5 & 20 min max power tests
DaveyL
Posts: 5,167
Tonight I had a go at the max power testing protocol suggested by Coggan and Allen. After warm-ups, a 5 min maximal effort, a bit of recovery, then a 20 min maximal effort.
I averaged 376 Watts for the 5 min effort, and 308 Watts for the 20 min effort. The first part of the 5 min effort was a bit "choppy" as I wasn't really sure what pace I could hold, but I am confident I couldn't have gone much harder overall. The 20 min effort could have been paced better - the first 10 min were done around 300 W and then I realised I could go a bit harder, and averaged 318 W for the second 10 min. By the end, I felt that I could maybe have squeezed out a few more Watts over the 20 min.
My question is, do the results for the 5 and 20 min efforts seem consistent? Coggan and Allen say the 5 min effort is to capture a VO2 max effort, or their Level 5, which they say is 106 - 120% of FTP. In this case, my calculated FTP (293 W, i.e. 95% of 308 W) seems a little low. In fact, if it was ~310 W it would be more consistent with the 5 min value. I'm also not sure what to do, if anything, with the 5 min value.
Any comments?
I averaged 376 Watts for the 5 min effort, and 308 Watts for the 20 min effort. The first part of the 5 min effort was a bit "choppy" as I wasn't really sure what pace I could hold, but I am confident I couldn't have gone much harder overall. The 20 min effort could have been paced better - the first 10 min were done around 300 W and then I realised I could go a bit harder, and averaged 318 W for the second 10 min. By the end, I felt that I could maybe have squeezed out a few more Watts over the 20 min.
My question is, do the results for the 5 and 20 min efforts seem consistent? Coggan and Allen say the 5 min effort is to capture a VO2 max effort, or their Level 5, which they say is 106 - 120% of FTP. In this case, my calculated FTP (293 W, i.e. 95% of 308 W) seems a little low. In fact, if it was ~310 W it would be more consistent with the 5 min value. I'm also not sure what to do, if anything, with the 5 min value.
Any comments?
Le Blaireau (1)
0
Posts
The 376 for 5 mins figure is useful. You could try doing 4x4 mins at that power.
You could re-test in a week's time and start the 20 min test at 318 and really go for it in the last 10 mins.
No doubt Alex will be along with a good analysis
What equipment are you using? How much do you weigh? How tall are you?
Bin
The 5-min effort is "designed" to blow out some of your Anaerobic Work Capacity, so as to make the 20-min test a bit more reflective of sustainable aerobic power.
The ratio used to estimate FTP - 95% of your 20-min power (when using the above protocol) - does vary for everyone but it's a reasonable place to start. Normally I round to the nearest 5W. It could be that you the right ratio for you is 97%.
Put it this way, if I asked you to go out and ride an hour at an average of 295W, could you?
And don't forget, we all have different power profiles, so it is also feasible you are relatively stronger at 5-min power than at longer duration power.
I'm using a PowerTap 2.4 SL on a Cycleops Fluid 2 trainer (Spesh Tarmac road bike). I'm 6 ft 4.5 (194 cm) and 112 kg - though last summer I was about 106. Looking to get back down to that weight and lower, if possible, this year. I haven't done a lot of high intensity training in the last few months so hopefully there is scope for improvement.
Would you recommend a protocol without the 5 min max effort? It certainly blew out something, for 10 min after it I didn't think I'd be able to manage the 20 min effort. After about 10 min of the 20 min effort though, I started to feel quite good (even though it was hurting).
I'll tell you tomorrow whether I can do an hour at 295 W :-) I have managed an hour at 265 W and my average HR was 81% of max, so I reckon I could.
Seriously, here's some thoughts on a pretty common topic:
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/2008/05/ ... -sins.html