I do too many PZE rides, zones 2-3 are cake for me but my FTP didn't increase because I hadn't spent enough time getting good at zones 4-6

I've been doing 1 PZ Max ride a week and I can really tell a difference

Same here, I went from just hammering on the bike when I got on to it being more of a recovery, build up a sweat type of thing.

The other piece is that I'm having to work way harder to keep my zones. I think this is a combo of not using the Peloton as much + I've lost ~15 lbs and it's harder to keep the same output. Am I just finding an excuse for myself or has anyone else dealt with that? My fitness is way higher, but the output has def dropped.

Nitro Power said:

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On another note, I often wonder how close the 20 minute estimate is to doing an actual 60 minute test. I don't think I could hold my my average output corresponding to my current FTP for an hour. That sounds pretty....terrible

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Rarely does anyone actually test for 60 minutes. That's basically a 40k TT and those hurt A LOT.

If you want a better estimate of your one hour power, try a 2x20' FTP test. Warmup for 10-15 minutes, 20 minutes @ FTP, 2 minutes rest, another 20 minutes @ FTP. The average wattage of those two 20 minute intervals will give you a good idea of your FTP. The goal is to keep both intervals as close to each other as possible. You don't want to fade in that list 5 minutes of interval 2. It'll kick your ass, but makes the 20 minute test look boring.

bthotugigem05 said:

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I do too many PZE rides, zones 2-3 are cake for me but my FTP didn't increase because I hadn't spent enough time getting good at zones 4-6

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Same. I'm spending this time between challenges focusing on classes that are predominantly Z4+ with longer interval durations than are usually included in PZM/HIIT/Tabata rides as I can easily go hard for short bursts, but do find it challenging to sustain harder efforts for longer periods of time.

On the subject of FTP test. Here is some food for thought. Wilpers always talks about how taking a low impact ride prior to any class will help you perform better. My last test I need to do an additional class for the PZ challenge, so I did a 30 min low impact ride prior to the 10 minute warmup. Now, I do not know if this had any impact on my results, but it certainly didn't hurt. I have found that I don't start really feeling good until about 25 or so minutes into a ride, so a 30 min LI + 10 min FTP warmup seemed to be the ticket for me. At least that particular day. I also made a few slight adjustments on the saddle and handle bars that seemed to have helped as well. I discovered I have my handlebars too low, which cause my airway to collapse ever so slightly.

BQRyno said:

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My bike is supposed to arrive next week. Reading all you pros break down the nuances makes getting started seem daunting.

It doesn't help that I'm obese (10 more pounds to go till just "overweight") and obviously not in peak physical condition though I am down almost 50 pounds since the start of July. I've been walking with weights and getting the bike to really amp up the workouts.

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First, welcome to the club. Make sure to add your #TexasAggies tag.

Just ride to start. Don't worry about PZ rides or any the other nuances. I do suggest looking up the bike fit video, but other than that just ride. You might pick low impact rides to start, but just play around and find what you like and just do your best. You'll be joining us complaining about FTP and the other details in no time.

BQRyno said:

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My bike is supposed to arrive next week. Reading all you pros break down the nuances makes getting started seem daunting.

It doesn't help that I'm obese (10 more pounds to go till just "overweight") and obviously not in peak physical condition though I am down almost 50 pounds since the start of July. I've been walking with weights and getting the bike to really amp up the workouts.

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Congrats on the weight loss to date. It is not a daunting task. If you decide to go down the PZ path, just start slow, and get the feel for it. Initially you will see fairly rapid increases in health and performance. The further along you get, the improvement tends to be slower and harder to come by. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, you will look back in a year and be stunned at the overall increase.

mrsbeer05 said:

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BQRyno said:

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My bike is supposed to arrive next week. Reading all you pros break down the nuances makes getting started seem daunting.

It doesn't help that I'm obese (10 more pounds to go till just "overweight") and obviously not in peak physical condition though I am down almost 50 pounds since the start of July. I've been walking with weights and getting the bike to really amp up the workouts.

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First, welcome to the club. Make sure to add your #TexasAggies tag.

