It’s the average of the 4 intervals, not the total average since that would be lowered due to the rest portions. To be fair, training is testing, and doing an FTP test will still actually create training adaptations, much like any other workout.
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I ramp tested last week. Finally making some more substantial progress! Blogged about it.
I was much better fed for this test but not better rested. Interesting.
-Hugh
my blog: ex-prosays.blogspot.com
I would test once a year, had a bad accident and my coach trained me without testing (~100+w loss). Once you know your body and what it should feel like I think you can get away not testing. I like doing 2x20’s day in day out so depending on the numbers I can guess my ftp (I find that a all out 4x10min even with a fade will average really well to your ftp *coached a bit on the side). If you NEVER repeat workouts or go hard, it would be hard/impossible to know your ftp.
Wondering if anyone else out there doesn’t ramp test until the over-under workouts like McAdie or workouts like Mary Austin don’t seem like they get easier. I haven’t done a ramp test in like 6-months but also don’t think I’ve improved enough to justify it.
Improvement is not a requirement of testing. The whole point of testing (regardless of the method) is to evaluate your current state. Getting that as a real data point can be useful (with or without testing).
Whether it is up, down, or flat is another issue entirely. That involves evaluation of the prior training period and what could be expected from it.
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I don’t. I’ve learned how threshold feels.
Now that I’m racing fairly regularly, I’ve been skipping ramp testing and using the normalized power from racing as a rough FTP guide.
Probably ought to do a proper test at some point soon.
The problem is losing two days of training. Are you thinking my fitness is going lower if I still struggle to finish those workouts?
Well, testing is training… training is testing… as they say. I don’t think you have to lose 2 days of training.
- Come into a Ramp test day with a day off or easy before it (like the typical Tuesday approach in the plans).
- Do the Ramp test (or whatever your preferred test is) and possibly follow it with another workout if you are concerned about keeping a TSS goal for the week.
- Do an easier aerobic/endurance workout the following day (again, typically something like Pettit or Carter) as a regular day and a lead-in to the usual Thursday workout).
- All the above with consideration of a Mid or High volume plan. You could skip the Wed easy workout if you are on Low volume.
I make no claims one way or the other. Honestly, I haven’t looked close enough at your info to make an appropriate assessment.
The point of my comment was that if you are at the right time to test according to a scheduled plan or typical time frame since the last test (usually 4-6 weeks between tests) you should test. There is no need to wait for “clear improvement” to test.
Testing isn’t required, but a test may confirm your suspicions if there is doubt. I think we all get a bit of a feel for our FTP in certain workouts and can likely guess in a ballpark. But testing can also help with those predictions and make sure that we are training to an “accurate” FTP.
However, some people do fine with self-evaluations as opposed to testing and that is fine. I just wanted to clarify that testing can serve to confirm the status quo and that increased (or decreased) fitness isn’t the only reason to test.
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