i realize this. and 5 less grams doesnt win a race either especially when you are carrying around 2 full water bottles. its just one more thing to analyze about myself. i am not one of the stronger (physically) racers around but i am one of the smartest and thats gotten me to where i am but that has its limits. ive never done an ftp test so i dont know where im at there but i would like to and maybe then i can reference this chart

...im not sure im allowed to according to some here

That chart seems super low...

You can, but referencing your race resume will tell you a lot more about where you are "at".

well, knowing where you are in comparison to others fitnesswise can give you the confidence you need to get the job done in races, or it can make you realize you need to work on your fitness to be able to pursue the tactics it takes to win races. Referencing the chart could theoretically do both.

...and for a shot of reality, here is the chart that cyclingpeaks uses now:



Compare to the original:

So out of curiosity, where would a 2.5min max wattage fit in on the chart?

"German Porn Star"

Essen Sie meine scheise

Okay!

Meeeh...it's a hair too short be a VO2 effort, and too long to be a purely anerobic effort. You could probably just average the difference between 1m and 5m.

Snuff, if you ever starred in a German Scheisse video... You'd tell us... right?

An added benefit is that it can tell you if you're ready for a sex change.

It helped me to realize that even though my sprint is non-stellar, my 1-5 minute power numbers were high enough above the Cat4 average that the ideal tactic for me as a Cat4 was to sit in until the last 2-4 minutes of the race and then take off. I was able to do that with enough success that I'm now a Cat3--and according to the chart that tactic won't work anymore, lol.

--Steve

My values on the chart tell me to do TT and stay the !bleep! away from crits. lol.

I'm still untrained, but had a moment of Cat 5 during the winter

No luck Tried print screen, shift printscreen, control printscreen....etc....Better off so I don't embarrass myself anyway...LoL

hit print screen, then go into paint, go to edit, then paste, should work.

Here are my (pitiful) numbers

Question: is the FT (Functional Threshold) for 1 hour? or is it less than that?

One hour, usually checked by doing 20 minute work and subtracting 5%.

When I do that it paste's what ever was on the clipboard before. I am still messing with it..

When your power meter screws up and records a 2400w sprint you become a pro overnight

Alt-PrintScreen only captures the current window. You could try that too.

If someone will tell me a photobucket-type website that will allow just plain files, I'll upload my excel file in which you can input data ->it automatically highlights where you are. A master of excel programming, if I do say so myself.

Plus then we can have more graphs and charts in all of our threads.

thanks that will be useful!

There is a specific FTP test/workout in Coggan and Allen's book. FTP is not simply "5% off of your 20 minute power"; you do a warmup, 5 minutes all out, 10 minutes easy, then the 20 minute TT effort which is what you are going to take the 5% from. Then 10-15 minutes easy + a cool down. The last bits don't matter for the test, but are still important to do. The initial bits, the warmup, 5 minutes all out, etc. are important to the test; as they say, it 'helps to dispense with the initial "freshness" that always exists at the beginning of a ride.' i.e. if you just went straight into the 20 minute segment, you would probably get misleading (higher) results.

There's another test for the profile numbers (i.e. the chart) which employs similar tactics. The idea is to obtain realistic results quickly.


Edit: just to clarify, FTP is defined as "the highest power that a rider can maintain in a quasi-steady state without fatiguing for approximately one hour". The 20 minutes minus 5% deal is a much easier/faster way to estimate that number. It's difficult for many people to find a place to do a full one hour, not to mention a lot longer warmup + recovery time. The shorter test makes it easier to test, an encouragement for testing more frequently.

So the initial 5 min all out effort expends your anaerobic work capacity...then why do you still need to do the 5% adjustment later? It seems kind of redundant.