Absence of FTP Assessments in Specialty Phase

I don’t recall if this was discussed in one of the podcasts (yes I have listened to all of them :rofl:) but does anyone in the group have the history on the absence of a mid-mesocycle assessment in specialty? I understand the purpose of the specialty phase is not in direct pursuit of FTP gains, but I question why an assessment wouldn’t be prudent after the completion of week 4. Would one not benefit from adjustments around a new threshold value? Even if it is a marginal change? I would think even at a 5 watt change, there would still be some value there. I know AT helps to offset that with levels to ensure progression, but for those using the plan “out of the box” I thought that omitting the assessment was an odd diversion.
Don’t get me wrong, most of us aren’t champing at the bit to test, but my curiosity got the better of me I suppose.

1 Like

Following this, had the same question. The only thing that i could think specialty is so taxing that they don’t want to add to the stress with a FTP test.

1 Like

I thought the same thing, but compared to the workouts, the FTP is almost a rest day lol! I can’t for the life of me remember if Chad has spoken to this and I didn’t find it in the forum with a quick search. Culling through the blog posts to see if anything comes up.

1 Like

I believe - and I can’t link to prove it - it’s because testing takes away from training, and four weeks out from your A race is the least appropriate time to be spending training time testing.

Last season I added a ramp test in myself four weeks into speciality because I had suddenly started failing vo2 workouts, and found my ftp had indeed dropped significantly - so I think there are outlier scenarios where a test is useful, but for most people they’re better off training instead, and have a clear view of their threshold from the series of tests leading up to speciality.

1 Like

This is not a hard answer, but looking at the notes from the plans provides some insight from TR:

Week Description
As you work your way toward your taper and race weeks, the workouts grow increasingly specific to the often brutal demands of mass-start racing on punchy, rolling courses.

You’re welcome to use today to reassess changes in your FTP, but due to the shift from a focus on building fitness to one on honing fitness, you may not see substantial changes in your FTP during this specialized phase of training. Alternatively, you can simply add 1-3% to your FTP if you suspect a slight bump in your Functional Threshold Power.

If you choose to skip the FTP reassessment, your first workout is the last one aimed solely at improving your anaerobic capacity while subsequent workouts will make use of the gains that follow this last assortment of short-duration, very high-power intervals. Do your best to complete each interval, even if that means minor reductions in the Target power.

Quick scan shows similar text in some, but maybe not all Specialty phase info.

3 Likes

I have always viewed a new FTP as “fragile fitness” and it taking while at the new number to really settle in , yes I could reset mid-block post FTP Test to the new number for the second half of the workouts but find that using the rest of the block to “bake it in” viewed as sort of a semi foundational work for the new number to work for best me at 50.

2 Likes

I find myself torn on this logic a bit. A person in their first 3 years of structured training might see more substantial gains even through specialty. Some folks might even see a drop due to a decreased TSS. Even a small drop might be a killer on the specialty plan, those workouts put people right on their heels. I can’t say I am arguing one way or the other, but I was curious as to whether there was something more compelling.
Many of us who have been on a bike for some time can get away testing much less frequently, or even avoiding them altogether as we have enough experience to know how our bodies and progression are reacting against workouts so I honestly think the framework is sensible in those cases. @JoeX brings up a good point as well, it is a lost training day and placing it in as an add-on would likely effect the efficacy of the work during the remainder of the week.
If Coach Chad hasn’t done one of his trademark throwdowns on this (I figured I would remember if he did) then it likely is the case that the value in the test is a bit of a coin flip and at that rate, just use it as a training day. :slight_smile:

1 Like

I don’t believe the speciality phase structure is aimed at improving FTP, that is not the goal. The goal is to sharpen and work on race-specificity. Adding in an FTP test would tweak the structure of that block.

2 Likes

Regardless of the goal, changes in FTP likely occur for some athletes, up or down. There may well be reasons for people to want to have a more recent and up to date result from testing (like pacing TT efforts and such).

And per TR, their Ramp Test is claimed to be very low impact on training, so at least with that one in mind, I don’t see a problem with including a test for those that want it, and maintaining the general trend in Spec phase.

1 Like

No, I get that, but I guess I am torn on those who DO see a bump (or loss)… But there really is no good place to shoehorn it in there for a “just in case.” I actually was looking at my calendar because this week was a recovery week and was dreading a test on Monday and when I realized it wasn’t there, I was elated :rofl:

2 Likes

Waiting for the forum backlash the day TR removes ramp testing from plans :joy:

4 Likes

I think it’s safe to say that by that point any significant FTP changes would have already happened, so in 99% of the cases we’re talking a percentage here or there. Even in the case of a larger increase in FTP, it’s not as if you lose the benefits of a given workout just because your target power is several percent low. Changing your zones/targets by any small percentage is basically irrelevant and even falls within the error range of PMs/trainers. I’d much rather have a solid hour long workout than another ramp test for no good reason.

1 Like

I’d take it a step farther, by this point in the plan you are peaking for an event. The focus is the event, and by now you should have a good handle on strengths/weaknesses and confidence to handle situations without consulting your power meter. Unless your event is the next ramp test, and then by all means schedule more of them.

5 Likes

Not from me at least. I started to loathe the Ramp Test to the extent that now I just don’t do them and manually adjust FTP between blocks. I know it’s not as accurate as performing the test but it’s good enough for me to get progression and training benefit. I’m really looking forward to a more system estimate of FTP.

2 Likes

I think this is a really solid point you’re making.

1 Like

Less is more. I only do a few 20-min field tests a year, and max (repeatable) efforts at other durations to benchmark those areas of the power duration curve (Sprint, 30-90 second for anaerobic capacity, 3-5 min for vo2max, 20-60 min for threshold). That has served me well, but if you simply want to be told what to do then I can see the appeal of the ramp test.

I agree with what @bbarrera is saying. At 3-4 weeks out from your event you should be 100% focused on the event. I think testing takes a lot of mental energy due to test anxiety, the all out effort, then the potential disappointment if you have a bad result. So outside of large changes in FTP (+/-5%, which you should just be able to feel after 20+ weeks of training) or if your target race is going to be a TT where you are pegged at FTP I don’t think a test will affect your fitness at all.

2 Likes

I’d even assert ‘no formal testing’ in advance of a TT event. Again on the basis of knowing yourself and ability to ‘feel’ what you are capable of doing.

1 Like

True, it’s just probably the only racing scenario where I could see a bit of a benefit.

1 Like

sure, however if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed then you race the TT by feel or blow up. And flip side if your taper goes as planned. With TT it always seems (to me) to be a delicate balance of feel and power pacing your splits.