How Much Faster After 1 Year Of Cycling? - New FTP Test 

It's good to have goals, but remember, if you really want to train properly and efficiently (that means consistency and structure are key) you have to somewhat arrange your life around that, that's just how it is. Training takes a lot of time (well, actual training might take only an hour per day, but everything else that goes into it-mainly sleep and recovery do take a lot of it) and many people might find other aspect of life more important and that's okay.

Great work Benji. It’s great to see your improvement and the realism of fitting riding with life

That's a great year! Congratulations on the progress! Quite confident you've gained muscle over the year, so don't beat yourself up over the weight staying the same. The main thing is to stay consistent and making training a habit, then when starting to focus on diet you'll really start kicking ass! Good luck on 2024! Looking forward to follow your progress!

Great job this year, and you've set out some very reasonable and achievable goals that will also push you. Good luck! It's all about consistency.

Super proud of you Benji! Rome wasn't built in a day and this cycling journey never ends. Enjoy every ride, and better nutrition + consistency are great goals! 👊🤗

wow this is excellent Benji and so inspirational too, I'm really invested in your progress now!

Awesome job man!!!! I feel the pain on the nutrition part haha, ending the year the same or maybe even a bit heavier honestly. I been pushing in zwift and in the real world as well though and feel I am getting stronger. I been enjoying the climb portal in Zwift as of late, made it up Cote de Domancy this AM in 18mins 20sec with avg power of 296W, not bad for a 127kg guy. Keep killing it man!

Great stuff Benji, well done...great improvements. Looking forward to seeing how you keep it up in 2024

Great channel. Great vids. Love your way of approaching the sport and most of all that you'll be inspiring more folk to get into it than many could.

Nice stuff man. hope you can acheive all your goals.

Great work Benji and well done with everything you've achieved this year!

Love your videos, giving me the inspiration to start my own cycling channel, thank you and keep up the hard work !!

Really good to see you improve from a really low base to being able to achieve great things -keep up the good work!

Let's go Benji! Keep on putting in that effort

Great stuff Benji. Best of luck with your 2024 goals.

Congrats on your achievements this year and all the best for 2024! I think you can absolutely achieve your goals. I strongly recommend a structured workout (maybe LIT/HIT training) plan for next year! I´m doing one this winter and the results in a short term of time are amazing.

Great year Benji! Hope you will have time to do more easy & long (zone 2) rides next year, will be really boring and not great viewing 🤣 but I reckon you'll see massive improvements.

Great update mate. Only discovered your videos recently while researching smart bikes. Hoping to get into Zwift riding in the next couple of weeks. Just gotta buy that smart bike.

Thanks for this Benji, you should be proud of what you have achieved in 2023 and you’ve clearly laid the groundwork for some achievable and testing goals next year, maybe you could do a group ride for your Alpe du Zwift goal so others like myself can draft, pace and encourage you?

Congrats Benji!!! Keep it up

Your videos are so good, you're a natural at what you do and inspirational too. Looking forward to watching in 2024, I have some similar goals!

Great job, Benji. It's interesting how strikingly similar our journey in this regard have been. I too recently went to slightly higher than 2 W/kg on my 20 min test, and am aiming to get to 3 W/kg next. I too believe that that is achievable, and the limits to that exist in my mind and not in my body. All the best!

Well done Benji. I starting cycling after a 4 year gap at the end of last summer. I too have also set goals for 2024 similar to yours. Best of luck I'll be following. I may even document on here although I'm not to sure about that yet 😊.

Always brilliant content pal, and tip my cap to you with your ftp gain. 👏🏻👏🏻

great journey, great conclusion, great plans for next year. Go ahead and you will achieve all your goals!

Genuinely inspirational man. Cheers to an even stronger 2024 🍻

great job. just got my zwift hub one a couple of days ago, being overweight myself. hopefully I can stick to it like you did

super well done, chapeau! never lose the fun on the bike :)

Great work, 'als in'...respect man, knap werk in 1 jaar tijd!

