Your thoughts raising ftp a few watts after testing?

Hi
I’ve just completed the 20min FTP test and just wanted to ask for some advice.
I done the test and it went well and I reckon I paced it really well throughout. However, I reckon maybe in a race situation I would’ve, like anyone, dug that little bit deeper because of the competitive nature of racing against others.
Therefore, my question is, would it be advisable to add 5 to 10watts onto my ftp result when taking this into account??
Whats your experiences please???

This is why the Ramp Test is such a great test to take - it requires no pacing and you simply go until you can’t go any more. That said, I understand that some people do better with the 8/20 minute tests.

My recommendation is to use the number you got for a week or so just to see how it feels. If it feels to easy, bump it up 5 watts. If not, you are good to go!

You could also quickly take a Ramp Test to verify your FTP if you are feeling up to it tomorrow.

7 Likes

If you feel like you might have been able to dig a bit deeper adding 5w might be a good idea. However I would hesitate to add 10 as that might be a bit much depending on your fitness.

Personally I would see how the first few day or week of the plan goes and if it feels too easy start adding 5w at a time to your ftp. I would stay away from adding it all at once and instead add it in small increments making sure to re asses how you feel after the next few workouts.

You could also try the ramp test if you have not done one already, at least for me I find it gives a bit better of an FTP estimate since I only have to really dig deep for the last few minutes and it does not take as much out of you so you might be able to fit it in to your current training plan without adding too much tss.

edit: I type too slow.

1 Like

Great minds think alike @THowe :wink:

1 Like

Cheers.
Ill do some workouts this week based on the result I got and see how i go. I paced it very well but you know when you think you maybe couldve gone better!!!..especially if competing against someone else!
I did the ramp test and it unfortunately it wasnt my cup of tea! 20 watts lower than the 20min test. I much prefer the 20min as I feel more comfortable with setting my own cadence etc. I didnt suit the erg adding resistance and all that.

1 Like

My blunt answer would be “no”.

Almost everyone (including myself) finishes a ramp test or 20 minute test and thinks “I could have gone deeper” as soon as they get their breath back.

And even if you could go deeper in a race situation, your next block of training is not a series of races. If you can’t summon up the willpower to go deeper in an FTP test, why would you be able to go deeper doing vo2 intervals on a Tuesday?

7 Likes

Good point Martin. I cant argue with that!

I did go as hard as I could possibly go in the test as I always do, whether it be racing or training. In fact I always have a bucket at the ready to catch the spuke!!
However, like you said, everyone thinks they couldve pushed a little further when they see their ftp result pop on the screen.
Thinking about it, even if I couldve went harder in a race it would no doubt only be by a few watts and thats not going to make that much difference to zones anyway.
I thought Id ask the question though as Id read, raising their ftp, is what some folk do.

Another point is that you discuss raising your FTP manually by 5-10 watts but depending upon your FTP that could be 5% on 200 FTP or 2.5% on 400 FTP (note I chose numbers for easy math)
If I was going to manually adjust and I dont really recommend that I would move on a %age base - maybe 3%

1 Like

I did something similar, but am a newbie who knows nothing… I tested at 260W but was a bit ill (bunged up), unrested (rode day before) and frankly quit sooner than I needed to. I plugged my FTP in as 275W, and while I’ve found a lot of the 18 workouts I’ve done over the last three weeks hard/very hard, I’ve not missed a single interval or back pedalled once. Do I feel a bit ruined today? Yep, but I’m heading into my rest week now, hallelujah!

If I could go back and do my test again more rested, less ill and more determined, I absolutely would. But what’s done is done!

I don’t think I can remember a TT where this isn’t true. I’m barely passed the TK before I start to think there are places I should have pushed a little bit harder despite that fact that if I could have I would have!

I have found this out with a bang this week.

Completed a ramp test last week and got the result of 255 (up from 230)…i thought to myself, lets round this to 260. I started short power build and i think i have only finished 3 workouts completely.

Whilst i do not put this solely down to the FTP Bump. I dont think it has helped. the Vo2 repeats at the start of short power build have ruined me

Ive reset the ftp down 5w and hope to pick things back up.

3 Likes

In two years on TR, I have never been able to do a good FTP test. I’ve had only two where my FTP actually increased, and then by only about 2-4 watts. My only two increases came with ramp tests. My latest one was an increase of a piddly 4 watts (after a drop of 12 watts on the previous one). All workouts after that seemed ridiculously easy, so I’ve been doing them at 104-105%, which still seems a bit like sand-bagging.

Having said all that, I think about my training in terms of how I can push harder on my next ramp test. I find watching the Trainer Road screen is really de-motivating for me. Watching video of, say, the last 20k of a spring classic works pretty well. Listening to hard rock or funk is great for, e.g., VO2 max workouts, but distracting for longer sweet-spot intervals.

Next time I’m going to try a spring classic video, timing it so the sprint finish comes about a minute or two after I reach whatever level would yield my current FTP. Hell, I can always hope, right?

A good benchmark is that if you can hit 19:30, your FTP has stayed the same. If you can get to 20:00, you’ve definitely added a few watts. So find that classic, find the bit where the hands are in the air, skip back 20 minutes, and press play at the exact time you start the test. If you’re still going when Sagan wins, you’ve won too.

More great tips in this thread.

1 Like

That’s really good to know! I’d asked TR last spring to add an indicator on the screen to show estimated FTP during the test, but that would still mean staring at the blue bars. Knowing 19:30 is a goal will help. Checking my best test, I see I made it to 20:15.

The other thing I’ve noticed on my FTP tests is my HR never nears my maximum. Highest HR recorded on a 10-mile TT was 182; highest on any TR workout was 178; highest on any FTP test so far has been 171. I know HR isn’t a great indicator, but I could probably work harder on these FTP tests.