adal wrote:
A ramp test can't determine FTP. People with high anaerobic capacities perform better on a ramp test, because the final and deciding steps are anaerobic, while an FTP Test is aerobic. FTP is one hour performance. Want to know your FTP? Ride for one hour! Can't motivate over an hour? Sorry, thats part of your FTP because the "f" is for functional. FTP is NOT 95% of 20', NOT 90% of 8' and not the final step of a ramp test multplied by some arbitrary number. The good thing about a real FTP test is, that it is a fantastic workout and brain training by itselve. Do it with a few friends for added motivation!
Once you have done a few, you can work out some indicator, for me 95% of 20' works well (I am more of a diesel engine), while for others 93% or even 97% works. But a ramp test will always depend on other factors like recovery and your ability to go highly anaerobic on the day.
The sufferfest has a ramp test that’ll get you within spitting distance of your FTP. To say you can’t do it is a misnomer. Also... FTP is not necessarily defined as a one hour performance... athletes’ bodies arent defined with an hour limiter :)
And to the OP: improvement is improvement as long as how you’re measuring it is the same before and after. 13% is pretty good! The different testing methods—8 minute critical power, ramp tests, 20 minutes— all measure slightly differently aspects of your fitness and can help approximate your FTP. It’s even worthwhile measuring 5 second and 20 second peak power to assess your workout blocks! An hour all out takes some recovery time and part of its accuracy issue is the psychological challenge so if there’s 5 “weak” minutes in there it’ll skew all the workouts you base it off of, a little low for what you can do.
Before this digresses to testing methods.. Good on you too for effectively negative splitting the 20 minute test, and again for a 13% improvement. Like Adal said, after you ride for a while you’ll get a feel for what your FTP is more and more. Once you establish new training zones (which is probably what you’ll mostly be using this for), monitor your heart rate for the corresponding zones and your RPE for what you typically feel and see. These are good subjective measures to check if you accurately set your FTP.
The bottom line is you’re using an approximation to establish training zones for the purpose of physiological stimulus and adaptation. More effective mitochondria building, more effective sustainable power, better fast twitch stimuli, whatever your target is. After a length of time you can pretty smartly adjust by feel to how that translates onto a race course.
Always getting faster!
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