Just ride to start. Don't worry about PZ rides or any the other nuances. I do suggest looking up the bike fit video, but other than that just ride. You might pick low impact rides to start, but just play around and find what you like and just do your best. You'll be joining us complaining about FTP and the other details in no time.

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So much this. Even someone the caliber of Matt Wilpers will mention that he wish he would have been taught proper technique when he first started. That might be one of, if not the most important things when starting out. Bad habits are hard to break.

BQRyno said:

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My bike is supposed to arrive next week. Reading all you pros break down the nuances makes getting started seem daunting.

It doesn't help that I'm obese (10 more pounds to go till just "overweight") and obviously not in peak physical condition though I am down almost 50 pounds since the start of July. I've been walking with weights and getting the bike to really amp up the workouts.

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Welcome to the "team!" (I'm megbmedina on the leaderboard)

I also remember the daunting feeling when I got my bike because I hadn't really exercised in about three years after having babies and working full time, etc. Beer and Nitro are spot on - take low impact classes with different instructors, spend time getting used to just being on the bike working on your posture and getting a feel for it.

The great thing about the Peloton and powerzone training is that you're really competing against yourself and where you're at in your fitness journey.

BQRyno said:

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My bike is supposed to arrive next week. Reading all you pros break down the nuances makes getting started seem daunting.

It doesn't help that I'm obese (10 more pounds to go till just "overweight") and obviously not in peak physical condition though I am down almost 50 pounds since the start of July. I've been walking with weights and getting the bike to really amp up the workouts.

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I started riding at over 300 pounds, congrats on all you've accomplished so far, can't wait for you to join us on some rides!

That PZE ride (10/29) was the best birthday present I could have asked for! My mom and I go to concerts for my birthday and we've seen most of the bands Denis played.

hope it was a happy birthday!

Retested this morning and got a 10% improvement. Happy with it under the circumstances since I missed two weeks of workouts because I was buried at work.

Looking forward to my first team challenge.

Peloton is taunting me. Got an email that's a guide to my new Bike+....that hasn't arrived yet.

The Wilpers Halloween ride was hilarious this morning

Was able to move my delivery up a whole month. Now scheduled for Dec 7.

How did you do that?

They sent me an email yesterday saying new dates had opened up and I could reschedule.

Me too

Who is up for a 60min PZE ride Tuesday AM? I'm good with anything between 5-7am Central.

I can do 5.

5am works for me

Tuesday @5am Central

10/24/20
Wilpers 60 min PZE ride

I can do that one, too!

Kendall's 45-minute Bon Jovi ride tried to kill me this morning, did it to listen to some nostalgia rock and suddenly was in and out of the saddle at 80+ resistance.

Sorry about this morning guys! I tried for 20 minutes to get the ride going, but for some reason, it just kept spinning (oh, the irony). By the time I reset the bike, you guys were over 1/3 the way through.

Which leads me to ask if anyone else has issues with their bike loading classes after an update takes place?

Glad you tried! I've had it happen a time or two during cool down rides.

I have had some issues during a stretch but it's not often.

One another note I saw something about "Sessions". What exactly is that? We usually get emails when something new comes out, but I haven't seen anything.

Sorry I missed y'all this morning. Ended up needing to get to the office early so didn't have time to do anything this AM. Hope, for those that made it, it was a great ride!

Sorry we missed you. For me, it was pretty clunky. Usually 20-30 minutes in I start feeling pretty good, but not so today. Each interval sucked more than the previous. It was a real grind for me this morning, when I didn't think it should have been. Ah well, some days you have some you don't, but we got it done.

bthotugigem05 said:

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Kendall's 45-minute Bon Jovi ride tried to kill me this morning, did it to listen to some nostalgia rock and suddenly was in and out of the saddle at 80+ resistance.

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That one was intense. I PR'ed for the first time in a while.

I used that beta "Session" where it simulates a live class by doing staggered starts every 5 minutes or so. I was competing against 40 some riders and figured the Top 10 would be a breeze. Not so! Had to bust my butt to stay in there. Definitely more motivating than competing with "ghost riders".

https://www.pelobuddy.com/peloton-to-add-new-sessions-feature-create-your-own-group-rides-with-friends-family-teams/