What could you do more of to start 2022, what could you declare a commitment to do? It could be in your leadership of self, of others, your physical or mental wellbeing, a focus on your key relationships, on learning. Whatever it is, what could you commit to, to do more?
Declaring a commitment to my cycle fitness
I’m 56, consider myself fit and strong, yet recently have joined some virtual Time Trial races on Zwift with the local cycling club and the data leapt off the screen at me as to how unfit I am relative to the folk in the club (several of whom are a good few years older than me too, so age is simply a number!). As of today, I weigh 99kg, am 189cm tall, have an FTP (Functional Threshold Power) of 226w, so my FTP w/kg is 2.28. Suffice to say my w/kg was the very lowest in the group of 19 in the last TT, with some way above 3.0w/kg.
I feel pretty motivated now to improve on this, both my dropping at least a few kg through diet (no more snacks, McCallum!) and by some focussed FTP training. To begin, I know my current FTP as I did a “ramp test” (see picture above), where each minute the effort goes up by 20w. The last full minute I could hold was at 300w and an HR or over 160bpm, so that’s my starting point!
Why post this? Simple. I’m declaring my commitment. I already do exercise regularly, but not as much as I could or would like to. I eat healthy food, but also snack and otherwise consume lots of “lazy calories”. By declaring this commitment to myself, the intention is to simply do more towards fitness
I will then put some structure around this, starting with being conscious to keep my calorie intake in deficit (for my body, a 500 calorie daily deficit equates to 0.5kg dropped per week). I’ve also received a tip from a cycling club member to start a “Six-week beginner FTP builder” programme, which means about 4-5 hours a week in 4-5 rides on the trainer on Zwift.
Thanks to a combination of factors, most notably Omicron, I will mostly be at home the next six weeks, so this workout plan feels achievable. Let’s see how I progress,
I’d love to hear what you are choosing to commit to.