Is my Ramp Test accurate?

Training
1

Hi

I completed my first Ramp Test 3 days ago using Virtual Power.
My setup is a Garmin speed sensor, Garmin cadence sensor & Elite Real E-Motion rollers.
Everything is setup correctly in TrainerRoad.

My test result was 481watts FTP! which I thought was too high.
I will be 53 in May, with resting HR of 42. I’m 108kg so that gives me approx 4.4 w/kg
I don’t race but do push myself regularly and rode about 8,000 miles last year.
All this data (apart from my weight) makes me sound super fit but I don’t think that I am.

The following day I completed the next scheduled activity in my plan. Taku, which is a 30 min active recovery session.
My average speed was 20.4mph, HR was 128bpm (70% of max) and avg power 292w
The analysis showed I had completed 22% in Active Recovery & 78% in Endurance
It wasn’t as easy as I would expect a recovery ride to be. (60% of max HR)

I acknowledge that it’s all relative and workouts should be tailored around my Ramp Test result.
I’m just concerned I will overwork myself on the next 3 workouts in my calendar for this week. I don’t want to set myself up for failure so early

My questions are:

Is this recovery ride result what I would expect to see?
What should I do if harder rides are too difficult? My weekly plan is Med Sweet Spot (off/hard/easy/off/hard/hard/hard)
How soon should I re-take the ramp test (shall I do it sooner than recommended if workouts are too difficult)?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

AndyB

2

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I was curious about FTP and found this chart that shows FTP distributions for males. Based on this it would seem you are correct and something is amiss

3

The virtual power number is essentially meaningless as a comparison to anyone else, but the Taku seems to be about right so it’s likely a good enough start for a training setup.

Expect to ‘lose’ about 200 watts off the FTP number if you ever get a power meter though!

3 Likes
4

Ah, “accurate,” there’s a fun word. So here’s the thing, especially with Virtual Power—no, it’s not accurate. But accuracy is relative, right? Consistency is what you need. VP is a way to train without a power meter or smart trainer, and as long as you use it consistently, you’ll get stronger.

I agree with the previous comment that if you switch to a “real” power source you’ll get a dramatically different (and almost certainly lower) FTP. But for now, use what you’ve got and don’t worry too much about the number. Just do your thing and pay attention to how you feel. Hard workouts should feel, well, hard. Not impossible, but they’ll make you dig deep. Easy ones shouldn’t be a challenge.

As for your Taku results, those seem fine. Don’t worry about average speed, because that is completely meaningless when using TrainerRoad and definitely not something to consider even slightly “accurate.”

1 Like
5

You guys were correct, fitted a Stages and recorded 303 on my ramp test.

I’m loving TrainerRoad and hope to be back up to 480 very soon :wink: