Zwift Chat

[Whorty]

Quick one for you all: I've no idea what my FTP is. When I go into workouts in Zwift it gives me a figure of 110W in the bottom right corner. Is that based on anything?

I'm not a cyclist by any stretch of imagination but that seems really low, doesn't it? I think the game adjusts the session to your FTP. Am I in risk of not warming up properly because the figure is too low? I've seen some events put people in categories and at 2.3W/kg they are still classed as 'E'. 2.3W/kg would in my case be 168W so waaay more than the 110. I'm 35 and wouldn't describe myself as fit, especially in cardiovascular terms, but not completely out of shape either. What do you think I should put in? Does it matter at all?

Found a couple of you in the app and followed

Yep, I 3rd the ramp test. It's horrible, but it will give you a good guide to what you need to set your FTP for workouts.

This calculator here will help you calculate your FTP from the test

https://zwifthacks.com/app/map-ftp-calculator/

Edit: once you have a good estimate of FTP, try the Sydney Harbour Bridge workout .... it's really hard, you probably won't complete it first few times, but as you get stronger you will and you will see your improvements

Loads of other workouts too, but I find this a good one to simulate the kind of efforts in Zwift races

 

[CXRAndy]

Pete, cheers for the thumbs up

Im on my comeback from a long layoff. In my peak 2 years ago I could hold 290W for an hour, today my 5th ride this autumn on Zwift, managed 186W for 50 mins. It might sound terrible, but consistent riding will see considerable gain in power and fitness. Today I wasn't bouncing of max heart rate, so was a plus for me.I didn't need to crawl off the bike either

I had a go at sprinting and hit peak a at my third attempt of 1190W before I finished.

My foot came out of the pedal and Im seeing a blue patch on my thigh-good job it wasnt the knee

I think Ill need a bit more riding before racing properly.

 

[Peter Salt]

Ah, cheers for all the replies. I'll do the ramp instead of the FTP around 7pm.

Will try and jump onto the Yorkshire roads right after - curious to see which area it is.

 

[Norry1]

Ah, cheers for all the replies. I'll do the ramp instead of the FTP around 7pm.

Will try and jump onto the Yorkshire roads right after - curious to see which area it is.

Post your result up here - we'll all be interested now

 

[Legs]

Just do the short ramp test as an FTP test. No warm up required.

You will either reach a point where you can’t pedal anymore and that’ll give you an FTP figure or you’ll complete it and have to do the proper one in a few days time 🙂

Not sure I understand this - there’s no such thing as ‘completing’ a ramp test! It only ever finishes when you can’t turn the pedals.

Unless you’re quite experienced in pacing yourself optimally for 20 minutes or so, you won’t get the most out of attempting the ‘proper’ FTP test.

 

[bobinski]

He'd be hard done to find an excuse that you haven't copyrighted .... just saying

Oh I don’t know. It’s never stopped the rest of you trying

 

[BurningLegs]

Not sure I understand this - there’s no such thing as ‘completing’ a ramp test! It only ever finishes when you can’t turn the pedals.

Unless you’re quite experienced in pacing yourself optimally for 20 minutes or so, you won’t get the most out of attempting the ‘proper’ FTP test.

Zwift has two ramp tests. One is for beginners, it starts lower and ends at a figure that some people would exhaust. Steps are quite small.

The other one is for more experienced and/or fitter riders. It starts at a higher wattage and the steps are bigger.

 

[Legs]

Oh, I didn’t know that: I assumed that they just went on forever…

 

[BurningLegs]

A ramp test should, but I suspect it’s a limitation of Zwift (they probably have an upper limit on the number of blocks in a workout).

 

[Legs]

(they probably have an upper limit on the number of blocks in a workout).

When I transcribed @bobinski ’s Violator workout into Zwiftese there must have been nearly 200 blocks!

 

[Peter Salt]

Well... I did it. Does it work if I link it like this?

Good thing I upped the wattage from 110 to 150 as @Norry1 suggested. I've managed to do the penultimate step. Could not make myself do the last one, tank felt empty. Zwift suggests my FTP is now 180 but according to the calculator linked by @Whorty it's 199.

Heart topped at 188 but that didn't feel bad - I think it could go quicker. Legs gave up, I probably could have breathed a lot better.

I then did a little ride around Yorkshire and really enjoyed that - definitely need to learn more about powerups, drafting, etc. I've got 6 days of the trial left but right now think I'll definitely keep on going

 

[CXRAndy]

Good for you
Most folk become hooked, ergo its popularity. It sounds you have a fair cardiovascular fitness, just lacking a bit of leg strength. With your age, you could develop into an excellent cyclist

 

[mjd1988]

Well... I did it. Does it work if I link it like this?

Good thing I upped the wattage from 110 to 150 as @Norry1 suggested. I've managed to do the penultimate step. Could not make myself do the last one, tank felt empty. Zwift suggests my FTP is now 180 but according to the calculator linked by @Whorty it's 199.

Heart topped at 188 but that didn't feel bad - I think it could go quicker. Legs gave up, I probably could have breathed a lot better.

I then did a little ride around Yorkshire and really enjoyed that - definitely need to learn more about powerups, drafting, etc. I've got 6 days of the trial left but right now think I'll definitely keep on going

Well done! Might be worth trying a race, based on those numbers you are borderline d/c but you might find FTP increases in a race setting if you get into it!

If you do fancy racing make sure to register zwiftpower.com

 

[Legs]

Nice one, Peter! You’ll find that you can make gains really quickly in this early stage, as you get to understand how deep you can push yourself, and as your heart, lungs and legs react to training. It’s very exciting!

Zwift will update its assessment of your FTP based on 95% of the best 20-minute average power in any session: lots of people enjoy the short race events at Crit City, which may encourage you to dig deeper than you would on a normal ride. As Michael says, make sure that you register at ZwiftPower: it’s a bit complicated but there’s a step-by-step guide on the Zwift Insider website.

 

[Joffey]

Well... I did it. Does it work if I link it like this?

Good thing I upped the wattage from 110 to 150 as @Norry1 suggested. I've managed to do the penultimate step. Could not make myself do the last one, tank felt empty. Zwift suggests my FTP is now 180 but according to the calculator linked by @Whorty it's 199.

Heart topped at 188 but that didn't feel bad - I think it could go quicker. Legs gave up, I probably could have breathed a lot better.

I then did a little ride around Yorkshire and really enjoyed that - definitely need to learn more about powerups, drafting, etc. I've got 6 days of the trial left but right now think I'll definitely keep on going

My advice to get your FTP is to let Zwift decide it by doing a race of over 20 mins. Try a TT or a crit race and go balls deep. Put it this way, if you don’t think you are dying you aren’t going hard enough just!!