Conconi tests work pretty well, except when they don’t. There’s a fraction of people for whom there is no deflection point. There’s no way to know until you try though. And IIRC, it is trainable, so people who didn’t show a deflection point earlier might show one next time they try it. I don’t really know why this might be.
As for the test itself, the only thing that looks a little off is the one minute step length. That’s pretty close to the time required for your heart rate to stabilize after a step change in power.
If your bud has a long history if using this test, he probably knows the ways in which the info it gives is a little off and can help you adjust if necessary.
I would consider something simpler and more repeatable in your typical riding environment. There is a clear pattern that many people can’t produce the power indoors as outside. Unless you do a lot of your training inside, I would develop training zones off your typical riding environment. I am a fan of the critical power approach to power testing.
I am assuming that they use the hr to get the deflection points but then the workouts are all prescribed in power.
It does seem like an extra step to get an estimate of ftp.
But if you feel the need, then the first hr deflection point gives you the “aerobic threshold” which some find important in establishing workout powers. I prefer to go with a fraction of ftp for all of them, but some folks believe strongly in aerobic threshold for workout prescription.
Ive done this procedure a bunch. I almost never get a clear inflection point.
One question on his thing that doesnt make sense:
in section 1, he defines “critical power” as the “the highest power you can maintain for 1 minute”
then in section 2 he says “most ppl cant maintain critical power for more than 30 seconds”
just fyi- most ppl dont do a lot of work with critical power- what most people use instead is coggan’s “functional threshhold power”, which is the max avg power you can keep up for a 1 hour all out workout (or easier to test, 95% of the power you can hold for a 20 minute all out workout)
It strikes me as odd that you have a coach, but are taking your testing protocol from a buddy and asking for advice on that protocol from ST. What is your coache’s role in all this?
What part of the text is making it difficult to see if he knows what he’s talking about, Andrew?
There are two things that suggest to me that your friend’s knowledge is a bit limited, at least with respect to exercise testing:
the use of incorrect/imprecise terminology (e.g., referring to the highest power achieved during an incremental exercise test as “critical power”), and
the use of the long-discredited Conconi approach of attempting to identify deflection points in the heart rate-exercise intensity relationship as a means of determining various “thresholds”.
I am going to do some power testing with a cycling buddy this weekend. He sent me the following email when asked to describe the tests (see below). He obviously knows what he’s talking about
