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HOW DO I IMPROVE MY FTP?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 25 May 2026

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WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The structured-but-stalled amateur

You train 6–12 hours a week with some structure but your FTP has flattened.

The rider new to intervals

You ride consistently but have never run a proper threshold or VO2max block.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

The cycling internet sells FTP improvement as a session you buy or an app you download. The riders who actually move the number do something less glamorous first: they ride easy properly. Anthony has had this conversation with Stephen Seiler, Dan Lorang and John Wakefield on the podcast, and the shortlist never changes — most amateurs are riding 50% too hard on their easy days and not hard enough on their hard days. That grey-zone drift accumulates fatigue without delivering adaptation.

Fix the distribution and the intervals start working. The pattern the pros use is unfussy: a large base of zone 2, then a small number of properly hard sessions — threshold to build the engine's ceiling, VO2max to lift the roof above it. You don't need six interval sessions a week. You need two you can actually complete, fuelled and recovered, week after week.

And FTP is not a number you chase in isolation. It's an output of training that's structured, fuelled and recovered. When it stalls, the answer is almost never 'push harder' — it's 'fix the system around the work'.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Professor Stephen SeilerExercise physiologist, polarised-training researcher
Trained cyclists improve most when about 80% of training sits below the first ventilatory threshold and 20% sits well above it. The grey zone in the middle is where amateurs lose the most progress — it costs recovery without buying adaptation.
Hear it: 80/20 Training to Ride Faster | Dr Stephen Seiler
John WakefieldDirector of Coaching, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
A self-coached amateur moving from unstructured riding to a properly periodised plan should expect a 5–15% FTP lift in the first block when testing is done honestly — not on a fatigued week.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Audit one week of riding
Pull up your last 7 days in TrainingPeaks, Strava or intervals.icu. Colour every ride by zone. If your 'easy' rides are sitting in zone 3, that's your first fix — slow them down until they feel almost too easy.
Add one threshold session
2×20 minutes at 95–105% of FTP, 5 minutes easy between. This is the single most reliable FTP-builder for amateurs. Hold the power steady; don't start at 110% and fade.
Add one VO2max session
5×4 minutes at 110–120% FTP, 4 minutes easy recovery. This lifts the ceiling your threshold work then chases. One per week is plenty — these are expensive to recover from.
Fill the rest with zone 2
Everything else is properly easy aerobic riding. If you can't hold a conversation, you're going too hard and stealing from your hard days.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKEDoing every ride at 'medium-hard' because it feels productive.
FIXMake easy days easy and hard days hard. The middle feels like training but produces the least adaptation per unit of fatigue.
MISTAKEAdding more intervals when the number stalls.
FIXMore of what isn't working rarely fixes it. Check fuelling, recovery and structure before adding volume.
MISTAKERetesting FTP every four weeks and panicking when it's flat.
FIXTest at the end of a block when you're rested. Mid-block fatigue makes a test measure tiredness, not fitness.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long does it take to improve FTP?

A first-year amateur on a structured plan typically gains 5–15% in 6–12 weeks. After two or three years of training, expect 1–5% per dedicated block. Anything faster than 5% in a month is usually a calibration error, not real fitness.

Is sweet spot or threshold better for raising FTP?

Threshold work (95–105% FTP) is the more direct FTP-builder. Sweet spot (84–94%) lets you accumulate more time-in-zone with less fatigue, which suits time-crunched riders, but it drifts into the grey zone if it becomes your only intensity. Use threshold to build the ceiling, sweet spot to add durable volume.

Can I improve FTP with low-volume training?

Yes. On 4–6 hours a week, two quality sessions plus easy filler rides will move FTP for most amateurs. Volume helps durability and ceiling over the long run, but quality and consistency drive the early gains.

Does losing weight improve my FTP?

Losing weight doesn't raise your raw FTP in watts — it raises your watts per kilo, which is what matters on climbs. Just don't chase weight loss by under-fuelling training, because that suppresses the hard sessions that actually build power.

Will more zone 2 alone increase my FTP?

Zone 2 builds the aerobic base that hard work sits on, and for an untrained rider it can lift FTP on its own for a while. But once you're trained, you need targeted threshold and VO2max work to keep the number climbing. Base plus a little intensity beats base alone.

How do I know if my FTP actually went up?

Retest with the same protocol, rested, after a deload — a ramp test or 20-minute test, whichever you used last time. Day-to-day power on intervals feeling easier is a good signal, but a like-for-like test is the honest measure.

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RELATED EPISODES

HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS

80/20 Training to Ride Faster | Dr Stephen Seiler

Secret To Cycling Fast At A Low Heart Rate | Prof Seiler

Heat Training for Cyclists: +30 Watts FTP | Roadman Cycling

RELATED TOOLS

CRUNCH THE NUMBERS

FTP Zone Calculator

Complete 7-zone power table from your FTP.

FTP Test Calculator

Estimate FTP from 20-min, 8-min, or ramp test.

Sweet Spot Calculator

Calculate your 88–94% FTP sweet spot band.

TSS Calculator

Training Stress Score from duration, power, and FTP.

W/kg Calculator

Watts per kilogram from power and body weight.

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