Well what can I say… HR was up all the way and inspite legs were still doing OK I stopped a little bit sooner than what I had in mind and the result is less 1w in my current FTP. Not a huge problem but it was supposed to go up even if only a few watts not going down.
Let’s see if this was only a bad day/test or if it really reflects my lack of improvement on the last 6 weeks of SSBI.
To add more depth to the confusion the last time I did the ramp test I was using the H2 for power. I made the decision to use my Stages with Powermatch this year since it will correlate to my outside numbers a bit better.
When I did 290w, I had averaged 387w with the H2, did not track the Stages that time
When I did my test yesterday, I had also averaged 387 with the H2, but 398 with the Stages
So if we compare apples to apples here, my FTP really did not change, which I guess I can’t complain about since I had a year full of hammering outside between the last test and just a few weeks ago. I rounded up to 300 because a. I was super close, b. because I have OCD and c. because it will probably be a mental boost
With respect I think you are massively overcomplicating it.
Your actual FTP doesn’t really matter, (inside or out) what matters is that the figure TR calculates (based on your test) is suitable for the next 6 weeks training. It should make it hard, but do-able (just…
)
If a week after a test you find TR workouts too easy, increase it by a few % or if you’re failing workouts drop it by a few%.
It’s just a figure to set a training load, it doesn’t really matter…
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no comments on this one? This seems to be somewhat contradictory to the whole point of training to get faster.
I’m not saying you can’t improve anymore. But after training for a while, the rate of improvement will slow down, and you’re not going to move out of your training zones that quickly that you’d need to test every four weeks.
If you want a number example, if your ftp has been at 300W for a while, and you do a test at 303W, that is a 1% difference. That is smaller than the accuracy of your PM, smaller than the power fluctuations of your trainer, and definitively smaller that the fluctuations out on the road. If you get your power to +/- 10W of target, you’re training right. The 3W increase stills falls into that range, so you’re not destroying your training if you continue to train at 300W.
If you’re new to training, and your ftp moves by 20W a month, yeah, you need to test more often.
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I don’t think the potential lack of changes is a reason to skip testing. There is more to testing & assessing that looking for improvements. The lack of change or regression can be as important as improvements.
We can commonly guess our FTP and overall progress in training in workouts and rides. But testing & assessing are potentially more telling than our seat of the pants feel, depending on the work we are doing outside of testing.
The tests are another data point that are worth review. Arguably, both testing and other work matter, and should be evaluated by the rider. Then they need to look at those (ride and test experiences) along with their recent history, RPE and such.
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I like you’re way of thinking, but I tend to test really poorly on the Ramp test as well. My concern is that I seem to always have a poor ride during a ramp test. Psychological? Probably, since I hate pushing that far on an open ended test while stuck in a room where I end up feeling dead after 1 minute at 245. Give me a slight, long climb, with a group of friends pushing me, and I have no problem being at 235 for 25-30 minutes.
After a break this fall I started SSB and the Ramp test took me from 202 to 186. I accept that, since I did avoid structured training for about 3 weeks, but now 3 weeks into my plan, the workouts still feel too easy. I’m thinking or raising the intensity tomorrow 2% just to see if I can stick it.
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Do it cause you have too. Never will I enjoy the pain 
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Same here. My last test pegged me at 252 for a 2nd time. I know FTP to be higher or the work outs are to easy. Upped it to 262 now on SSBMV2 now I know I am in the right zone sweet spot is just good and VO2max just achievable. Worked it out by changing the intensity early in the first SS interval.
I guess being anxious is for people who never went through the 20min FTP test era 
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About that… there is this distinction in psychology: mastery versus performance orientation. People who are performance oriented want to be “better than others”, whereas people who are mastery oriented want to be “better than themselves”. In any case, there is anxiety and a comparison target.
In addition, research on social facilitation uncovered that people may even perform better or worse than they technically can, depending on what people imagine themselves (e.g., riding in a group with others).
Not saying your are “ego” oriented, but there is a whole sports psychology behindg why athletes sometimes perform better or worse compared to their physiological fitness and capacity.
I understand exactly how you feel, I have the same for a ramp test particularly. And also in the beginning of season when I start doing endurance rides again: first hour I am like “I can’t do this”, next two hours I am “yesssss moar”, and then finally I’m like “I probably did too much”. But then when I check out my ride stats, FTP was on par and exhaustion is ok, nothing wrong. So it was all in my head.
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Gotta re-test today to keep moving forward with the new power source, hoping I make it to the 19:30 mark, just gotta make sure my brain doesn’t quit before my legs. I never know when to stop pedaling with these things because my legs usually hurt before I’ve hit a heart rate that I know I can hit, so I don’t know if I’m quitting too early based on the pain or if I got more in the tank
I really don’t understand the move to the ramp test. I find the 20 min one so much more accurate. Learn to pace, do 20mins, your training will thank you.
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The ramp test was created because you don’t have to pace yourself. You just go all-out until you can’t go anymore.
The podcast made some interesting points about how the 8 and 20 minute tests require you to basically already know your FTP in order to test your FTP (because you need to pace yourself).
Not true at all in any way. You just need to know yourself and how to pace which is an important skill in riding a bike fast.
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I’ve only done a few ramp tests, but I perform best with a target/plan on any test. I know this probably goes against the spirit of the ramp (just go until you can’t), but I need the motivation of a finish line or target to keep me from quitting early. I usually have a pretty good feel for my FTP, so I have a target in mind and do the math on how long I need to get there. I make the target aggressive, but in the realm of possibility. The target reduces anxiety for me because it makes it less unknown.
True, and at 19:30 is where you meet your existing FTP so anything beyond that is gravy. I find that if I focus on this, I usually start to feel tired around 16:00, but once I get to 19:00 my legs suddenly feel better (second wind?) because I know its the home stretch and from 19:00 - 19:30 feels easier than I expect it to based on the feeling from 16:00 - 19:00.
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I never realized that 19:30 is the key point- that will help me on my next test.
I think of my FTP not as a number, but as a range. I tend to end up around 250 so I think of myself as 240-260. There are too many variables to treat it as a hard figure. First, there is the margin of error for your power meter. Second, the conditions under which you take the test vary (sleep, training load, etc.). I’d love to take the test in the same conditions each time, but that’s not possible. Third, there is your skill in taking the test. I used to do the 20-minute test and I got better at it over time as I grew mentally stronger and more accustomed to the way it unfolds. Now, with @Cleanneon98’s tip, I bet I will improve my ramp test.
Because I think of my FTP as a range, I’m more than willing to move it around for any given workout. Nothing huge, but an adjustment +/- 5% is pretty common for me. If I test 10-15 watts or so under my expected score, so be it. That being said, I still get nervous before the test. There is something about having to ride until you fail that’s just scary.
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take the pressure off by not considering it a test, but just a benchmark. You’re at where you’re at, so no sense getting nervous about it. You’ll perform better when you let that anxiety escape and remember that it’s just a bike ride that will hurt a bit, and you’re going to give it your all and empty the tank!
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It’s not the test part that gets me it is the knowing that there is suffering in the final stages and the mental anguish trying to push past that point that gets to me. I managed to get a higher FTP once by blocking the suffering but this made the training to hard as my ft jumped to from 270 to 315w. Now I know not to keep going no worries just pull the pin! 