Doing an FTP test…been a long time since I have done one. 20 minutes…what is your plan? Start at your current FTP and try to hold that and build? Start below current FTP and build? At what point do you bump the power? Any thoughts from those who have repeatedly done a 20 minute FTP test appreciated.
Just run away. Far away. A pretend you never even thought about doing it. Continue training as you were, ignorance is bliss.
I have always had the most success when I build slowly into power. I will start just below FTP and then gradually increase. I take the test in 5 min increments. After the first 5, I reassess and repeat at 10 and so on. Brutal. I have put some good old fashioned hurtings on myself with those tests.
Depends if I think I’ve improved since the last test. If training is going well then I’ll start about 5w higher than FTP and see how I’m doing at half way. Sometimes it’s a real slog just to stop it from dropping other times I can push on and add a few Watts. I’m quite tempted to try one tomorrow as in taper now for an IM in 10 days and it would be interesting to see where I’m at.
Just run away. Far away. A pretend you never even thought about doing it. Continue training as you were, ignorance is bliss.
Yes this.
For me the test usually goes something like this:
0:00-4:59: Alright… I got this… yea I feel alright
5:00-9:59: Huh… I’m not really all that happy with my current situation
10:00-10:59: Oh… This hurts… I am half way there. I can do this?
11:00-11:59: Wait only one minute went by? Shit…
12:00-14:59: Just hang on… just hang on…
15:00-18:59: PLEASE MAKE IT STOP
19:00-20:00:
If you know your current FTP, don’t do the test. 
If you know your current FTP, don’t do the test.
Sorry, I meant my FTP from my last test.
Doing an FTP test…been a long time since I have done one. 20 minutes…what is your plan? Start at your current FTP and try to hold that and build? Start below current FTP and build? At what point do you bump the power? Any thoughts from those who have repeatedly done a 20 minute FTP test appreciated.
start at your presumed FTP
go for 20 minutes
then with 0 seconds rest
do another 20 minutes
then with 0 seconds rest
do another 20 minutes
Just run away. Far away. A pretend you never even thought about doing it. Continue training as you were, ignorance is bliss.
Yes this.
For me the test usually goes something like this:
0:00-4:59: Alright… I got this… yea I feel alright
5:00-9:59: Huh… I’m not really all that happy with my current situation
10:00-10:59: Oh… This hurts… I am half way there. I can do this?
11:00-11:59: Wait only one minute went by? Shit…
12:00-14:59: Just hang on… just hang on…
15:00-18:59: PLEASE MAKE IT STOP
19:00-20:00:
Hah. Very timely post; I re-tested this morning and everyone at work is probably wondering why I look like I just escaped from a torture camp. I wanted to huddle up in a ball and cry in my living room afterwards. All for a measly 2% increase…
For the OP: I usually pace myself based on relative pain level, with 10/10 being surgery without anesthesia and 0/10 sitting on the couch. if you’ve tested recently it’s easier to know where to start (I usually start out just below 105% of current FTP), but since you haven’t, I would recommend your overall discomfort level be 7/10 by the end of 5 minutes, 8/10 by end of 10 min, 9/10 at 15 min, and then the last 5 minutes, you will find out what you are made of. It’s not pretty but it works.
I just did one after 6 weeks on Trainerroad.
I broke it into 5min blocks and started at the current FTP. After each 5min I would assess how I felt and try to increase output. The last 5min really hurt but that seems to work best for me.
I’m happy to report I had a nice bump in power. TR FTW.
I prefer the Critical Power dual testing. I do the short 5’ test first, take a few days to fully recover then do the 20’ test starting out at 85% of what the 5’ average was and try to work up from there after a bit.
If training has been consistent since the last test and confident of being stronger, I would never start out below current FTP since FTP is calculated 9x% of the 20’ average.
Whenever I push myself too hard early I usually regret it in the second half of the test/interval. I will usually start a little below target and try to bring my average power up 5-10w during the second half of the interval. So if my goal was 250w for 20’ I’d start at 240-245w for the first 5’, then increase to 245-255 in the second 5’ and in the last 10’ I’ll try to always keep instant power above 250w and go as hard as I can.
Doing an FTP test…been a long time since I have done one. 20 minutes…what is your plan? Start at your current FTP and try to hold that and build? Start below current FTP and build? At what point do you bump the power? Any thoughts from those who have repeatedly done a 20 minute FTP test appreciated.
I put away all the data and just pedal…
Iain
If you have a fragile ego, don’t do what I did last night.
Early last summer I did an FTP test that turned to not be too awful. I did TR’s 20 minute FTP test, and was relying on the Stages power meter on my tri-bike. I used that number for all my training over the summer and had a decent bike split at Augusta.
Since Augusta is 15.5 weeks away and I’ve baselined my run and swim, it was time for another FTP test last night. Except this time I am using my old road bike on my trainer, and my power meter is the inRide that sticks on the Kinetic. I didn’t calibrate it or anything (didn’t RTFM), and my numbers were way off…
To the tune of an FTP of 106 watts.
