First of all, warm up really well. 15 mins is about the minimum time I will warm up, but 20-30 mins is better. Second, how much improvement to expect is going to be based on how long you have been riding and how hard you have been riding recently relative to your current FTP. If you are a relatively new rider and have been riding a lot of long steady efforts for a month or two at or above your current FTP, you should expect a pretty significant jump in FTP. If you have been riding a long time and just tested a month ago, and haven't ridden many longer or harder efforts recently, don't expect to see a big jump in your numbers.Scriffer said:
What's everyone's FTP strategy?
I made two mistakes tonight, the first one obviously going out too hard. Second is something has been feeling off with my riding position lately where I basically felt everything in my hamstrings. I've nudged the seat forward a bit and dropped the saddle a quarter inch or so, and that felt a bit more comfortable.
If I have been working a lot of zone 3/4 based on my previous FTP, I should have a good idea in mind of whether I am over or under my current FTP. If you have had an increase, the top of zone 3 will feel easy and the top of zone 4 will feel like you can ride that way for a long time. One way to test yourself is while doing a high zone 3 effort during a ride, get to the top of zone 3 and then close your eyes while riding for at least 10 seconds. Then look and see where your output goes. If you slipped well into zone 4 while your eyes were closed, you should probably expect a decent increase in your FTP.
So I start each test with a goal...typically 5-10% above my current FTP if I believe I have gained. Using round numbers, your FTP is 95% of your average output for the 20 min test. So 210 avg output for 20 mins will give you an FTP of 200 as an example. So if my current FTP is 200, I am going to start out the rest aiming for 205-210 for the first 5 mins. After the first 5 mins, I know whether it feels too easy or if I am struggling to hold on. As long as I am not struggling to hold on, I will increase my goal for the next 5 mins by about 5-10%. In the example, I would shoot for around 220 for the 2nd 5 min block. Do the same evaluation and if I still feel like I have more to give, I go up 5-10% again for the 3rd block, and again for the 4th block. When I get to about 2.5 mins left, If I have anything left I am going to ramp it up to as hard as I can go. Generally, somewhere in that last 5-7 minutes you will find a limit that you just can't sustain. From there on out, hold what you can and try to kick it up with whatever you have left for the last 2 mins or so.
One other thing to think about is cadence. I typically start on the high end of the cadence range I typically ride, and then use increased resistance and slowly bring my rpms down as the effort level increases. So I may start in the 100-105 range for the first 3-5 mins, 90-95 for the 2nd 5 mins, 85-90 for the 3rd block, and 80-85 for the last efforts. My natural cadence when riding a long steady level 3-4 effort is in the high 90s most of the time, but when I go to Z5-6 I produce more power down around 85 rpm. Using the higher cadence earlier will reduce the amount of leg muscle fatigue early in the effort.
