline the initial improvements are fast, then the closer you get to previously attained limits the slower the improvement comes. that is to say, if you train as you did last year, you may not reach a higher level than last year."

I understand the second part of that point, but I'm not quite sure I understand the first part. Is it 1) You saying you start every year with a similar number that you started with last year - or 2) are you saying you start out higher than last year but to get that "10% improvement" it is harder to obtain than last year.

1) october 2010 200w feb 2011 230w, oct 2011 200w, feb 2012 220-230w....
2) oct 2010 200w, feb 2011 230w, oct 2011 220w, feb 2012 240-250....

let's say you start year 1, untrained, with 220 watts threshold. a few months later you max out at 280 watts threshold, +60.
you ride a bit over the winter and it turns out you start year 2 at 240 watts.
you stand a better chance of surpassing 280 but improvement will probably still get tough around 280, not at 240+60.
of course it completely depends on the individual...power meters dont guarantee improvement, only that you can keep a really precise handle on your level and make decisions based on that.

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So if we went with your hypothetical example of rider starting out at 220 and peaking at 280. For years 3 and beyond, would that rider have any shot at reaching 400, or would he be stuck hovering around 280 each following years?

Maybe I mispoke at the beginning. I understand powermeters do not really do much in the way of improving a rider. I am just referring to them because it is the only way to quantify whether you truely have improved or not.

Usually I start the season off a bit shy (10-15% lower) of my peak from the previous season. From there it usually takes me 2-3 weeks to get back to where I was FTP wise. I have yet to have a season where I did not set personal bests for FTP, but generally I've added 15-20w to my FTP every year since I have trained with power.

Do that for 15-20 years and your FTP should be around 650 or 700 then?

You can't do that continually...sorry.

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I never suggested that I would even remotely hit that level. I just said that I have yet to have a season where I have plateaued. I expect it to happen, but until then I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and see what happens.

I train all year round (albeit only 10 hrs per week) and have gradually seen my FTP increase in the year I’ve been using power.

From 215w @ 73kg 12 months ago to 265w @ 67kg.

The first 20w were easy, but from there it’s been tough. It’s still steady improvement though, more than enough to keep me motivated. Hoping for 280w by midyear and 300w by end of year.

My tip would be to set some goals, but not to get too disheartened if progress is slow. Just stick to doing quality work and the adaptations will come. Also, just accept the bad days. Once every month or two I have a session where I just don’t have it, so I just ride and remember I’m primarily doing it for fun, not to be a total slave to the powertap!