Last year, I started training in a structured way for the first time – and I set myself a specific goal straight away: the Club de Cinglés (3x Mont Ventoux/1d)
That’s how I discovered the Full Frontal (FF) and the Nine Hammers – and I was hooked.
After the Cinglés, I didn’t really have a clear goal to aim for. So I simply worked my way through the All the Sufferfest Award. That’s when I came up with an idea for my own personal Cinglés: I want to achieve an FTP of 300W in the Full Frontal.
You need to bear in mind: I’m over 50, have a family and work full-time. And I’ve no desire to live like an ascetic.
The first attempts
I did my first FF on 15 June 25. I had to stop after the MAP section.
A disaster. I completely overestimated my abilities and started far too quickly.
After that, I was wiser.
A few days later.
By September 2025, I’d worked my way up to 242W. After the Cinglés, it was 249W.
Then came the dip in motivation. My brother, however, had a new idea: a cyclo-cross race in March. To prepare for it, I trained with various MAP sessions and laps in the woods.
Nine Hammers is a walk in the park
The cyclocrossrace (hobby event) was a disaster by my own standards. 
What an ordeal! An hour of burning legs, burning lungs, lactate galore. Nine Hammers, by comparison, was a walk in the park. Wellness!
I didn’t actually think my performance was that bad. But no matter how well I rode on a lap thanks to my good technique, I kept getting overtaken on two gruelling climbs.
One thing was clear: I’ll be going back next year – and I don’t want to lose so much ground on those climbs again.
My quick analysis pointed to two options: lose weight or increase my FTP.
Starving myself is out of the question. So the plan was clear: I need a higher FTP.
My goal: 300W by the end of the year – or by February at the latest.
Four to five hours a week
During the week, I manage four to five hours of training time. That’s as much as I can manage. When things went well, my training week looked like this:
- A MAP workout before work (indoor)
- An FTP workout before work (indoor)
- A Zone 2 session outdoors at the weekend
That added up to four to five hours. And it went well. Very well, in fact.
I used the ‘Go Beyond FTP’ plan and put together the appropriate Sufferfest workouts myself on a freestyle basis.
By June, my FTP was already at 273W. From 256W in March to 273W in June – an increase of 17 W in three months!
I hadn’t expected that. I thought: ‘Reaching 300W will be a piece of cake now.’
I was convinced that I’d reach 300 more easily if I focused exclusively on my FTP. So I had the AI draw up a training plan for me.
F… the AI!
In any case, the next two months consisted almost entirely of FTP and Zone 2. Sessions like 2×15, 2×20, 3×15 and so on.
The result? Disappointing.
The setback
In August, I did the next FF. And what happened?
The 20-minute FTP session absolutely wrecked me. By the end, my FTP had suddenly dropped: 266W. Seven watts less!
Yet all my other figures had continued to improve: NM: +24, AC: +4, MAP: +4
That was quite a blow.
What was particularly interesting was the effect it had on my motivation. I was deeply disappointed and suddenly 300W seemed out of reach.
Am I too old? Is there an upper limit? A glass ceiling at perhaps 280W?
I thought about it for a while and set myself a new interim target: 280W. Then we’ll see.
This time, I went back to the tried-and-tested method instead of relying on AI: MAP + FTP + Zone 2:
The improvements at a glance:
NM: +27, AC: +23, MAP: +7, FTP: +13
Once again, I saw improvements across the board. And once again, it became clear just how closely performance and motivation are linked: I’m elated.
Suddenly, 300W is within reach again. That invisible 280W barrier has vanished from my mind.
And now for 300W?
Let’s see if and when I can hit 300W.
The next cx-race is coming up in March. After that, the next goal is already waiting: the Flandrien Challenge in May.
My brother and I want to ride all the segments in Flanders within three days: 400 km and 4,800 metres of elevation gain.
But for now, the focus is on 300W. What do you think?
Should I stick with the tried-and-tested mix of MAP, FTP and Zone 2?
Where do you see room for improvement, given that I have to make do with four to five hours of training a week?
Is 300W realistic, or will I actually hit a physiological limit at some point?
I’m currently only 21W short – just under 6%.
So the question isn’t just whether 300W is possible, but how I can achieve it without completely subordinating my life to training.
It goes down a treat with cross.)