As someone who does not race but wants to be as fit as possible they are quite tempting.
"fit"
or "doped"?
It's a fine line. Your choice!
Or honest
And on that theme - is 4W/kg too much to ask for over 50?
No, it's my goal and I'm 55.
I was around 2.8W/Kg 11 months ago (based on 1 hour FTP Watts) now I'm 3.5W/Kg.
My current FTP is 278W and I may be able to squeeze out >290W if I dedicate myself to it for a year (It's sooo painful).
My weight has dropped from 94.8Kg to 80.3Kg since January and that's by far the biggest contributing factor to the whole equation, and where the biggest gains are available now my FTP gains are starting to plateau.
Basically I need to get to 290W FTP and down to 72.3Kg (11st 6lb or thereabouts). That's not impossible it's just a year of bloody hard work (structured training with Power) and dedication (Intermittent fasting for weight loss). 11st 7lb is actually a healthy weight for me rather than a crazy target.
I'm not sure I'll ever get there but 3.5W/Kg feels bloody great out on the road, effortless at times, so 3.6...3.7 will feel even better.
The first step on the road to 4W/Kg is establishing your current W/Kg and then setting out your 2 goals, realistic power increase target and realistic weight loss target.
Try to ignore the mind-bending fact that Tour de France winners are generally >6W/kg !!!!!!!