Diggity said:

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Use somebody's referral code when you buy the bike and the shoes are pretty cheap.

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ahem ZA9EUT

K Bo said:

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Did my first FTP test this morning. Looking forward to getting in to some PZ rides.

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I've done 33 rides now and am ready for my FTP test....any tips? I'm going to knock it out before the game on Saturday!

1990AG said:

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K Bo said:

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Did my first FTP test this morning. Looking forward to getting in to some PZ rides.

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I've done 33 rides now and am ready for my FTP test....any tips? I'm going to knock it out before the game on Saturday!

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Take it easy the day or two before you test. Hydrate well and get a good night's sleep the night before. If it is your first test, you are better off starting lower and then working your way up, instead of starting too high and then bonking for the rest of the test. Try to work in the range of cadences you are most comfortable with for as long as possible and where possible, use lighter gear/higher cadence to save your leg muscles.

look at your avg outpu from some of your harder rides and use that as a baseline. Try to hold that for the first 10 minutes solid then increase after that. End on some heavy all out 30 second - 1 minutes outputs with a 30 second rest back to the avg

It says to start out in zone 4. How do you know where zone 4 is?? I think I have the rest of the concept down

TraditionsPD said:

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look at your avg outpu from some of your harder rides and use that as a baseline. Try to hold that for the first 10 minutes solid then increase after that. End on some heavy all out 30 second - 1 minutes outputs with a 30 second rest back to the avg

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It really depends on what rides you are doing and how hard you went. Most of my harder rides leading up to my most recent test had average outputs in the 165-175W range, and my test avg output for 20 mins was 248W. So that would have significantly underestimated my power to start.

1990AG said:

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It says to start out in zone 4. How do you know where zone 4 is?? I think I have the rest of the concept down

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You can find a million ways to describe what Zone 4 feel like, and everybody will tell you something different that works for them. I think of the middle of Zone 4 as that line between thinking "Yes, I can probably hold this for 20 minutes" and "No, I am not sure I can hold it for 20 minutes."

Most of us can hold a given output for quite a bit longer than we think, so if you can find that point after you are warmed up where you start to doubt whether it is something you can hold for 20-30 mins, you are probably pretty close. Most importantly for me, I search for the power output I can hold smoothly for several minutes, but that starts to generate a bit of a warmth or burn in my legs.

If you are "comfortable" at your pace, you are probably too low, and if you are getting out of breath and feeling a hot burn or sharp ache in your legs after a few minutes, you are probably too high. Each 5 minutes during the test, re-evaluate and decide if you need to go up for down. Most of the time, your mind is going to be telling you negative things...but listen to your body, look at your heart rate, see where your breathing is, and see how your legs truly feel, and you will find you can probably stay there or even add a bit.

it almost sounds as if the first FTP test is a "dry run" to get a feel for the test??

Pretty much, first FTP test is like the first pancake.

1990AG said:

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it almost sounds as if the first FTP test is a "dry run" to get a feel for the test??

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That is exactly the way you should treat it. Take the test. Spend a few weeks doing power zone and power zone endurance rides using the numbers generated by the test, then go back and retest. Once you ride with the zones a few times and do some rides with some longer zone 4 intervals, you will have a much better idea what output you can sustain for 20 mins.

Exactly. I am positive that my next FTP test will yield much higher results.

As the others have said, I would rest, at the very least, the day before. I also recommend a warmup to get your legs warm. I took the first 10min relatively easy, worked really hard minutes 10-15, then literally emptied the tank on minutes 15-20.

Not sure if anyone else knew about this site:
https://app.homefitnessbuddy.com/peloton/powerzone/#0

It gives you the whole workout! I think it is only for power zone, but this is awesome if you want a preview of the ride you're about to do.

mrsbeer05 said:

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Not sure if anyone else knew about this site:
https://app.homefitnessbuddy.com/peloton/powerzone/#0

It gives you the whole workout! I think it is only for power zone, but this is awesome if you want a preview of the ride you're about to do

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Power zone pack will show you each of the power zone rides graphically.

txags92 said:

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mrsbeer05 said:

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Not sure if anyone else knew about this site:
https://app.homefitnessbuddy.com/peloton/powerzone/#0

It gives you the whole workout! I think it is only for power zone, but this is awesome if you want a preview of the ride you're about to do

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Power zone pack will show you each of the power zone rides graphically.

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Not for free.

This gives you time breakdowns and a time tool so you can do the workout to your own music or on a different bike

Solid!

Quote:

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The scenic rides they have are honestly unbelievable. You can choose to ride anywhere. Except for like, low income areas.

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I loaded up that ride with dreams of glory myself.

Then, halfway through, I remembered the Astros were playing so I turned that on as well.

My hill got a lot more manageable somehow.

Wow...impressive. Haven't done a FTP yet but thinking about it later this weekend.

Good grief!

Join me (DrBeer) for a birthday ride
October 29
10:30am Central
Live 45 min Denis Morton PZE

Unreal performance, my guy!

mrsbeer05 said:

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Join me (DrBeer) for a birthday ride
October 29
10:30am Central
Live 45 min Denis Morton PZE

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Might be able to do that! Tentatively adding to my calendar.

279 - 307 improvement

Alex T's 45min hip hop ride from 10/12 was challenging

PZ Max with Matt Wilpers from 11/7/19 is a great first PZ Max ride:

5 min in zone 5
8 x 50sec in Z6/40sec Z1
3 min Z1
8x 50 sec Z6/40 sec Z1

YellAg2004 said:

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Ride #200 on deck

Gonna get up early for the PZE live ride with Wilpers tomorrow at 5am if anyone wants to join.

LB: Spin4BlueBell

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congrats! i'll join you. i am megbmedina on the bike.

I was going to run in the morning but I may do this, instead.

YellAg2004 said:

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Ride #200 on deck

Gonna get up early for the PZE live ride with Wilpers tomorrow at 5am if anyone wants to join.

LB: Spin4BlueBell

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Good riding with you, congrats on 200!

Congrats on #200!! I was planning on joining but slept terribly so slept in a bit.

bthotugigem05 said:

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YellAg2004 said:

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Ride #200 on deck

Gonna get up early for the PZE live ride with Wilpers tomorrow at 5am if anyone wants to join.

LB: Spin4BlueBell

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Good riding with you, congrats on 200!

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Same - it was a good ride. I felt like it went really quick!

Thanks for joining!

ETA: Thanks to Meg, too!