FTP test

doggatas said:

Would you guys suggest doing an FTP test on a hill climb as apposed to flat groud? or would it be best to do it on a trainer?

Problem is i dont think i could grind out an hour on a trainer!

So what is the formula for a 20 min FTP test and are they accruate?

Do your FTP tests in the way that's most representative of your riding. A lot of folks struggle to put out the same power on a trainer as they do outdoors and some folks differ in terms of what they can do on flat rides vs. steep hills. So an indoor test is likely to give you a lowball figure.

I'm not a fan of the 20 minute test, better to just keep track of what you do for your 20 to 30 minute L4 training intervals and call that FTP. It's Andy's second best method for determining FTP falling right behind an actual 40K TT. Here's his list of ways to determine FTP and Alex's excellent insight into how to apply these methods:

alex-cycle.blogspot.comseven deadly sins.htmlOpen ↗

-Dave

daveryanwyoming said:

Do your FTP tests in the way that's most representative of your riding. A lot of folks struggle to put out the same power on a trainer as they do outdoors and some folks differ in terms of what they can do on flat rides vs. steep hills. So an indoor test is likely to give you a lowball figure.

I'm not a fan of the 20 minute test, better to just keep track of what you do for your 20 to 30 minute L4 training intervals and call that FTP. It's Andy's second best method for determining FTP falling right behind an actual 40K TT. Here's his list of ways to determine FTP and Alex's excellent insight into how to apply these methods:

alex-cycle.blogspot.comseven deadly sins.htmlOpen ↗

-Dave

thanks mate...

It was just that i've only just got the PM and dont have much riding experience all. I went for a ride on sunday for the 1st time with the power meter. It was a stop start ride and i didnt really excert to much effort. except for one big effort for about 10s to see what my sprinting power was like. the power meter said avg 280w for the whole ride. i was pretty happy with that. but it wasnt an all out feel sick effort.

So that was the reason for the how to best do an FTP question... so thanks for the answer!

How do i know what my L4 effort should be without knowing my FTP?

doggatas said:

How do i know what my L4 effort should be without knowing my FTP?

Well it might take a couple of efforts to work it out.

It is self correcting in a sense. Go too hard and you can't sustain it, so back it off a little next time. Don't go hard enough and you'll have plenty in the tank towards the end, so go a little harder next time.

Best thing is to go on feel for a long TT (at least 16km/10mile) but start out fairly conservative and allow your self to build into it.

heck, I sometimes have trouble getting it right 🙂

Alex Simmons said:

heck, I sometimes have trouble getting it right 🙂

I find that very hard to believe 😄

Thanks guys
Hopefully I will soon be able to do my first test and have been trying to read up on this subject. The posts here helps guide me in the right direction as well.

doggatas said:

...the power meter said avg 280w for the whole ride. i was pretty happy with that. but it wasnt an all out feel sick effort....

280w is a substantial number for average power on a "stop start" ride (unless it's less than one hour.) Since you just got the powermeter, my knee-jerk response is

-which kind of PM?
-did you calibrate it (zero torque for PT, calibrate slope + zero offset for SRM)?

peterpen said:

280w is a substantial number for average power on a "stop start" ride (unless it's less than one hour.) Since you just got the powermeter, my knee-jerk response is

-which kind of PM?
-did you calibrate it (zero torque for PT, calibrate slope + zero offset for SRM)?

The ride was for an 1:05 and I set it up properly after reading various posts about including zeros or not including zeros. I set the Powetap PRO to include zeros. I also 'zeroed' the PM at the start of the ride, like 20seconds in.

When I say stop start I mean waiting for traffics lights on the road and cars when they cross some sections of the cycling path that was on the ride i did.

I weigh 88kg so im not a feather weight! (Hope to loose a bit from this cycling and a proper diet)

From all reports FTP is basically your aerobic capacity. [font=Verdana](Please correct me if this is not the case)[/font]

I really like cycling as apposed to running... so if building my FTP will increase my aerobic capacity im all for it.( I play aussie rules so a big motor can help in this sport)

I like the idea of the constant metric of power readings to I can plot and notice any changes in my fitness with the use of the PM. so that why I got one.

I don’t plan to race (maybe a TT) so basically I want to get fit, so seeing the numbers rise (hopefully) will give me the motivation to continually improve.

I don’t care how my figures compare to others; the only thing I care about is if they drop.

On Sunday im going to go out to the country to where there will be no interruptions and im going to try to give it everything for an hour.....

Sounds all good, given your weight and the duration of the ride.

Let us know how the test goes - they're fun! 😄

peterpen said:

Sounds all good, given your weight and the duration of the ride.

Let us know how the test goes - they're fun! 😄

No probs, once i get a reliable ftp figure i'll jump back on.

Only problem is im playing footy on saturday so i'll be drained somewhat...

oh well at least ill have a ball park figure to work with in relation to intervals etc...

doggatas said:

so if building my FTP will increase my aerobic capacity im all for it.( I play aussie rules so a big motor can help in this sport)

I think you will find it to be quite helpful this way, given that you don't like running.