Spent about a half-hour in chat with TR last night to find out about calibration, and also to find out that wheel size does matter, but not a lot (650 on the Tri-bike, 700 on the roadie).
Needless to say, I’ll be doing another test in a couple days.
This is the only correct answer here! The mind is the biggest limiter in performance and will always fail before the body. Having the numbers staring back at you creates a feedback loop and limit yourself to what you think you are capable of not what you are physically capable of.
Best way is to get a friend and do them together, competition and the drive to make someone else hurt is an EPO. Put the numbers away, they are their to review afterwards, you don’t want them there during.
Just run away. Far away. A pretend you never even thought about doing it. Continue training as you were, ignorance is bliss.
Yes this.
For me the test usually goes something like this:
0:00-4:59: Alright… I got this… yea I feel alright
5:00-9:59: Huh… I’m not really all that happy with my current situation
10:00-10:59: Oh… This hurts… I am half way there. I can do this?
11:00-11:59: Wait only one minute went by? Shit…
12:00-14:59: Just hang on… just hang on…
15:00-18:59: PLEASE MAKE IT STOP
19:00-20:00:
20:01 until the next time: Sweet baby Jesus I’m glad that is over!
This is the only correct answer here! The mind is the biggest limiter in performance and will always fail before the body. Having the numbers staring back at you creates a feedback loop and limit yourself to what you think you are capable of not what you are physically capable of.
Best way is to get a friend and do them together, competition and the drive to make someone else hurt is an EPO. Put the numbers away, they are their to review afterwards, you don’t want them there during.
So I assume you suggest doing all training and racing without looking at power as well. And just review the data afterwards.
From my “Inner monologue of an FTP test” a while back…
Did Trainer Road’s 20 Minute FTP test tonight… It was well… painful as anyone who does them knows… Here are a few snip-its of my inner monologue throughout the test.
Warm up … “wow this is really boring, can I just skip to the test or will that mess up the results”
Leg openers … “This is going to be cake, I’ll start 10-15 watts over current FTP and see if I can hold it”
5 minute “clearing effort” … “boy my legs feel heavy today, maybe I should bail and take the test tomorrow”
Begin Test … “Legs feel better, Time to dig in”
2 minutes in … "How long is this test again, 20 minutes?
4 minutes in … “If I bail out now I haven’t ruined myself for tomorrow”
6 minutes in … “Oh my god, I should have eaten better today”
7 minutes in … “Water, I need water”
8 minutes in … "What the fuck are minutes? who invented them? They suck, I hate them.
8.5 minutes in … “MINUTES! there’s nothing minute about them… they are unbelievably long… They should have named the eternities. How many of them do I have left? Holy shit! For real? This sucks.”
9 minutes in … “ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
10 minutes in … "OK half way there. Phew! Oh no, I’m only half way done? "
12 minutes in … “B B B Bird bird bird, bird is the word” “Can you go insane while riding a bike?” “Has that ever happened to anyone?” “Is it happening to me right now? how can you tell if you’re going insane?”
14 minutes in … “I wonder what my heart rate is right now… I should have worn a heart rate monitor. Actually…maybe I don’t want to know…”
16 minutes in … “GO GO GO GO GO”
18 minutes in … “HARDER!”
18.5 minutes in … “I’m 40 watts above FTP” “I went out too slow” “I had so much more”
19 minutes in … "only 1 minute left? “that’s not enough time to make up for that middle section” “GO!!!”
DONE … “I never wanna do that again”
Cool Down… “I had too much left in the tank. I bet my real FTP is higher than that by a few watts”
Reviewing my Data on T.R.s website “I should retest under better conditions, maybe in a week or 2”
saw your thread and had fond memories of this
This is the only correct answer here! The mind is the biggest limiter in performance and will always fail before the body. Having the numbers staring back at you creates a feedback loop and limit yourself to what you think you are capable of not what you are physically capable of.
Best way is to get a friend and do them together, competition and the drive to make someone else hurt is an EPO. Put the numbers away, they are their to review afterwards, you don’t want them there during.
So I assume you suggest doing all training and racing without looking at power as well. And just review the data afterwards.
I tend to agree with what he posted and I bet he does look at #'s when he rides outdoors. My coach is going to monitor the test and will be there yelling at me to work harder…and I was thinking about letting her see the data and me be oblivious to everything but the time. I do believe the mind limits the body in many ways. Than again…i am the OP…so not terribly familiar with these tests…but I do believe you see a certain wattage or pace when running and you mentally tell yourself you can’t/shouldnt be pushing that hard.
No I don’t believe that all training should be done without looking at power. A large portion of my training is based off power or running pace. However over reliance in numbers especially in testing is something to be avoided. You should be able to ride with ±10watts of any power anyway based purely off feel. When testing and seeing a higher number than you think you are capable of maintaining subconsciously you will reduce your effort and mentally perceive a higher impact than had you been operating purely off feel.
I personally believe a 80/20 split of data to RPE is a good mix, still record your data on the RPE efforts but review afterwards. You might surprise yourself.
On race day when the PM dies at T1 you should still be able to ride very close to your power and pace anyway. When the Garmin dies you should still be able to run within a few seconds of your race pace per mile.