Lamarck and FTP

I just completed Lamarck, but extended the last interval by another 10 minutes, due to completing a Zwift ride. My Power was 285w and NP 292w after 56 minutes. Will i be able to use NP as my FTP?

What was your average power for the last 20min interval? I’d have thought if you are managing 20 mins at FTP at the end of Lamark you might want to take a new ramp test👍

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My average for the last 20 minutes was 302w. The 3 other intervals 1st-299w. 2nd-302w. 3rd-300w

How far away from your next test are you?

I’d say you’re making decent gains and when you test again you’ll have a nice increase​:ok_hand::muscle:

2 weeks.

I’d just hold off and wait until your next test. A consistent performance benchmark is always preferable.

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One of those weeks a recovery week no??

The last week is a recovery week.

I recall in an early podcast that coach Chad said that Lamarck was a good workout to test that you had assessed your FTP correctly. If you can do all 4 x 10 minute intervals then your FTP is about right. Alternatively you can use it a guide to assess your FTP. You do that by taking an average of the 4 intervals. No need to multiple by .95 or anything like that. Just use the average power not the normalized power.

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That is an impressive ride. If you can extend the last interval by another 10min, your ftp is definitely higher. You can prob increase it by 5-10W if you want. But nothing wrong with waiting for another test. You only have 1 week of hard stuff left plus a recovery week.

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I mean, purely by definition this isn’t the case. There seems to be a disconnect between understanding “Functional Threshold Power” and the number TrainerRoad gives you to set your training levels that is called “FTP”

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Personally, I’d just wait until the next test in 2 weeks. Youll see the true rise then and your training will be calibrated as such. :ok_hand:t3:

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+1 to that

FTP doesn’t stay constant throughout the training plan so performing better in the latter stages of a plan is to be expected, unless you are fatigued.

I was debating a manual increase of 5W last week but decided it’s much more motivating to see a bigger increase in my next FTP test (hopefully).

A bit early to be sure but if OP keeps monitoring performance and freshness it may indicate an ability to cope with more weekly TSS

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The Lamarck text used to say if you could hold above target power consider upping your FTP iirc. I know I bumped my ftp based on that workout, and workout text, when I was on a dumb trainer (I don’t recall doing it since I went to a smart trainer).

Lamarck is my personal metric for how the last 5weeks went. Remember, this is one of the last workouts of ssb2, so if you are doing it easily with almost 5 weeks of training in your legs you will be seeing an increase in fitness once your recovery week is over. Since it isn’t in week one i don’t really consider it a confirmation of previous setting, but a confirmation that you are ready to bump it up next block. Just think how it would go if you did it as your first hard workout after a rest week.

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So what other workouts another than Lanarck are a good indication of FTP approximation. Obviously something like 3x 20.
Thoughts on others?

Wright Peak (3 x 30 min sweet spot)? Goals say this:

Build your fitness to a point where you can remain this close to your FTP for durations this long and it’s probably time to reassess your FTP or push up your aerobic ceiling with some concentrated VO2max work.

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I was dreading Lamarck today but managed it well other than the last 10 min block when I had to back pedal for 10 seconds 5 times!

FTP is currently 286 and next ramp test in a week and a half.

With the way SSB2MV lays out, I can’t imagine bumping FTP up after Lamarck heading into Leconte - Wright Peak. Now, I did Leconte today, day off tomorrow, Lamarck - Wright Peak on the weekend, but even though I’m pretty sure my FTP is somewhat higher now, these last two weeks of MV are brutal. I’ll be happy to survive all five workouts this week as is.

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