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Help with FTP

Started by MY02_STi · · Last activity · 7 posts · 1,876 views

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01 / Original postHelp with FTPMY02_STi · 10 Jun 2006 02 / This pagePosts 1–7Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #7MY02_STi · 10 Jun 2006

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Power meters
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10 June 2006
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10 June 2006
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MY02_STi
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FTPCritical powerPower meters

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  1. Original post
    MY02_STi
    Archived post
    #1

    Being new to Power Training (riding for almost 15 years) and having read a great deal of the posts in this section, I'm slightly confused as to what my FTP actually is.

    Background info: Polar Power system (no comments please :o as I only intend to use it primarily on my trainer for 'repeatability' of training levels), I have a copy of Training and Racing with a Power Meter (read it twice :p ) and have done the FTP Test as described in the book and I was well rested before the Test (test done on last day of my Rest/Recovery week)

    My confusion comes from that I averaged 294W (NP 295W) at 169 bpm (I've attached the workout file) which would give me an FTP of say 280W. Looking at the Power Distribution curve the big 'drop off' is at 300-310W and I'm thinking that this is really my FTP 😕 Even the Mean Maximal Power curve shows a 'flattening' around 300W.

    I've done subsequent sessions on the trainer (not an FTP Test) over the past week and the same trend in the data appears (large 'drop off' at 300-310W and a flat spot on the Mean Maximal curve at 300W)

    Am I correct in taking my FTP as 300W or should I stick with the 295(NP)W*0.95=280(FTP)W 😕

    Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated 😄

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  2. otb4evr
    Archived post
    #2
    MY02_STi said:

    Am I correct in taking my FTP as 300W or should I stick with the 295(NP)W*0.95=280(FTP)W 😕

    Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated 😄

    Congrats on taking an important step in training...

    Check the following link to find what Andy Coggan considers the 7, I mean 8, best ways of finding your FTP.

    http://lists.topica.com/lists/wattage/read/message.html?mid=910290920

    Please understand, because of the contribution of your AWC, which varies by individual, your 295(NP)W*0.95=280(FTP)W formula could be off considerably.

    Now the good news. Take a look at #5 on the "7 Deadly Sins" list.

    The Critical Power Testing is shown in the link I pasted below...

    http://velo-fit.com/articles/critical-power.pdf

    Check the article out and download the "monod.xls" spreadsheet.

    You have already done your 20 minute and your 5 minute test, correct? Add a 10 - 12 minute test, and if you want to nail it down further, a 1 minute test, and plug in the average wattages. My advice is not to use the Normalized Wattages...

    This is a fairly accurate way of *estimating* your FTP...

    Jim

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  3. beerco
    Archived post
    #3
    MY02_STi said:

    Am I correct in taking my FTP as 300W or should I stick with the 295

    You're confused over 5w? how about pick 297.5000234w as your FTP.

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  4. RapDaddyo
    Archived post
    #4

    It's very difficult to make definitive estimates of FTP from one test. The reasons are rest, motivation and the nature of the ride (i.e., how variable was power). Your test has a pretty flat power line, so that's good. While the gold standard is a 1 hour test with a relatively small NP/AP variance, a 20 min test is a good predictor for many people. Those for whom the 20 min test is not a good predictor are those with a high AWC, as otb4evr pointed out. I agree with his suggestion of getting three data points and using the Monod Critical Power Model for not only a prediction of 60 min MP but any other MP value (although the error rate increases for both short and long durations). But, in the range of, say, 1-60 mins, the CP Model should work well for you. That's what I do, three data points for a complete CP Curve.

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  5. MY02_STi
    Archived post
    #5
    beerco said:

    You're confused over 5w? how about pick 297.5000234w as your FTP.


    Actually, I was confused over a 20W difference - 300W vs 280W :eek:

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  6. MY02_STi
    Archived post
    #6
    otb4evr said:

    You have already done your 20 minute and your 5 minute test, correct? Add a 10 - 12 minute test, and if you want to nail it down further, a 1 minute test, and plug in the average wattages. My advice is not to use the Normalized Wattages...


    Jim, Thanks for the info and yep, I've done a 5 minute, 20 minute and 1 minute tests so I'll do the 10 minute test and see what happens

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  7. MY02_STi
    Archived post
    #7
    RapDaddyo said:

    That's what I do, three data points for a complete CP Curve.


    Thanks for the info RD and I'm onto getting the data points and I'll see what the Monod Critical Power Model gives me

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