Downloaded from Amazon the Kindle Edition of Training and Racing With A Power Meter 3rd Edition.
In bold blue this is the definition of FTP.
“FTP is the highest power that a rider can maintain in a quasi–steady state without fatiguing. When power exceeds FTP, fatigue will occur much sooner (generally after approximately one hour in well-trained cyclists), whereas power just below FTP can be maintained considerably longer.”
This is somewhat different to the definition in the original book.
But interesting is that according to this definition, approximately one hour, now only applies to well trained cyclists, whatever a well trained cyclists means.
More extraordinary, fatigue will occur after one hour if one is exceeding FTP. Not at FTP but exceeding FTP. Exceeding FTP by how much 1% 2% 5%?
How long can an untrained cyclist exceed FTP without fatiguing?
The definition is vague and unscientific.
How long is ’ considerably longer", 20 minutes, 2 hours 4 hours?
What is " well trained ", a pro cyclist or triathlete, 3 hours training a week, 8 hours, 16 hours, 30 hours?
What is a " quasi steady state "?
How much is “just below”, 5%, 3%, 1%?
How far either side of 60 minutes is “approximately one hour”, 5 minutes, 10 minutes 15 minutes or even 30 minutes?
A well-trained athlete is any athlete that can hold a steady and targeted pace for their specific race distance. A well-trained marathoner will have even splits the last 10k. That’s the definition of a well-trained athlete.
I don’t mind the new definition of FTP because a well-trained athlete should be able to hold, for example, 85% of there FTP for a 56-mile Bike ride – which well exceeds an hour.
Before there were power meters, everyone used Heart Rate as a metric cause it’s all we had, aside from cadence. Your FTP is equivalent to your Lactate Threshold (Jack Daniels) or approx 90% of your maximum HR. For a 20’ FTP test you’re cycling above your threshold; above 90% of maximum HR. You can cycle at FTP or LT for greater than one hour dependent upon your fitness level. Subsequently, even if you cycle at your exact LT/ FTP the two will decouple over time – your HR will drift up and your watts will stay the same and/or eventually drop.
A power meter is an extremely accurate tool that measures in a one-dimensional vacuum. Therefore FTP based off watts, alone, is an extremely limited and one-dimensional analysis. Just like your HR and your pace will vary by external factors such as temperature, humidity, altitude, etc and because of human internal factors such as fatigue; sickness just as your HR varies your FTP should and does vary! Your FTP should just be a guide and more of an after-the-fact data point. I believe an athlete should incorporate the other real world dimensions of terrain, weather conditions, RPE, HR, etc.
The best use for a Power Meter is for indoor training, and outside keeping you from going out too hard in a race and measuring your effort during a sustained hill climb.
Is the “S” from “Secure” or “Slowtwitch”? Because I can tell you my S(lowtwitch) FTP = FTP * 1.25 (where 1.25 is the Slowtwitch Bullshit Factor or S.B.Fâ„¢ for short).
I thought FTP stood for File Transfer Protocol.
Yeah, but we’re all using SFTP now, so I guess FTP really is dead.
How Power is composed: the interaction of all three energy producing mechanisms: creatine phosphate, glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation
The physiological origin of the anaerobic threshold or the maximum lactate steady state: why endurance sports most popular metric exists, and how it is created on a cellular level
Debunking critical power and W’: the possibilities and the limits of power duration curves. How is W’ composed (aerobic vs. Anaerobic) and why it differs for different durations. Learn why recovery of W’ is not constant
Regulation of fat metabolism: implication for training and racing
Energy Metabolism in different rider types
How do professionals do it? The composition of power in world-class performances: energy metabolism in sprinting, ITT and TTT, classics
Well, that one at least is quite easy. They’re born.
That certainly is a big factor. But knowing what to train and how is also very important.
The relevant question is how each athlete optimizes performance for the specific event. For example, how does someone who excels in short events (age group swimming) goes on to become a world champion in the Ironman or road cycling?
The same analysis will apply to most athletes of varying ability or genetics. Nearly all will not become world champions but all can optimize performance.