Great work Benji. 2024 will be a breakthrough year for you

Some awesome goals for 2024. Congratulations on your achievements this year too. 💪

As a 103kg guy with an ftp of 224 (although haven't tried a proper test) I'm following your progress closely! Good luck and I look forward to seeing how you get on. I'm planning on sitting down on the last day of the year and setting out some goals in a more formal way than I usually do. Have a 100 mile sportive I want to do in August and really want to complete the cycle leg of the "Swedish classic" in 2025 as a long term goal. But think I need some shorter term goals/goals around consistency and process (rather than results) as well. Also planning on following the pro cycling season a lot more closely than normal in 2024! Was a 99th percentile listener to the podcast in 2023 according to Pocket Casts, so thank you on the assist for that one!

Well done Benji, great to watch your progress. As said many times already - consistency is the key as is structure. Sounds like you have a very busy life so check out YT and podcasts on training for a time crunched cyclist. Keep up the great podcast work, really enjoy your race analysis. Will be even more important down under now that GCN+ is RIP

Keep it up! Results comes from being consistent. After several years of wanting to do better I finally did this year. FTP went from 245 to 343 while down quite some weight. Over 10.000 kilometers ridden. Climbed Stelio, Gavia and several Swiss alps. A lot can happen in a year.

You achieved some great results as a whole, even if you didn't hit certain numbers - but like you said, other factors could have impact on the ftp test, so I wouldn't focus on that 3 watt 'defict'. Congrats on all you accomplished this year. I too haven't been on the bike much last year - I did just a few more kms than you (about 600) and have set new goals for me next year to get me back on the bike more.

Congrats Benji!

It's sick to watch you improve so much! I went from 213 to 258 this year! And I'm 97 kg but the watts are going up and my weights coming down!

Nice vid Benji! An improvement of +30W is not to be underestimated. Can't really remember the last time I did that. When you come back home to conquer the cobbles of the Flemish Ardennes, hit me up. I have tons of briliant routes and I'm more than happy to join.

Good job! I cracked 6k kms, raised my ftp around 25w up to 288w and I'm now under 100kg this year. You got this! Just keep riding and remember it's always about the journey. ✌️

Good work for 2023, Benji! I have just started out on Zwift late 2023 and in a similar position: too heavy and looking to increase watts over the full range. If you add in some strength training, you will definitely see results from that, too. What is your experience with the Zwift Hub One? I'm currently on a Kickr Snap wheel-on that I have found has disadvantages in short Crit races. Thanks, and I'm looking forward to seeing how 2024 unfolds for you 👍🏻

Thank you Benji! Your videos motivate me! 😊 I hope to be a better cyclist next year as well :)

Thanks for staying authentic with your progress reports. Makes people like ourselves stick to it, seeing that other peoples also don't always make the progress that other channels suggest "definetely will happen" (I WENT FROM 220 TO 800 W FTP IN 3 WEEEEEEKS). Enjoy your nutrition journey - I found it so much fun to eat better and thereby improving my fitness one kilo at a time. I went from 95 to 80 kilos in the past 15 months without ever feeling hungry. It does take time (information and kitchen time) and commitment though, like anything worthwhile. This is NOT sponsored but Hello Fresh actually helped me with inspiration for healthy meals and portion control.

I appreciate your suffering and honesty! Chapeau!!!

Great progress over the year despite some downtime in the middle :) those FTP tests man, mental demolition! Reasonable goals for next season I would say, go crush it! What is the worst time within the 20min FTP test for you? Mine probably is 10min to go xD "Do that again!? HOW?"

Fantastisc result. Keep going👍

Arrived today my new zwift hub one, i had a 178w ftp (74kg) on my tacx flow smart wheel on, now i did gain the ftp test (kinda 2 month stop because the trainer broke) and got 163. now start my journey to getting back to 178 and past that, my goal is to reach 3w/kg but is really hard i know that. keep on riding :)

Great results, you are really a source of inspiration. As a boomer cyclist I can only say that more outdoor riding in aerobic zone with a good diet will make your goals happen. Zwift is great for power training but longer and easier rides are more effective for weight. BRAVO from Italy

good job,i basicly went trought the same this year starting my first proper year, i was in one uci gran fondo and one normal gran fondo this year (basicly 4-5 hour ftp test😂) then move to a new country and now i ride again consistently since a month so i am back in shape, i recommend to do more zone 2 rides it helps a lott and not that much suffering😇

Go for it Benji! You are inspiring people you’ll never even meet and that’s pretty amazing dude! Keep up the good work from 🇺🇸

Going from D to C will be easy if you lose weight. Just keep cycling so you don't lose those watt you gained this year. I went from 96kgs to 84 in 4 months, ftp from 180 to 265, alpe du zwift in 62 mins and went from D to C. Put in some effort to count calories. Combine that with regular zwift riding, you'll want to lose more to get more w/kg. It's quite addicting. I am still trying to lose 4 kgs. But with the holidays coming up, it might take a bit longer now. Good luck on your goals! And don't eat too many frietjes met mayo ;)

good progress! btw, how did you get the table of different intervals of power and months? was it done by a specific app?

