I'm Fitter at 57 Than I Was at 25. Here's Exactly What Changed.
The numbers, the method, and why it's not too late for you either
In 1995, while I was studying at Brighton University, I was a participant in a critical power study being conducted there. Before the term FTP had even been coined, the test showed I could hold 270W for 48 minutes.
My 5-second sprint power at the time: 842W. Weight: 64kg.
Today, at 57, those numbers look like this: FTP currently at 260W in early March (heading toward 270W within 6-8 weeks as the season builds, and 280W by midsummer). Five-second sprint power: 988W. Weight: still 64kg.
I am, by every measurable marker, a better cyclist now than I was in my mid-twenties.
I've been riding every single day for over 9 years without a rest day. I'm starting my 43rd consecutive race season. In 2024, Cycling Weekly interviewed me about this — you can read that piece here. But what the article couldn't cover in detail was the actual methodology. The specific things I changed, and when, and why they worked.
That's what this post is.
This isn't a story about genetics or exceptional talent. It's a story about what happens when you apply the right methods consistently over a long enough period.
The Context: Why This Isn't a Straightforward Story
Before I get into the methodology, some context matters.
At 12 years old I was hospitalised with Still's Disease — a severe form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that affected every joint in my body, including my eyes. I spent 13 months in hospital, two years in a wheelchair, and was told I would never walk again and would probably lose my sight. I was also the first person in the UK to receive laser eye surgery for the associated retinal detachment.
I started cycling at 14, came last in races for six years, and gradually worked my way up to Cat 1. The sport gave me something to prove — and it gave me a career in coaching that has now spanned nearly 30 years.
I tell you this not for sympathy, but because it matters for what comes next. If someone who spent two years in a wheelchair as a teenager, with significant joint damage from a severe inflammatory disease, can be physiologically better at 57 than at 25 — the limiting factor probably isn't what you think it is.
What it takes is the right method, applied consistently, over time.
What Actually Changed: The Four Things That Made the Difference
1. Strength Training — Seriously, Properly, Consistently
This is the single biggest lever I pulled, and the results have been dramatic.
My current gym schedule runs twice a week with a full lower-body emphasis, plus a third lighter session:
• Standing hip flexion — 3 sets of 6 with 1 rep in reserve
• Back squats — 2 warm-up sets of 6 at 70% max, then 3 working sets of 4-6 up to 90% max (occasionally a set at 100%)
• Weighted squat jumps between each squat set
• Seated row — 3 sets of 8
• Bench press — 3 x 8
• Single leg press — 3-4 sets x 6
• Pallof press and crunch to extension for core
The third weekly session substitutes weighted box jumps for the squat jumps, adds single leg calf raises and lat pulldown, and is slightly lower volume overall.
The sprint power result speaks for itself: 842W at 25, 988W at 57. That's 146 additional watts of peak power, gained in my 50s. It came from the gym, not from riding more.
The most surprising result wasn't the power. It was my DEXA scan. My bone density score moved from -2.7 to -1.6 — without medication. Strength training reversed my osteoporosis.
That number matters beyond cycling. Osteoporosis is a serious long-term health risk for endurance athletes, particularly those who have logged decades of non-weight-bearing training. If you're a masters cyclist who hasn't done a DEXA scan recently, I'd strongly recommend it — and I'd even more strongly recommend a structured strength programme as the most evidence-based response to what you find.
2. Protein — More Than You Think, Especially as a Vegetarian
A few years ago I did a full dietary analysis and found I was consuming around 1.5g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. That sounds reasonable — and for a younger athlete it might be — but for a masters athlete trying to maintain and build muscle mass alongside a high training load, it wasn't enough.
I've since brought it up to approximately 2g/kg per day. For me at 64kg, that's 128g of protein daily.
As a vegetarian, this took some deliberate planning. The practical additions that made the difference:
• 0% fat skyr yogurt (high protein, low fat, works with muesli)
• Low fat cheese as a regular protein source
• 1-2 protein shakes per day to close the gap
None of these are revolutionary. But the cumulative effect — more protein supporting muscle protein synthesis, better recovery between sessions, preserved lean mass despite high training volume — has been significant.
