 Hey what's up everyone welcome to another video my name is Dylan and I'm a cycling coach at CTS and today we're going to be going into the science on how to raise your FTP. According to this 2013 meta analysis the optimal training bro you got to chill with this whole nerd thing that you got going on. I swear I'd rather downgrade to aluminum wheels than have to hear you read another study. All right guys if you want to hear some real advice you came to the right place I'll be answering your questions based 100% on my opinions as an avid group ride smack talker. We'll be talking about how to justify your poor race results why I never ride in zone one and my new protein supplement line and more so stay tuned. This channel is all about giving you the knowledge and advice that I've acquired by talking to the fast cat one dudes at the start of the group ride. I have to talk with them at the start of the group ride because I'm usually dropped by the end. If you want to learn how to be a mid-pack club rider who holds all the weird uncontested Strava segments within a 50 mile radius then be sure to subscribe. All right let's get into the questions. Andrew Vinn asks hey Dylan I have a question how reliable are FTP tests and how realistic is it that you can actually sustain your FTP for an hour. W W B H D D what would backwards hat Dylan do? Your FTP is also known as your fairy tale power and that's because whatever I tell you my FTP is is about as likely to be true as a fairy tale or that story that that old retro geezer who still runs v-brakes tells you about how he used to be fast when he was your age. Now your FTP is supposed to be the power number that you can hold for an hour but it's much more satisfying for my ego if I think of a time when I was much fitter and lighter and then think of what my best 20 minute power was from that time and then pretend like I can still hold that for an hour. My FTP didn't go down I was just having an off day or an off week or off month or really you know this whole year you know I just been busy you know despite what my $10,000 bike and $500 cycling kit would tell you I actually have a life outside of cycling. I mean really I just feel bad for those guys that actually win races spending all that time training and dieting just to win a pair of 26 inch tires that no one's used since 2008. Sure I trained for the same event and came away with nothing but a bruised ego and sore legs but at least I have balance in my life. Sam Kumar asks have you noticed that it takes more effort to ride slower than what your natural pace is because your muscles are trained and optimized for a particular effort and is most efficient at that effort anything else is a drag. Ugh tell me about it there is nothing worse than doing a recovery ride mainly because if you ride slow that means you are slow. If one of the dudes from the local bike club were to pass me while I was doing a recovery ride I would never hear the end of it which is why I always ride kind of hard but not hard enough that I'm suffering. I like to call it the Goldilocks zone. I'm not training hard enough that I'm going to see any real improvement but at least I feel like I did something. Here's what a recovery day really looks like. I wake up completely smashed after a week of chasing Strava segments in Zwift races so I decided to take an easy day but by noon I've already consumed 3000 calories worth of donuts because my boss decided he wanted to reward us. Little does he know I'm trying to win bike races. Well not win bike races but get my cap for upgrade. Same difference. So by the time I get off work I feel like a fat slob because of all that fried dough I ate. So instead of riding recovery pace I ride at low endurance pace which ends up turning into zone 5 when some hips are on a fixie passes me. I don't care what the training plan says this is completely unacceptable. So by this point in the ride I realized that I've just screwed up this whole recovery day so I decided to just go ahead and chase a Strava KOM. No I didn't get the KOM but that's only because I'm really tired and I need an easy day. Next time I'll bring the aero wheels. Fernando Delgado says I'm a grinder I think but I'm training to become a spinner. Now I don't know what to do. You have to do whatever the last guy who won the Tour de France does. If he's a spinner you got to spin. If he's a grinder you got to grind. If he jumped off a bridge then forget everything your dad ever told you you got to jump in right after him. Anything that a 60 kilogram pro who rides 25 hours a week does will also work for you as an overweight weakened warrior. This also goes for bike setup. Be prepared to ride in an unnatural and uncomfortable position to look more pro. The rule is that every spacer between your stem and your headset decreases your FTP by 10 watts and every spacer between your top cap and your stem decreases your group ride street cred by a factor of 10. If you have more than five spacers on either side then you don't even produce watts at that point and you probably enjoy other soft activities like commuting or bicycle touring or having a working back. Adam Shepard asks what's your take on alcohol consumption and performance? I see lots of people way faster than me drinking but then hear about how bad beer is for recovery. Thanks. The number one rule of training is that if someone's faster than you then they automatically know what they're doing. Now when it comes to alcohol consumption I did a quick google search and found this article about how beer is a great recovery drink. That's pretty much all I needed to hear. Forget the science about how alcohol impairs muscle protein synthesis and sleep quality. What's important is that this online blogger told me it was great so there you go. Rascal1234 says love your snarky impressions. A lot of them sound like stuff I used to say before I got a coach. Wait is he is he talking about me? Ben Parman says I don't know seems like the whole video was just a plug for cupcake flavored hypergain beast mode mass gainer raw addition. Thanks for reminding me Ben. Today's video is sponsored by hypergain beast mode. Now I do like their raw addition mass gainer but lately I've actually been taking their way too jacked way protein after rides. When you take it you can actually feel your muscles fill with all the FDA unregulated dairy byproducts to activate the 30 super aminos to get you into hyper compensation mode. Don't worry this is all backed by science and by science I mean my crossfit friend who's super jacked swears by it. I recommend the raw addition mass gainer the way too jacked way protein and their new product the protein ultimate flex which all come in chocolate vanilla and of course cupcake flavor. Ion says geez man 12 minutes and all you're telling me is that I have to ride harder longer faster better to raise my FTP. I was hoping there was something I could just buy instead. Thanks for nothing. When training fails you or you inevitably had a long day at work but are in fact just too lazy to get out and go ride the solution is always to buy something that'll make you faster. A good place to start is wait. Any bike related purchase can be justified if it's lighter than the one you currently use. For example that carbon rails saddle may be $400 but how much lighter is it? 20 grams worth it. This also applies to aerodynamics. If a product is more aero then you gotta have it on your bike. Now unlike with weight it's harder to measure aerodynamics so you're just gonna have to take the manufacturer's word on this one. If they say that a helmet can save you 40 seconds over a 40 kilometer TT then that's probably correct I mean what reason would they have to lie? Alex asks currently locked into an epic KOM battle with a local Fred. We're taking the segment back and forth from each other in one second increments mainly due to wind conditions. Basing all my workouts and fitness objectives around this rather than my A-race. Any pointers to help me crush my A-race? If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. Strava is the only race that matters and your success as an athlete is determined by the number of kudos that you get on a ride. For this particular situation I would just think of a really good excuse for why you didn't do well at your A-race. Like for example you peaked too early or you had a bad start or you didn't have the right tires or gear choice these usually work. Then focus all your energy on that KOM. You want to go out there in a full skin suit, aero helmet, TT bars and if you can get a fast friend to lead you out into the segment that's great. If someone walking a dog or a small child crosses your path while you're in the middle of the segment it's important to yell out Strava at the top of your lungs so that they know that you're in the middle of a segment. If they know anything they'll respect the KOM and get immediately out of your way. Thanks for watching I hope you guys found this information enlightening. Be sure to give this video a like, share it with a friend and subscribe and leave your questions for me down in the comments section. I'll answer them whether I know what I'm talking about or not.