Get effort and loved the end when you said why am I doing this 😂

Nice, putting the effort in always gets you results... My thoughts on Ramp VS 20min FTP. The result will vary depending on your strengths. I would probably get a higher result on 20min than ramp, thus is because I have a decent base fitness and ride usually 6 days a week. My strength is my biggest weakness and thus a ramp test is actually hard for my. The trick is accept one method, and adjust the bias dependant on workout type and it will be on the money.

Ah finally a "real" improvement video! Im tired of the "I went from 150W to 300W in one year indoors" unrealistic bullshit type videos. Keep up the good work mate! :)

I'm an idiot and got in the habit of doing 60 minute FTP tests....don't be like me unless you like to regularly enjoy feeling like your eyes melt out of your skull. And three tips for 2024: 1. Set process goals over outcome goals. You can't always control results, but you can focus on process goals like riding 5 times a week 2. Consistency is key. Even if you're not doing structure, consistency will net you improvements. 3. Fuel the work you do. Eat and drink to achieve what you want and nutrition becomes easy. Good luck!

Your thumbnail pic looks like a teddy bear in rage. This kind of data is interesting - to see how quickly others are able to make improvements

Zwift has been a blessing to me. My kids have gotten older, and my life has gotten busier. The FTP TEST…. I thought a ramp test would be better to do than the 20 minute test. I was wrong I had rather do the 20 minute test any day over the ramp test

Keep up the good work 👍 Try more polarized training with much zone 2. For you I think you should aim on a heartrate of 130-140 and do rides for like 1,5-2 hours This is my third year cycling. Made 10.000km. started at 225 begin this year and now my ftp is 289 with 67kg. Measured on a Zwift race. The ftp test I will do next week. Fingers crossed 🤞

Keep up the work in 2024 Benji! You’re doing great!!

"why do I do this to myself?", that question gets asked every week! :)

Good job. You might want to also include a weightlifting routine in your training so you can build muscle that will help you perform better on the bike. Good luck to you

Category C is gonna be harsh. Just finished a race and got absolutly recked. i drove 185w or like 3,2 w/kg for 25.5min with 17km, 215 mh. ended 120/710. Really nice to see your videos though go smash it in 2024. And remember when you are about to give up. Its all mind games, dont let it win. Sounds like something david goggins would say and speaking of david goggins. I would STRONGLY recommend you buying and reading his book "cant hurt you". Its a big motivater. eventhough he says motivation is for quitters. Real men and women for that sake keep going with disciplin. :)

Go Benji! ... you look way healthier than last year. Question: Do these Contador nose thingies actually work?

@benji you use the hub one ? is it good ? which cog in front do you use ?

Slow and steady. Don’t quit on yourself.

Well done Benji! Can you or anyone else please tell me where did you get your monthly best effort watts over certain time periods 5s - 60min? That table that you made in Excell? I would like to do something similar.

Great result ....but don't forget to HAVE FUN 🙂

You are right...... why do we do this to ourselves 🤣- Nice work @Benji

What workout plan did you do?

do u have power pedals or watt from your trainer, and what brand or trainer do u have?

Nice one. How did you collect all your power data? Does that come from zwift?

Very wise to set a goal. No matter what it is. Mine was 5000 miles(8000km) in 2023 between real riding and zwift. Divided it up pretty evenly between the 2 and completed it in early December. I didn’t come up with anything for 2024 yet but it WONT be that again. It was a task

Imo it's good to set a floor of minimum amount of time spent on bike per day/week and stick to it. You can track your hours pretty easily and it sets you up for consistent schedule.

I think the goals at the long climbs are set a bit too high. 13 minutes faster on a ~90minute climb, that is A LOT. Try 8, imho.

Nice !!!

