Bike - Benchmarking

Functional Threshold Power Test - Bike

The purpose of this test is to achieve your highest watt average possible for a 20min period then you deduct 5% from this to give you your power that you should be able to hold for an hour time trial. Because no one likes doing a 1 hour time trial and/or it's hard to stay focused for this period of time they do this to keep you on track and get quality.

Obviously you need a power meter but this can also be a good set if all you have is a heart rate monitor and use this as your gauge for training purposes.

Below is the test that I did,

So I've done my set and man did it hurt, I posted 281 average watts for the 20min time trial, I then deduct 5% which gives me my FTP result of 267 watts. Then by using this number and the below guide from iBooks "Training and Racing with a Power 'water, 2nd edition" by Hunter Allan and Andrew Coggan. PhD

Using the above from my 267 FTP watts I have calculated the below numbers I can use in my training. Most of my active recovery is in the pool or "spinning the legs" is an easy ride on my mountain bike.

​Level 1 Active Recovery: up to 147 watts
Level 2 Endurance: 148-200 watts
Level 3 Tempo: 201-240 watts
Level 4 Lactate Threshold: 241-280 watts
Level 5 VO2 MAX: 281-320 watts
Level 6 Anaerobic Capacity: 321-400 watts
Level 7 Neuromuscular Power: 401+ watts

​to benchmark further I can divide my FTP test of 267 with my weight which is currently 76kg so, my watts per kg is 3.51 watt/kg. As I get through the winter months of training we will be targeting to increase my strength and once again decrease my weight by 3-4 kg back to race weight so both of these changes will have a positive result on my watt/Kg that I can push on the bike meaning stronger on the bike.

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I know the above is a lot to take in however it excites me! To have the ability to benchmark my progress gives me something to strive for.

It’s like losing weight, every day we see ourselves in the mirror and we don't notice the change yet it is happening. It's the same with our fitness and by benchmarking we can see our progress and look how far we have come or, look at what we could change to benefit more.

I hope you have found the above information informative and like I say, if you have any questions please feel free to ask, I am in no means an expert in this fields but I know what I have learned through experience and books.
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Until next time train hard and @ThinkFitPod

ROBO