[Closed] Beginner FTP Testing

1. Not that I know of. If you're training inside to power, it makes sense to measure FTP in the same circumstances. Cool air and a whopping great fan help. During the heatwave, if I trained inside, I found my power pretty much hit a wall after around 45 minutes when my body started to shut down to prevent overheating. A lot of people claim a higher ftp outside, but if you're training inside, it makes sense to me to base your training on an ftp recorded in the same situation. There's no point in training with an artificially high ftp, you'll simply skew all your workouts.

2. Not that I'm aware of. More relevant is that you potentially will produce less power on a TT bike / mtb than on a road bike say, which means that you want to assess your ftp using the bike you're going to be training on to ftp.

3. Sort of. You have to bear in mind that it's an approximation of your one-hour time, not an exact measure. A one hour effort will decimate you and be really, really unpleasant. It's not something you really want to do. Equally, quite a few structured ftp tests will hammer you before you start the 20-minute effort so that your anaerobic system isn't propping up your ftp and giving an inflated result.

Arguably better is a ramp test because it'll hammer you even less and still give you a workable figure. The problem with really brutal tests is that it's hard to do them. The Sufferfest 4DP assessment is arguably a lot more useful than a straight ftp figure - if you're using SF workouts obviously - but it's really hard, which makes it difficult to motivate yourself to do it. A ramp test is quick enough and unbrutal enough that you can do one then do a session of some sort afterwards.

Ultimately it's just a reasonable approximation, so long as you do the same test under the same conditions each time then it's a means of measuring progress (or not). For repeatability the test is best done on a turbo even if the absolute figures aren't the same as outside.

Position - just being comfortable so you can complete the test is what matters. If you move around a bit then you move around a bit.

An hour on the turbo doing an FTP test would be beyond most people's resolve, hence the 20min version. I think the multiplier came from observational tests so is probably not too far off.

BadlywiredDog has pretty much nailed it.

dont be too concerned about exact figures, the 20min test is a good approximation of your ftp. Power meters all vary slightly, as long as the general trend is in the right direction that’s what is more important.

3. Also, is 20mins really enough time to get an accurate result? I just feel like there is a lot more fitness and determination needed to complete an hour.

You crack on with the hour, let us know how it goes.

last time I did one (a few years ago now) 20 minutes was enough of a question of resolve.

You will probably need to do 2 or 3 before you get a good feel for pacing yourself, which obviously affects the outcome a reasonable amount. people either go too hard and blow up or too easy and can't recover the low number.

I don't plan on ever doing one again.

https://www.velonews.com/2018/11/podcast/fast-talk-podcast-rethinking-the-science-of-trainers_481482

Worth having a listen to this recent podcast about indoor training. Covers why you should expect your power to be down for indoor training compared to outdoors.

TLDL: its basically a mix of metabolic, inertia and different muscle usage.

My additional comment is that you shouldn't be comparing power numbers obtained from a gym (watt?)bike, with a bike that you ride outside that has a power meter. Even if you got your positions exactly the same, those meters are gonna be reading different.