Confused over ftp.

stoveman

Got a very basic tacx turbo,garmin 520 with cadence sensor on my best bike (Bianchi full carbon with Veloce 10 speed)
I also have a garmin hrm which I have never used but is paired to the garmin 520.
I have a second Bianchi with shimano 7 speed which i plan as my turbo bike through the winter.Can someone please in simple terms explain how i could do a ftp test to get my zones as I am interested in using the online training videos on youtube.
I know it is a budget end set up but hoping to get something out of this winter by at least finding what my zones are,
then if the turbo gets a fair bit of use I will upgrade to a smart trainer next year
Sorry if these are simple questions but just can't get my head round this.
many thanks

Phil.

MiddleRinger

Do you have any means of measuring power? From the description you gave it doesn't seem like you do, so if you can't measure your wattage then you don't need to worry about functional threshold power.

The simplest way of getting a baseline would be to use speed on the turbo. You may need a speed sensor paired to your Garmin. Always set the turbo up the same way, warm up well, then see what average speed you can hold for a 20 minute solid effort. Use that as your starting point and re-test every so often to see if you can improve on that figure.

You can train to heart rate too, lots of info out there on the best way to achieve that. Probably your best bet if you want to train to zones.

cougie

Check out trainerroad and train to virtual power. If you have no power Meter it's the next best thing

stoveman

thanks for the reply.
no I have no power meter etc and the zones was my main aim to sort.
Am I right in that I set up the garmin speed sensor, cadence sensor on the turbo bike,and wear the hrm belt,do a decent warm up,then bust my nuts for 20 minutes then multiply by .95.

gethinceri

That will give you heart rate threshold but don't divide, just use 20 mins average. Have a good warm up first.

stoveman

Gethinceri wrote:

That will give you heart rate threshold but don't divide, just use 20 mins average. Have a good warm up first.

So I take the average over the 20 minutes and work the zones out from there?
If so that seems straightforward.
Thanks.

stoveman

cougie wrote:

Check out trainerroad and train to virtual power. If you have no power Meter it's the next best thing

Thanks,had not looked at trainerroad,had a quick google and looks fairly user freindly.

markhewitt1978

stoveman wrote:

cougie wrote:

Check out trainerroad and train to virtual power. If you have no power Meter it's the next best thing

Thanks,had not looked at trainerroad,had a quick google and looks fairly user freindly.

Yes, and it lets you train with power which is better than heart rate. How you use it depends if you have a smartphone, PC / Mac or whatever as to how it'll interface with your sensors.

fenix

I think you are mixing up HR and power training.

If you train by HR then you need to do a max heart rate test - just to see what your max figure is and then work stuff out from there.

I would definitely go with trainerroad though - you can easily see improvements week on week so this feedback helps you stick to the plan.

MiddleRinger

stoveman wrote:

thanks for the reply.
no I have no power meter etc and the zones was my main aim to sort.
Am I right in that I set up the garmin speed sensor, cadence sensor on the turbo bike,and wear the hrm belt,do a decent warm up,then bust my nuts for 20 minutes then multiply by .95.

No. You're not measuring power - so forget about wattage and ftp. Your metrics are speed and heart rate.

If you want to train to heart rate to a max HR test then set your HR zones.

If you want to train with power, buy a powermeter or a smart turbo that calculates power. You can use virtual power measurements that take turbo speed to work it out, but it's far from ideal.

markhewitt1978

MiddleRinger wrote:

If you want to train with power, buy a powermeter or a smart turbo that calculates power. You can use virtual power measurements that take turbo speed to work it out, but it's far from ideal.

I think that's overstating it, the virtual power in the likes of trainer road isn't 100% accurate but it's thereabouts and perfectly suitable for training purposes as long as you're not attempting to compare it to another means of power measurement.

fenix

I'm not sure smart turbos work power out that well. I know a mates is well over the power that my powertap shows as the proper level.

Virtual power for the TR is perfectly good.

okgo

markhewitt1978 wrote:

MiddleRinger wrote:

If you want to train with power, buy a powermeter or a smart turbo that calculates power. You can use virtual power measurements that take turbo speed to work it out, but it's far from ideal.

I think that's overstating it, the virtual power in the likes of trainer road isn't 100% accurate but it's thereabouts and perfectly suitable for training purposes as long as you're not attempting to compare it to another means of power measurement.

OR post about it on an internet forum asking if its genuine.

Websta24

Check if your trainer is support on TrainerRoad and then use that for virtual power. It's made easier if you have an android tablet as ant+ is built in so you just need to download the beta from google play.

If you have an iPad or use a pc you will need an ant+ dongle!

Alternatively, if you want to work out functional threshold heart rate then use the British cycling method which can be found on there site. It explains everything you need and how to complete the workout. It's horrible to say the least!

OnTheRopes

Fenix wrote:

I think you are mixing up HR and power training.

If you train by HR then you need to do a max heart rate test - just to see what your max figure is and then work stuff out from there.

I would definitely go with trainerroad though - you can easily see improvements week on week so this feedback helps you stick to the plan.

You don't have to do a MHR test you can have a LTHR test which is probably less painful and work your zones based on that. Whilst it should be be done in a lab you can a reasonable estimate of LTHR based on feel over a 20 minute test