confusedcyclist
Veteran
How often do you test your FTP?
Do you have a rest day beforehand?
Do you have a rest day beforehand?
FTP Testing, How Often?
- Thread starter confusedcyclist
- Start date
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Welsh wheels
Lycra king
- Location
- South Wales
The word FTP brings me out in a cold sweat
Heltor Chasca
Out-riding the Black Dog
On TrainerRoad they schedule an FTP roughly every 4 weeks. Baskets 
On the low volume schedule I am on there is a two day rest period before hand.
On the low volume schedule I am on there is a two day rest period before hand.
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OP
OP
confusedcyclist
Veteran
On TrainerRoad they schedule an FTP roughly every weeks. Baskets
You missed the important detail, or did you mean weekly?
Heltor Chasca
Out-riding the Black Dog
You missed the important detail, or did you mean weekly?
Sorry. Ink ran out at the crucial moment. (Amended)
4. Four. IV. Quatre.
uclown2002
Guru
- Location
- Harrogate
I usually do one every 3 months but no way I'm taking 2 days off to do it!
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
My coach usually plan an easy week before an FTP test including a rest day the day before. He tends to space out the full 20minutes test and prefers to run monthly 5mins tests. I'm not quite sure how he works out the FTP from that though :-/
Usually around 78% of the average power for 5 minutes, or 90% for 8 minutes. But the longer the test, the more reliable the result.
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400bhp
Guru
You'd think that wouldn't you but from reading I don't think it's actually correct.
uclown2002
Guru
- Location
- Harrogate
It's 90% of the average of 2 x 8min efforts, with 5 (or maybe 10) mins rest in-between.
400bhp
Guru
Well, there's lots of ways you can test your FTP. Essentially any test less than 1 hour is extrapolating off a theroretical power curve.
I think Chris Charmichael was the first advocate of the 2 x 8 minute test. It's worth reading his online article and a couple of Trainer Road blogs of the test differences and why you do the 2 x 8 minutes. The Trainer Road calculation of FTP from the 2 x 8 minutes is actually incorrect (TR takes the average of the two rather than the higher of the two).
FYI, TR have been beta testing a ramp test to calculate training zones from (essentially just another variant of an FTP test) and this is appareltly to be introduced imminently. It'll be interesting to see whether they replace the 2 x 8 minute tests with the ramp test.
uclown2002
Guru
- Location
- Harrogate
Might do the zwift ftp test tomorrow. It's been 3 months so is due.