Why not set process goals like 'make time to train x hours per week' and have the other stuff as aspirations, as the improvements/times etc. are lines in the sand and some of them maybe out of your control but improvements are more likely to follow as a result of implementation of good processes?

You should come race Unbound Gravel on June 1!!

Well done, pretty impressive. Sadly what I have realized and what the pros also know is the biggest gains are by simply dropping weight (up to a point). W/kg (unless you are only riding flats) is all that matters. And the kg part is generally a lot easier to change.

Get on Rouvy, get up early, do a classic climb every morning - aim just to get to the top. You'll improve super quick

Well done 🙏 instead of thinking about kms it’s better to have an hour target, 5 hours a week would be a really good goal. Currently doing 10 hours a week indoors so can be done 😆

try to follow a robopacer next time, much easier to keep motivation up while doing 20min test...or do the epic climb instead and beat your old shadow...and to get time in the saddle I can recommend group riders...they are lovely! Times flies. just did 4.5h group ride last Sunday 230watt/av at 82kg

Here’s to 2024!! Love your smiles

You may find this good for motivation and good practice. Get a free trial with Rouvy. Attempt the Mont Ventoux (malaucene) climb. It is a good climb at 1570m over 21km but the gradient doesn't go above 14% for maybe 10m plus the first 15k is quite undulating with chance for a short leg (short as per time not leg length) recovery around halfway. You will likely find your 2024 goal routes to practice on too

Ride way more outside. Unless you're a real indoor monster (don't think you are), it's really hard to motivate yourself to ride more and ride hard and push yourself indoors.

Maybe you can make another video at the end of 24 and maybe at the middel (around now) to have a great overview and to maybe change your take on of your plans🔥

nog een tip benji ik train op hm jaarlijks gewoon 150000 of min de week 2000geloof me hier gade veel sterker voor worden buiten

I prefer to aim for annual hours rather than kilometres. The reason being is that you can influence the distance just by selecting hilly and flat routes. Hours is a truer test of effort.

Nice job, the definition(s) of FTP are mind boggling. There is a definite mathematical formula regarding the Ramp and FTP tests. Neither is your actual FTP, depending on the definition used or coach involved. Your chart shows your true 1hr power already.

Hi Benji, i've been following for a while, but I think you should put another goal for yourself which is to never go a week without cycling at least 4 hours. 126 hours per year is 2 hours a week, that's great because you were doing nothing and it's a great improvement, but you should get used to riding 3-4 times a week for at least an hour. it will do marvels for your fitness. main thing I dont see in you goals are consistency. and another thing it's not the KM it's the hours, you climbed ADZ it was 2 hours but only 10 km. you can't compare it to 1 hour tempus fugit in a group ride going 35k/ph , I'd focus on TIme not KM ... and aim to get at least 250 hours this year . its 4 hours per week which can be 2 X 2 hour rides or 3X1:20 hour rides . or 4 1 hour rides. that's my 2 cents.

My only suggestion is to not get too caught up in the performance metrics. You'll eventually burn out from it and end up quitting altogether. Better to just find a consistent rhythm where you aren't killing yourself.

If you keep this up, a few years from now you will be zooming up Alpe du Zwift at 4+w/kg no problem. Consistency is key!

do a group ride on around Oudenaarde please 😅

Anyone else really want to see a race between Benji and @RyanCondon? One thing though, if you guys want to move from Cat D to C you’ll have to beat the likes of @QuarterTonActivities and me! Love all your stuff! Whereabouts did you move to Benji?

Over the same time ive gone from a fairly pathetic 130 ftp to around 190 - although struggled with commitment in the last 4 months. Hopefully i'll do better through the new year. Edit: lost some weight though and accidentally got booted out of category D to C, so now i get dropped in the first 10 mins of every race 😅 oh well just gonna grind out some 3x 10minute ftp intervals for a few months until i become more competitive.

👏👏👏

Quite a big difference between the tests. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Great plans for 2024. You can do it!

at least 5w drive chain losses, means 227! Well done :)

How do you eat? You can reach a good level of you lose 20 kilos in a calorie déficit

20min result might be more realistic, but it's also harder to pace as you've noticed. the "truth" is probably somewhere between these two values

Has your resting heart rate decreased over the year? Would it be possible for you to share this data?