1st FTP test but is it a true test?

tonysj
tonysj Posts: 391
Hi All,

I'm still waiting for the Ant+ dongle to arrive to link everything together but I've done a FTP test via my Tacx Flow smart turbo and Garmin edge 1000 linked to power settings and completed the following. I've not got a separate Power meter so used the turbo for that reading.

16 minutes warm up. consisting of 1 minute intervals up and down them 4 minutes high 250 watts plus before 1 minute recovery then 20 minutes for the FTP test followed by 6 minutes cool down. So 42 minutes in total for the 20 minutes timed FTP period.

My FTP was recorded as 243 average watts but after the 5% subtraction is 231 watts.

I know I've not followed the precise timings but is this a reasonably accurate FTP as a base line number or should I do it again over the longer periods of warm up etc.
I found it easyish to achieve over the 20 minutes and could possible achieve a slightly higher figure but not by much.

Regards.

Tony

Comments

  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    If you found it easy to achieve then no, it should be the session you dread as they are awful.
    It doesn’t matter what your warm up is really as long as it’s the same for every test you do. I have a strict set warm up routine to ensure consistency.
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • fat daddy
    fat daddy Posts: 2,605
    if its your 1st FTP test its likely to be off the mark

    FTP tests are like everything else, you need to practice them to understand what you need to do .... the next one you do you will know you can push harder and it will be quicker .. the next one, quicker still, then next one you might blow up and think .. ahh too much .... but from then on you will know how hard you can push

    I remember my 1st FTP, - 198 .. my second was 220 only 4 days later .. 22 more watts just from realizing that I could have gone harder


    so if I was you I would do a couple more before basing your training on it as you might be selling yourself short
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Its the best you've got.

    Personally I'd probably add 5w to it and start training with that as you think you could have gone a bit harder.

    What kind of training plan are you following ?

    As Nap D says I dread the FTP test as it's so horrible. I actually find it easier to do as part of a Zwift race / session.
  • navrig2
    navrig2 Posts: 1,833
    Does it matter?

    It's a baseline level against which future improvements can be assessed, and as long as you are not entering willy waving competitions with your cycling buddies it shouldn't matter.
  • I agree with the other posters. If it was easy you were not going hard enough.
    Try doing it again without being able to see your power numbers and do it on RPE.
    You should be on the edge nearly the whole 20 minutes
  • tonysj
    tonysj Posts: 391
    Thanks for the replies guys.
    I do feel that something was wrong, I think it was that all the advice I read was "Not go too hard initially" or you may just end up tailing off on effort. That's why I chose a reasonable power level that I thought I could do for 20 minutes.
    My Garmin 1000 had me rated as 210 watts before the test, I didn't know it had recorded that within it,found out by doing some googling!!.
    I suppose as I didn't know this and have had the Garmin for 10 months it was showing my initial watts unless it re-tests you over the months and updates this figure.

    Is it likely that when I calibrated the turbo for its first use it somehow set this wrong so the power is reading too high for the effort?

    I'm not training for anything specifically as I'm just trying to get back to my Summer fitness as had to drop cycling after an operation and 14 day hospital stay so had best part of 3 months out of the saddle.

    I do have a few goals that due to the op I didn't complete. One being my first 100 miler, I've done a 100k ride so just want to be able to climb better and cover a greater distance.

    Am I best to just pull together a training plan and retest in the New Year with a FTP test?
    Regards
    Tony.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    You now base your training on the FTP level you tested at.
    If it's way out it will become apparent with sessions being too easy for you.

    You'd be looking to test every month or so anyway so I'd just crack on and see how you go. You said yourself you'd not be able to go much higher anyway ?
  • I think the biggest part of an FTP test is being honest with yourself and knowing if that was truly your best effort. There are so many factors that can reduce / increase your numbers. Freshness, tiredness on the day, any stress leading up to it and the temperature of the room if doing indoors on the trainer.

    If I'm in good shape and have been riding / training consistently I could probably say what I could do for 20 minutes within 5W without doing another test. Unless you've done some big blocks of training that exceeded the load you had been doing then it's unlikely your FTP will rise by much more than a few watts so it's not really worth testing as you've already created zones for your training. I don't think that fine tuning is going to make much difference.