How do you test your FTP ? (Page 2)

Do you know where the % comes from?  Is there an article or data that says 95% is the number to be used (the one used at our testing) vs. 90% or some other number?  Just curious.

So, what do you think would be more accurate?  Again, I'm asking out of curiousity and the desire to get as far on top of training with power and wattage as I can.

Like I said, 95% of avg. power over 20 minutes was used for our testing.  There were 14 people tested that day and I have ridden with all of them and watched all of them race......the numbers came out like I would expect as far as strongest to weakest cyclist.....and the testing was done by pro cyclists and pro cycling coaches.  I'm not saying you are wrong by any stretch.....just wading through the information.

So, what do you think would be more accurate?  Again, I'm asking out of curiousity and the desire to get as far on top of training with power and wattage as I can.

Like I said, 95% of avg. power over 20 minutes was used for our testing.  There were 14 people tested that day and I have ridden with all of them and watched all of them race......the numbers came out like I would expect as far as strongest to weakest cyclist.....and the testing was done by pro cyclists and pro cycling coaches.  I'm not saying you are wrong by any stretch.....just wading through the information.

Do you know where the % comes from?  Is there an article or data that says 95% is the number to be used (the one used at our testing) vs. 90% or some other number?  Just curious.

So, what do you think would be more accurate?  Again, I'm asking out of curiousity and the desire to get as far on top of training with power and wattage as I can.

Like I said, 95% of avg. power over 20 minutes was used for our testing.  There were 14 people tested that day and I have ridden with all of them and watched all of them race......the numbers came out like I would expect as far as strongest to weakest cyclist.....and the testing was done by pro cyclists and pro cycling coaches.  I'm not saying you are wrong by any stretch.....just wading through the information.

I'm with LB - this is very helpful!

Here's a follow on question:  If you don't already have a pretty good sense of your FTP, how do you set your targets FOR the test (whichever method you use)?

I'm about to head out on the bike and give it a go today (first test in like 1.5 years - I've just been estimating for a while based on my rides).  Since I've been off the bike more than on it for the last few months, I have almost NO idea what I'm going to target.

I think I'll start with something that feel like I *might* be able to handle 15' of (which is alway too high for 1 minute and then I settle down to a number that is too low cuz I'm a-skeered!), then crank it up one notch/zone at 10' and either blow up or crank it again for the last 3 minutes or so.

I'm going to do this on a loop nearby that is a common TT loop in summer (though I've not participated in them - but hope to this year) and that I know well, so I have a sense of what I should feel like as I go if I'm cranking it out.

How do you all approach target setting for target setting (argh!  Testing to go do a test - it's like a nightmare within a nightmare!).  

Matt

Matt, I'm not a power expert or anything, but I've done enough riding with power and testing that I, honestly, would not do a power test on my first ride back from a long-ish break.  If it were me, I'd probably go out and ride that TT loop reasonably hard, but with no expectations....I'd probably do that a few times over a week or so.  Analyze the data and get a good idea of what you think you can do for a true power test.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again....but pacing a power test is crucial.  The first one I did, I went out really hard for a couple minutes, quickly realized I was not going to be able to hold it, nearly died, dropped the power way down for a large chunk of the test, and eventually rallied a little bit.  Of course, this resulted in a TERRIBLE estimate of my FTP.  The reason this happened?  It was my first time ever, with absolutely no experience training with power before, and I just tried to chase a stupid number.

My recent tests have been so much better because I have an idea of what I am capable of....set a goal and a stretch goal.  I also know, from experience, that I do much better on these tests if I start a little low and build throughout.

Thanks Nicole.  I get that chasing a number is not going to be a "dialed in" test, for sure.  I've ridden this course enough to have a good idea of what it feels like and what to expect (at least in season), and I have been riding in the basement lately (just not anything like my in season numbers).  At least I knew these roads very well and could push with about as much "safety" as you can during a TT on an open road (in winter, with traffic and snow and ice and giant-bike-swallowing potholes and such).

So, given a couple recent rides (and Strava's estimate of where I am), I had planned to go out at 235/245/255W for roughly each third.  Warmed up and got started and knew almost immediately that was too low (which is exactly what someone who is about 13 minutes away from blowing up thinks).

I basically rode 270/260/265 for each third of a ~26' segment (I mean, test - the fact that it was a Strava segment had nothing to do with it - honest).  

So, this felt about right for what I could do at the moment.  I don't think I had a LOT more Watts in me - maybe a few, as I averaged around 160bpm and know I can hold a little higher.  But, I'm happy with the way it felt.  So, after another base block, I'll retest in a month and use this as a base for setting targets.

I guess that having ridden with power for a bit over a year helped me to hit this right, and I'm sure I could have targeted it a bit better, but I'm happy that the numbers were pretty consistent through the ride (I usually try to hit a HR target for longer stuff and see where the W come out - which was what I was wondering if others did, too, or if people went exclusively by their recent wattages in training).

Still interested to hear how others approach it if you haven't tested or done intervals that are "close" recently.  Just shoot for what your coach tells you (if you have one)?  Pick a HR?  Pick an "aspirational" Wattage target and hope for the best?  Pick one a bit lower than what you think you can hit based on recent rides and then try to blow it out at the end?

Matt

I'm mostly interested in setting a target for tri racing that will lead to an optimized bike/run combination, so I definitely go more from looking across key training sessions in the month or two leading up to a race.  Until today, I hadn't actually tested like this since (IIRC) a year and a half ago.  But, I rode in lots of races of different distances and did lots of training intervals.

Together, those gave me a very good idea of what to target (and I backed off what I thought I could hold and run well off in my only HIM at the end of the season - which I still think was the right approach, but I kinda wonder if it was totally dialed in).

Ben, how do you set a target for a RACE (say HIM length)?  Are there guides you use from previous races wrt percentage of run time compared to open run time, or are there other key indicators you use?

A bit orthogonal to the OP of how you test your FTP, but races are where the rubber meets the road (and, for me, the only reason to test - well, excepting testing on a Strava segment for fun).  

Thanks!

Matt