I need help. I love my PT! I am working harder, and training smarter than I was previously. I originally set my FTP by doing a 20' TT *.95 to get 286w. On Sunday, I rode up the local monster hill. It took me 83' to get to the top and it was pretty much an all out effort for the entire climb (it was all climbing). For the best 60' power I did 293w AP, and 299 NP. Which of the 3 numbers should I base my FTP on?
BTW- It was 3850' of climbing, and only 12.1 miles. The descent was only 23'. I had fun, and am planning on doing it again this weekend.
So, you have two efforts at ~300W (20' and best 60' out of 83'😉. You could have a fairly flat MMP/duration curve and both your 20' and 60' MMP could be near 300W (although it would be unusual). Or, it may be that you can ride at higher average power with variable power pacing than constant power pacing. Or, it could be that you are more motivated by climbs than riding TT efforts on the flat. Any way, if you assume your FTP is 300W, if that is an overestimation it will be quickly revealed with your weekly L4 intervals.
You're in luck! You have a motivated, well-paced, all-out 1hr effort, which is the gold standard. If it were me, I'd choose either 293 or 299, with a slight bias towards 293.
Don't sweat which one is your "real" FT; 293 is only 7W over 286 and 6W below 299; the margin of error for consumer-level power-measuring devices is around 5W anyway, so for the purposes of establishing training levels it's almost certainly close enough.
I'd also ask what went wrong on the 20 minute effort. If you can go practically just as hard in a 1 hour effort, something was amiss. Were you rested? Mentally prepared for a total effort? Was the course not conducive to riding at high power (e.g., you're better at pounding out high power uphill than the flats)?
When I first got my PT a few weeks ago, I did the 20' min TT to set the FTP. After the ride, I was having trouble getting the PT computer to send the info to my PC and ended up clearing the ride data. So the next day, I re- did the 20' TT, and I was NOT fresh. I plan to do the TT test once per month, so I will be re- running it again next week.
Got to agree with the other's here, just pick a number in the 290-295 range, 300 if you really want a slightly harder month. If it were me i'd go with 295 (i just like rounding up to the next increment of 5w)
Nice time on that hill btw, wish i had something remotely close to that here.
Got to agree with the other's here, just pick a number in the 290-295 range, 300 if you really want a slightly harder month. If it were me i'd go with 295 (i just like rounding up to the next increment of 5w)
Nice time on that hill btw, wish i had something remotely close to that here.
How much difference would it really make if you train at 290 verses 300 😕
How much difference would it really make if you train at 290 verses 300 😕
For training purposes, he may as well assume it's 300. If 300 is too high, it will be quickly revealed because he won't be able to complete his interval sets if he uses the minimum recovery durations. For TT racing purposes, it matters because he could find himself having to cut back significantly in the last half of a course. If the last half is where he should in fact be increasing power, it will cost him significantly. That's the good news about using any of various methods to estimate FTP for training purposes. It's self-correcting if you're wrong.
I need help. I love my PT! I am working harder, and training smarter than I was previously. I originally set my FTP by doing a 20' TT *.95 to get 286w. On Sunday, I rode up the local monster hill. It took me 83' to get to the top and it was pretty much an all out effort for the entire climb (it was all climbing). For the best 60' power I did 293w AP, and 299 NP. Which of the 3 numbers should I base my FTP on?
BTW- It was 3850' of climbing, and only 12.1 miles. The descent was only 23'. I had fun, and am planning on doing it again this weekend.
[font=Geneva] 4) based on normalized power from a hard ~1 h race. ... 7) from the average power during a ~1 h TT (the best predictor of performance is performance itself).
[font=Verdana]Honestly, 295 would work just fine, but I think with the proper motivation, you can actually do more than 300 watts for an hour.
Your Critical Power curve would be more telling as to what your FTP would be based upon an 83 minute 293 average effort.
For the time being, I am going to set my workouts using FTP= 295. This morning was my first ride on the trainer in ~6 months, and my first ever with the PT. It was a VO2 max WO, and I found it impossible to keep my watts where they should have been (6 x 3min & 4 x 2 mins @ ~120%). I am thinking the problem isn't with the FTP setting, but because the ride was on the trainer. Is it normally harder to complete short hard intervals on the trainer?
For the time being, I am going to set my workouts using FTP= 295. This morning was my first ride on the trainer in ~6 months, and my first ever with the PT. It was a VO2 max WO, and I found it impossible to keep my watts where they should have been (6 x 3min & 4 x 2 mins @ ~120%). I am thinking the problem isn't with the FTP setting, but because the ride was on the trainer. Is it normally harder to complete short hard intervals on the trainer?
Thanks.
Remember, your VO2Max zone goes from 105 - 115%. If you haven't done them in a while, it is no wonder you can not hold 120% for 3 minutes for multiple intervals. I typically start at 100% and build from there.
It will usually take me a couple of workouts to get where I need to be...
I don't find trainer workouts to be any harder than outdoor workouts. Sometimes, I actually think they are easier, as the effort is constant.
For the time being, I am going to set my workouts using FTP= 295. This morning was my first ride on the trainer in ~6 months, and my first ever with the PT. It was a VO2 max WO, and I found it impossible to keep my watts where they should have been (6 x 3min & 4 x 2 mins @ ~120%). I am thinking the problem isn't with the FTP setting, but because the ride was on the trainer. Is it normally harder to complete short hard intervals on the trainer?
Thanks.
Sounds like a good call with your FTP #. FWIW, I can usually sustain ~5% higher power on climbs, and the same is true for many others.
And yes, I think the problem could be with the trainer. I am not alone in finding it extremely difficult to sustain the same power on a trainer, particularly when going above FT. That's why I have rollers. 😉
For the time being, I am going to set my workouts using FTP= 295. This morning was my first ride on the trainer in ~6 months, and my first ever with the PT. It was a VO2 max WO, and I found it impossible to keep my watts where they should have been (6 x 3min & 4 x 2 mins @ ~120%). I am thinking the problem isn't with the FTP setting, but because the ride was on the trainer. Is it normally harder to complete short hard intervals on the trainer?
Thanks.
I found the trainer to be harder also than on the road. On the trainer there is constant resistance, on the road there is momentum and you also have a tendency to soft pedal a little unless you do them on a hill.