The research on protein requirements for masters athletes is increasingly clear: the RDA is set for sedentary populations and is not sufficient for athletes over 40 who are training seriously. If you're not tracking your protein intake, it's worth doing for a week just to see where you actually are.
3. The Daily Riding Streak — What It Actually Means
I've ridden every day for over 9 years without a single rest day. The minimum is 20 minutes — and on genuinely easy days, that's all it is. Twenty minutes at very low intensity, basically active recovery.
The streak started as a personal challenge. The hardest part was the first month — just establishing the habit and the routine. By four months in it had become automatic. The hardest logistical challenge since then has been holidays, where 20 minutes of very easy spinning is genuinely the entire session.
About two years ago I had an operation under general anaesthetic. The surgeon told me I'd need three months off the bike. I rode the morning before the operation, rode the day after at 50W for 20 minutes, spent the next fortnight at minimal load, and then started building back. The streak is intact.
What does the streak represent? Not obsession — or at least, not only that. It represents the principle that the training signal matters more than any individual session. A consistent low-level stimulus every day is more powerful for long-term adaptation than sporadic hard efforts separated by full rest. The body responds to what it's consistently exposed to, not to occasional peaks.
The streak isn't the goal. It's the evidence of the principle — that consistency, above all else, is the most powerful training variable available to a masters athlete.
4. Training Smarter — What I Actually Stopped Doing
In my twenties and thirties, I rode hard whenever I could. Good weather, spare time, the urge to push — all of these were reasons to smash a ride. I was training with enthusiasm rather than intelligence.
The single biggest change I've made: I stopped riding hard on most rides.
The biggest single change: I stopped riding hard on most rides. Easy rides are now genuinely easy — not just comfortable, but properly easy. Hard sessions are hard. The grey zone in between — where most cyclists spend most of their time, grinding away at a pace that's too hard to be recovery and too easy to drive real adaptation — is where I no longer live by default.
Beyond that, the intensity distribution varies by phase and time of year. Sometimes training moves toward a threshold and sweetspot emphasis — two MIET sessions per week plus one harder interval session. Sometimes it shifts toward a more polarised model with less middle-intensity work. The key is that the structure responds to what's actually needed at that point in the season, rather than rigidly adhering to a single training ideology.
There is currently a lot of noise online about polarised training being the only valid approach, or zone 2 being the answer to everything. The evidence doesn't support that kind of dogmatism. What the evidence supports is structured, periodised training with appropriate intensity distribution for the phase — and crucially, making sure the easy rides are actually easy rather than drifting into grey-zone purgatory.
I also added what was previously missing: progressive overload, planned recovery, and regular retesting to track whether the training is working. Not just riding and hoping, but designing and measuring.
This is the methodology I've developed over nearly 30 years of coaching and applied increasingly rigorously to my own training. The results at 57 are the proof of concept.
What This Means for You
I'm not suggesting you'll reverse osteoporosis or gain 150W of sprint power. Individual results depend on where you're starting from, what your training history looks like, and what limiters you're currently working against.
But the underlying principles are not unique to me. They're available to any masters cyclist who applies them:
• Structured strength training, twice a week minimum, with progressive overload
• Protein intake at 1.8-2g/kg per day, tracked and deliberate
• Consistency over intensity — a regular training stimulus beats sporadic peaks every time
• Variable intensity distribution by phase — structured and periodised, not dogmatic. Easy rides genuinely easy, hard sessions genuinely hard
• Regular testing and measurement so you know whether the training is actually working
These are exactly the principles The Collective is built around — a coaching environment for masters riders who want to apply this methodology with structure, accountability, and ongoing guidance. If you're over 40 and want to train with the same evidence-based approach that I apply to my own riding and my coached athletes, that's where to start.
→ Find out more about The Collective at cyclecoach.com/collective75
And if you haven't yet tested your MAP and power profile — the calculator will show you where your current numbers sit and what your training zones should be: