After my latest FTP last week on a ramp test and its increase I’ve failed the subsequent 3 workouts, so I’m assuming that its overestimated my FTP.
I want to do a Kolie Moore test and following today’s VO2 workout I’ve got a good idea where my FTP lies. As it’s about 220/1 and the ramp test gave me 230, should I leave the Kolie Moore test as is at 230 FTP? Lower the intensity from the start by say 4% or change my FTP to where I think it should be and just follow it from that point?
Always start easier than you think you should. The protocol is a guide, the most important part of the test is paying attention to all aspects of your RPE (breathing, muscle fatigue, muscle burn, mental focus required, etc). It should feel like it’s sustainable for 40+ minutes, and then you need to prove it to yourself by doing so.
Edit: to fill in the logic gap between my first sentence and the rest, the reason to start out much easier is because RPE can be deceptive near FTP for the first 10 or so minutes.
Which protocol are you thinking of doing?
If you’ve go a template for the protocol I would set your FTP to what you think it is before you start.
Ideally turn off erg and use slope or resistance mode, if you really must use erg use the +/- buttons.
Make sure the test duration doesnt end, go as long as you can.
If at any time in the first 20 - 30 minutes you feel like you wouldn’t make it to at least 30 - 35 minutes ease off by 5 watts and see how that feels.
If and when you increase the watts really concentrate of how you feel, there shold be point where it feels that more watts is going to substantially decrease the lenght of time you can hold said power.
As a non-expert, IMO the most important thing is to NOT be at/over FTP at the start. Every time I’ve failed one of these it’s been from biting off more than I could chew. It should feel like sweet spot in the first ten minutes, then kick it up a bit. For me there’s a ‘not nice but bearable’ burn in the legs for most of the test, and the clue I’ve gone over FTP is breathing rate changes from fast but controlled to ‘gulping’ air.
I’ve got some workouts here, you’re welcome to join and try one of them:
The thing to bear in mind is that these have been modified in order to get a small FTP Increase, so if you’re doing them as written you’ll probably want to start off with an FTP set to 220-225. You can always double check what the targets will be and increase/decrease from there.
I have put FTP T Moore - 1 (Longer Middle) into my calendar for Wednesday. I picked this one as I thought I needed a longer rather than shorter test.
I always use ERG mode on the trainer - Do you mean to use the + / - intensity buttons? I’ve lowered my FTP on TR to where I think it should be, so hopefully I don’t need to change intensity. I assume that if I’ve got the FTP right then I should be able to go for the required time.
Thanks for your help 
I’ve spent a lot of time reading this thread - Thanks for the pointer. I found it a bit full of jargon though and difficult to follow based on my own lack of understanding.
I’ve got your workouts thanks Alex. I have put FTP T Moore - 1 (Longer Middle) into my calendar for Wednesday. I’ve changed my FTP in TR now to where I think it should be (based on my VO2 workout today) so I’m looking forward now to trying this. The last week with the higher FTP has left me failing each and every workout. I hope to get back into the game with the FTP more accurate.
I’m curious about this statement. The repeatable power in VO2max workout has a pretty loose (and trainable) relationship to FTP, and doesn’t seem like the best basis for estimating your FTP.
Similarly
may or may not be a valid conclusion, depending on what those 3 workouts were. If those were over-unders, threshold, and sweet spot workouts, then yeah I would tend to agree with your conclusion. But if they were VO2max workouts, then it doesn’t necessarily follow.
For what it’s worth, my thinking is that your FTP value is set “correctly” when threshold workouts feel challenging, require significant focus, but are generally doable for 8-12 minutes at a time (longer if you’ve been training it).
Good luck!
Turn off ERG mode for the test.
Without changing my FTP there is NO Way I could have sustained 2.5 mins as required. By lowering the intensity to 96% I was able to finish the intervals (just) which is what Coach Chad was saying on the write up I should be achieving.
The previous workouts last week were both threshold workouts and I’ve never failed one of these prior to the FTP increase. Last week both were significant fails.
Can I ask why? And also how I determine the resistance setting on my trainer? I read somewhere to put it to 30% so based on the fact that it goes from 1-10 I set it at 3… It was so easy that I couldn’t get any power at all. Is there any science to what resistance to set?
Trial and error? It depends on your trainer, your ftp, and possibly a few other variables. My direct-drive (wheel off) Kickr 2017 setting for an FTP test is around 35% with an FTP of around 220-250.
If you happen to have the same trainer, for something like the Kolie Moore test I would use standard/level mode (more like outside vs resistance) and set it to level=2.
I’ve got a wheel on trainer (Tacx Vortex) and only have erg or resistance mode. If I have a play around prior to the actual workout and I set it to free ride for example - What am I looking for to tell me I’m in the right ballpark for the whole workout? My FTP is now set at 221 if that’s an important deciding factor.
Thanks again for your help - It’s all really helpf
Straight chainline using big/little chainring based on how you train inside (and ride outside). Then play around with resistance until you are pedaling at preferred cadence and doing around 220W.
My trainer has a 3 cog front (my outdoor bike doesn’t) so I’ve just got the training bike set to middle front cog and middle at the back to give least amount of chain stress (I think) - So probably best to stick to that. My cadence that I like to ride at indoors is about 100- 110 RPM or so. I’ll set a free ride and fiddle with the resistance then until I hit 220 at 100 or so RPM? That’s it?
Sounds like a good place to start, assuming you can keep that cadence at FTP for 30-60 minutes.
Can I just confirm then - I set FTP to 220, then hopefully get through the first 10 minutes no problem, then carry on at the required power output. Do I adjust intensity or anything? Do I just finish the workout when I can no longer go on? At what point should this be?
Sorry for all the questions, but I do want to get it right and struggle to understand much of what is said in long threads.
One aim of the test is to feel when you are at ftp. That could be 220W, or it could be slightly higher or lower. Adjust the intensity during the workout to feel like you’re riding at ftp.
Regarding the duration - yes, finish when you can no longer go on. But if you managed less than 30 minutes of the at-threshold block, it likely means that your ftp was set too high, and you should perhaps reduce it and repeat the test. If you manage to get all the way to the end, your ftp was probably set too low.
If done correctly, you will end up with a figure for your ftp, and a TTE (time to exhaustion), for how long you can hold it, which is useful to know too.
(TR won’t calculate these values for you, you have to read them off the power curve after the test.)
The workouts by @alexgold123 have a small bump factored in, so you’d want to drop it to below 220W if you think that’s your target. But it doesn’t matter really, because the absolute most important thing is that you adjust based on feeling! Start at 200W for 10 minutes, whatever you have to adjust with +/- buttons during workout to get that roughly, then go from there.