CoachingAnswer

CAN YOU IMPROVE FTP AFTER 40?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 11 June 2026

ANSWER

Yes — FTP is highly responsive to training at any age, and a masters rider moving from unstructured riding to a proper plan often gains the most of all. Age slowly lowers your ceiling, but FTP is about how much of that ceiling you can hold, and that responds strongly to structured work. The levers are the same as at 30 — get the easy/hard split right, run one threshold and one VO2 max session a week, fuel the hard days, and recover them in. The added job after 40 is protecting the muscle that produces the watts.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

FTP responds to training at any age; under-structured masters riders often see the biggest first-block gains.
The work is the same shape — polarised base, one threshold and one VO2 max session a week.
Strength work twice a week protects the muscle mass that holds your power as you age.
Under-fuelled and under-recovered hard sessions cap FTP no matter how old you are.

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The over-40 rider who thinks the number is fixed

You've assumed FTP only goes down after 40 and stopped chasing it.

The masters cyclist who rides a lot but never structures it

You put in the hours but have never run a proper threshold or VO2 max block, and your FTP has flattened.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

There is a quiet defeatism among riders over 40 — the idea that FTP is now a number that only falls. It is one of the most common things Anthony hears, and the evidence from the coaches and physiologists on the podcast contradicts it flatly. Threshold power is trainable in your 40s, your 50s and beyond. The masters riders who give up on it are usually the ones who never trained it properly in the first place.

The mechanism is worth understanding. Your VO2 max — the ceiling — does drift down slowly with age. But FTP is the fraction of that ceiling you can sustain, and that fraction is built by training, not handed to you by youth. A rider who fixes a sloppy easy/hard split, adds a weekly threshold session and a weekly VO2 max session, and fuels both, will move the number. Joe Friel and Andy Galpin have both made versions of this point: the decline is real, partly negotiable, and far slower in people who keep doing structured hard work.

What changes after 40 is the support around the watts. Muscle mass and fast-twitch fibres fade if you let them, and they are part of what produces high power. That is why strength work stops being optional — it protects the engine that your FTP runs on. Build the plan around two hard rides, two short strength sessions, real fuel and real recovery, and the number you were told to give up on starts climbing again.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Joe FrielAuthor of Fast After 50 and The Cyclist's Training Bible
Threshold power and the high-intensity qualities behind it remain trainable well past 40. Masters athletes who keep structured intensity in their programme — and pair it with adequate protein and recovery — hold and often improve their FTP, while those who drift into easy-only riding watch it fall.
Hear it: The Training Secret To Going FASTER After 40 | Joe Friel
Dr Andy GalpinProfessor of Kinesiology, Cal State Fullerton; muscle physiologist
After 40 the fast-twitch fibres and muscle mass that contribute to high power are the first to go if they are not trained. Endurance riding alone will not defend them. Maintaining strength and power off the bike protects the physiological machinery that high threshold power depends on.
Hear it: The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Run one threshold session a week
2 x 20 minutes at 95–105% of FTP, or 3 x 12 minutes if you're building up. This is the session that most directly raises the power you can hold for an hour. Done weekly and fuelled, it is the core driver of FTP gains over 40.
Keep one VO2 max session a week
4 x 4 minutes at 95–110% of max aerobic power, with equal recovery. Lifting the ceiling raises the floor your FTP can be built from. After 50, extend the recovery between reps before you cut the reps themselves.
Add two short strength sessions
Two 40-minute sessions a week of cycling-specific resistance work — single-leg step-ups, lunges, hip and core strength — protects the muscle and fast-twitch fibres that produce high power. This is the masters-specific addition that defends FTP from the muscle side.
Fuel and retest honestly
Carbohydrate your hard sessions properly — under-fuelled intervals cap your top end. Retest FTP every 6–8 weeks on a fresh, not fatigued, week so you see real gains rather than noise.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKEAssuming FTP only declines after 40 and stopping the work that builds it.
FIXTreat FTP as trainable. Add a structured threshold and VO2 max session each week and give it a full 12-week block before judging the trajectory.
MISTAKEDropping strength work and losing the muscle that produces high power.
FIXKeep two short, cycling-specific strength sessions a week to protect muscle mass and fast-twitch fibres as you age.
MISTAKEDoing hard sessions under-fuelled to chase weight loss.
FIXFuel the intervals that drive FTP. Body composition is built across the week, not by starving the two sessions that make you faster.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much can FTP improve after 40?

A masters rider moving from unstructured riding to a proper plan can expect a 5–15% lift in the first 12-week block when testing is honest. Already-structured riders gain more slowly, but the number still responds to focused threshold and VO2 max work.

Does FTP naturally decline with age?

Your aerobic ceiling drifts down slowly after 40, but FTP is the share of that ceiling you can hold, and that is built by training. Consistently trained riders decline far more slowly than the population average and can still improve from an under-trained baseline.

What's the best FTP workout for masters cyclists?

Threshold intervals — 2 x 20 minutes at 95–105% of FTP — are the most direct driver, paired with a weekly VO2 max session to lift the ceiling. One of each a week, fuelled and recovered, is the core.

How often should masters riders test FTP?

Every 6–8 weeks, on a rested week rather than a fatigued one. Testing too often, or on tired legs, hides the gains you're actually making.

Does strength training help FTP after 40?

Indirectly but importantly. Strength work protects the muscle mass and fast-twitch fibres that produce high power, which age erodes first. It defends the engine your FTP runs on rather than raising the number directly.

Is it too late to start structured training at 50?

No. Riders starting structured intensity for the first time in their 50s frequently see the largest gains, because they're training qualities they've never deliberately developed. The decline is real but the trainability is real too.

RELATED EPISODES

HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS

The Training Secret To Going FASTER After 40 | Joe Friel

The Science Of Getting Faster After 40 | Dr Andy Galpin

5 Fixable Reasons Your Losing Power As You Age