Power Testing- Training Help
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nor-Cal Bay Area
Posts: 5,088
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Power Testing- Training Help
So saturday morning I did some power testing. Dang power meter, how humiliating! Ok, anyway I had two glaring weakness's that I desperately need to improve. One is power, mine is very bad for my size, actually for any size. So my 5sec, 10 sec and you get the point are way low. The other, is my ftp. While not all that bad, it fades drastically after 30 minutes, so perhaps its just conditioning.
Will increasing my 5sec power help all areas, or just that one area? What should I work on to improve this area? How can I raise my FTP?
Thanks for the help.
Will increasing my 5sec power help all areas, or just that one area? What should I work on to improve this area? How can I raise my FTP?
Thanks for the help.
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Silverdale, WA
Posts: 565
Bikes: 2004 Cannondale R600
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
If your FTP fades drastically after 30 minutes, you have over-estimated it. FTP is what you should be able to hold for an hour.
#3
Quarq shill
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,962
Bikes: 08 Felt F4, 05 Fuji Team SL, 08 Planet X Stealth, 10 Kona Jake the Snake, 03 Giant OCR flat bar.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Increasing 5 second power will really only help with those short violent bursts. Raising your FTP will help across the board. Although you will still need to perform sprint work, raising FTP will probably help you the most all around, I would think.
Look up Sweet Spot Training. That seems to be the most bang for your buck in training to raise FTP. But really the only way to improve the numbers you want, are to train at those numbers.
https://www.fascatcoaching.com/sweetspot.html
https://train-this.blogspot.com/2008/...weet-spot.html
And some good reading here:
https://www.cyclingforums.com/f88-power-training.html
and here:
https://groups.google.com/group/wattage
Look up Sweet Spot Training. That seems to be the most bang for your buck in training to raise FTP. But really the only way to improve the numbers you want, are to train at those numbers.
https://www.fascatcoaching.com/sweetspot.html
https://train-this.blogspot.com/2008/...weet-spot.html
And some good reading here:
https://www.cyclingforums.com/f88-power-training.html
and here:
https://groups.google.com/group/wattage
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nor-Cal Bay Area
Posts: 5,088
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#6
Quarq shill
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,962
Bikes: 08 Felt F4, 05 Fuji Team SL, 08 Planet X Stealth, 10 Kona Jake the Snake, 03 Giant OCR flat bar.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
You may need to do the hour test then to get a proper FTP if you are fading after 30'. Some people just don't fit into that category of 20' -5%. Some people are minus 10 or 15%. Which is why Coggan himself will tell you he doesn't like the 20' test. His preference is the 60'.
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nor-Cal Bay Area
Posts: 5,088
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
You may need to do the hour test then to get a proper FTP if you are fading after 30'. Some people just don't fit into that category of 20' -5%. Some people are minus 10 or 15%. Which is why Coggan himself will tell you he doesn't like the 20' test. His preference is the 60'.
#8
pan y agua
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,271
Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1426 Post(s)
Liked 692 Times
in
351 Posts
If you really want to know your one hour power, obviously the most accurate way is to do a one hour TT effort. However not many people are going to be willing to do a 40k TT on a repeated basis. Thus a 2 o minute test, or even an 8 minute test ( 8 minute twice with 10 minutes rest, taking 92% of the average.) is a lot more practical.
As long as you're consistent, any of these tests should be adequate to set zones, and an measure progress.
#9
Quarq shill
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,962
Bikes: 08 Felt F4, 05 Fuji Team SL, 08 Planet X Stealth, 10 Kona Jake the Snake, 03 Giant OCR flat bar.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
But when he did the 20 minute test and came up with that FTP, he couldn't hold it for much over 30 minutes, so obviously the 20'-5% isn't working for him.
#10
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nor-Cal Bay Area
Posts: 5,088
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Well the fade may not be so bad actually. It was on a 40 minute climb where the ascent ranges from 4% to 11%, so in all fairness my wattage was up and down through out, but I tried not to let it drop below 265 watts, and it was as high as 345 watts. My FTP according to the test is 280 +/-.
#11
Making a kilometer blurry
You'll get better at pacing. It's important to recognize that the 60m FTP test is to be conducted when you are really well prepared. You should taper a bit for it, treat it like a race, and remain motivated throughout. You should about fall over and puke when you're done.
This is why I have no interest in testing it -- it's too invasive with respect to my training plan. I can set zones properly using shorter tests, so I do.
+1 to SST for FTP development. It started turning around really fast for me.
+1 to 5s power not being all that important. I have very strong 5s power, but my FTP was low enough that I wasn't always able to get that good position or make the break to use my sprint.
Also, training with SST, my FTP went up 10% in 11 weeks or so, and my sprint went up 7%. I only did three sprint workouts in that 11 weeks, just for maintenance. So, developing FTP really helps with everything.
This is why I have no interest in testing it -- it's too invasive with respect to my training plan. I can set zones properly using shorter tests, so I do.
+1 to SST for FTP development. It started turning around really fast for me.
+1 to 5s power not being all that important. I have very strong 5s power, but my FTP was low enough that I wasn't always able to get that good position or make the break to use my sprint.
Also, training with SST, my FTP went up 10% in 11 weeks or so, and my sprint went up 7%. I only did three sprint workouts in that 11 weeks, just for maintenance. So, developing FTP really helps with everything.
#12
Quarq shill
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,962
Bikes: 08 Felt F4, 05 Fuji Team SL, 08 Planet X Stealth, 10 Kona Jake the Snake, 03 Giant OCR flat bar.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Well the fade may not be so bad actually. It was on a 40 minute climb where the ascent ranges from 4% to 11%, so in all fairness my wattage was up and down through out, but I tried not to let it drop below 265 watts, and it was as high as 345 watts. My FTP according to the test is 280 +/-.
At this point, I would set it at the 280w and see how the training goes from there. Re-evaluate after a few hard rides and see if you are close.