I am a sprinter. Not a road-sprinter, but a speed skater specializing in the 500m (40s all-out).
About six weeks ago I tested FTP via the ramp-test on Zwift (270W) and then switched to TR and tested again and got 275W (3,98W/kg)
I nailed the first few workouts, but quickly had to lower, first the volume then the intensity in each workouts about 6%. I ended up adjusting my FTP down to 228W (3,3W/kg), which was based on my best 20min according to TrainingPeaks.
I read in a different post that the Ramp-test tends to overestimate pursuiter-style riders with a large VO2-max, and I was wondering if my well-developed short anaerobic power skews the test, or if something else is going on.
Last week I tested using the 20min FTP-test and got 238W (3,5W/kg). So still almost 40W down from my initial test.
Should I wait with using the ramp-test, or did I just do something wrong?
You didnât do anything wrong. It sounds like you are the type of athlete thatâs skewed strongly anaerobic, so youâre probably really good at ramp testing. However, the resulting âFTPâ AKA 75% of MAP in this case, probably makes your threshold and sweetspot workouts really hard for you. However the VO2 max workouts are probably about right.
How do workouts feel using the 20 minute test FTP? It may be that you want to adjust the intensity % manually based on the type of workout youâre doing.
Having switched to the 20min test, my sweetspot and threshold workouts are challenging, but doable.
Yet yesterday I did a VO2-max (Baird) workout, and it was really easy. At the end of the third set, I felt a little bit of fatigue, but I was nose-breathing (figuratively) for most of the workout.
I might just adjust intensity up for shorter intervals, and keep it where it is for longer ones.
Unfortunately within TR for now the only solution is to adjust intensity. At your end if it suits your goals, you could also consider working on your weaknesses to improve sweetspot and threshold capabilities, then you may not need to make so many adjustments to ramp test FTP.
My plan is named âBecomming a masters athleteâ and the whole idea is to grow my aerobic capabilities, but even in a sweetspot plan there are VO2-max workouts.
Iâd just concentrate on improving aerobic performance and not worry at all about the easy short intervals since you already crush them. Iâm similar to you. I can do 185% of ftp for a minute and it doesnât even feel that hard.
Itâs worth reading this thread about VLaMax. This describes some fundamentals on physiology behind time to exhaustion and aerobic performance. Once I understood the concept, it was a helpful way to frame training goals, and the kinds of sessions to accomplish those goals.
Iâm a similar profile to you, high anaerobic capability, fast twitcher.
Long sweet spot intervals (20 mins+) are very effective at improving aerobic capabilities. But important to not ride at too high a power. With some TR plans, the âsweet spotâ session are more like threshold, and if your FTP is overestimated, itâs easy for these to become too hard.
Using a heart rate cap is an effective way to ensure youâre not going too hard during SS intervals. Eg use a HR cap of 85% of max.
This post has some good info on this approach:
And the following post has good ideas about a sweet spot progression to follow:
And longer, lower intensity endurance rides are very helpful/needed also - especially if you are doing more than a few hours a week. Ie Donât just do sweet spot, it will likely be too much.
At some point in your training, youâll need to think about VO2max work in addition to endurance and sweet spot. But that can come later.
@Bleskiven the Ramp Test has a lot of advantages over the 20min test IMO. Itâs more repeatable & has a lower âpsychological expenseâ but there is substantial individual variation in FTP as a percent of MAP among ramp test users. (for you, sounds like youâve got pacing & repeatability nailed for the 20min test so maybe just keep using that)
About 4% to 5% of riders will have an FTP that is 65% of MAP or less. You are in that population.
Doesnât mean you canât use the ramp test. You still can just be aware that your FTP isnât going to be the auto-generated TrainerRoad suggested FTP. Go to Analytics, find peak 1minute power during the ramp test, multiply by 65% or 62.5%, thatâs your FTP.
Also, be aware, as I was able to show in my hour power thread your FTP as a fraction of MAP can be improved substantially with the correct kind of training.
Interestingly, I went back to my Ramp-test result from eight weeks ago and applied 65% of MAP with the result of 337W. For those keeping score, my 20min test gave me an estimated FTP 338 a week and a half ago.
Given that I have trained consistently, if not in the best possible way for those eight weeks, I would assume that for me 62,5% of MAP is closer to my FTP than 65%. But it definitely seems to get pretty close.
388 FTP (75%) is not in the same ballpark as 337 (65%). Its a 15% difference. Hard to extrapolate from that, but sounds like you are in the ramp test outlier club.