FTP with Heart Rate Monitor

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I know this is a strange question in that FTP I believe is to do with power and not heart rate but I need to find the sweet spot or something similar by using a heart rate monitor. I don't really want to go through the extreme slogging of finding my max heart rate (I know finding one's FTP is a big effort but a lot more manageable than finding max HR). The reason I'm asking this is because in the gym I would find my FTP but on my bike, outdoors I don't use a power meter but use a HR monitor.

I suppose what I'm trying to put into words is if I find my FTP on a Wattbike, will this also show my heart rate at FTP and how if it is possible can I use this heart rate to calculate my sweet spot (I used to use Zwift and if I am remembering correctly when doing an FTP test it showed the FTP in power but also showed the heart rate at FTP). I know the sweet spot using power is between 83 - 97% of the FTP but would it be the same percent of the heart rate at FTP or something else?

You might say start using Zwift again but I don't own a turbo trainer anymore (I couldn't get into the indoor pedalling on my own) but I have found out I can get access to a Wattbike with a coach to find my FTP.
 

viniga

Guru
Location
Glasgow
Hey,

You could try looking at some of the research coming from Seiler. He focuses on feel and heart rate as a guide to efficient training. Here is a link to a recent podcast but if you Google him you will get some other links.

https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/fast-talk/id1490521721?i=1000467301459
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Heart rate and FTP are unrelated - you can't say I'm doing 300W at 140bpm therefore at 140bpm I'm doing 300W. HR is a physiological response to exercise and is affected by many things - hydration level, fatigue,illness, the list goes on - whereas power is absolute.

You can find your functional threshold heart rate - and use that to train with - caveated that it's affected as above. Your only option if you want to use your FTP as obtained by a Wattbike is to either use a smart trainer and zwift or buy a power meter, they are sub £300 now so it's not unreasonable.

If you're paying for a coach that last would be my suggestion.
 

Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
You do know that you can hook up Zwift to a Wattbike? Plus, even better you get 25km a month without paying. However, as @si_c wrote, heart rate and power don't have a perfect correlation.
 
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