Testing for FTP and LTHR

You're going to like the way you feel... I guarantee it.

If you are serious about training, it is imperative that you know your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR). If you do not have a power meter and don't have $1,000 to spend on one, consider putting $50 in a jar every week for ~3 months. Stages power meters range from $700 (Shimano 105 or SRAM Rival) to $900 (Shimano Dura Ace 9000) and can be ordered for you by Chris at ProBike (tell him Buzz sent you). If you have a power meter you'll want to know your functional threshold power (FTP). The test procedure described here will provide you with both your LTHR and, if you have a power meter, your FTP.

In theory, your LTHR doesn't change. So if you don't have a power meter you can run this test once (or twice for verification) and be done with it. FTP, however, does change -- well, hopefully it changes, as that is the whole point of training. So if you train with a power meter you will need to test multiple times during the year to obtain your updated FTP values. There are many significant advantages to training with a power meter, which I will likely expound on in a future post. They include:

1. Properly tapering and peaking for a race (this is a huge advantage, taking the guesswork out of preparing for your important events).
2. Knowing exactly how intense, and how long, training rides should be.
3. Recognizing the issues caused by heart rate fluctuations from being sick, not getting enough sleep, being fatigued, etc.
4. Successfully performing training workouts, especially short duration intervals, without the hassle caused by the heart rate being heavily dampened (slow to respond to efforts).

There are a few methods for determining one's LTHR and FTP. The one described below is also known as the Critical Power 30 (CP-30) test and is considered to be the most accurate test you can do for LTHR and FTP. I recommend performing this test at least twice a year. You may decide to do more testing during the year to check for updated FTP values, but those tests can be shorter duration (read: easier) and I'll likely discuss the methods for those in future posts.

The Short Version

1. Rest for a couple days.
2. Warm-up for 20 minutes.
3. Ride as hard as you can for 30 minutes.
4. Cool-down.
5. Your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes is your LTHR.
6. The average power for the full 30 minutes is your FTP.
7. Repeat at least twice a year.

The Long Version

Preparation. You don't want to complete this when you have fatigue in your legs; you want to be somewhat fresh to get accurate results. Keep in mind that your values for LTHR and FTP coincide with the best effort you can sustain for 30 minutes. In order to provide your best effort, you need to be fresh. You don't want to rest for too long though, because you will lose fitness and may experience "dead legs" on test day. I've found that two to three days of rest works well, structured like this:

• Day 1: No riding.
• Day 2: No riding.
• Day 3: 45 minutes of easy spinning with three 30-second hard-effort bursts.
• Day 4: Test day.

During these rest days you will also want to stay well hydrated, eat appropriately, and get some solid sleep. Take some time to set your computer up for the test. I recommend that you have it display Lap Time and Cadence. You don't want to try to maintain some set power value or heart rate -- you only want to focus on putting out your best effort. Of course, you will need to see Lap Time so you know when to stop, and it is beneficial to maintain a steady Cadence.

Other factors. It is important that you try to keep the outside conditions as constant as possible for each test. So if you tested in the morning after two rest days last time, don't test mid-day with no rest days this time. Cool weather is ideal for this test so I recommend testing in the morning. Find a good route and use it for every test. Ride the bike that you will use for the majority of your LTHR- or FTP-based training. Since you likely train while riding on the hoods (not the tops or drops), perform this test riding on the hoods. This test is meant to be done solo (no training partners). Having someone else to pace, chase, or escape from will give you bogus data. You want to be all alone, suffering solo for the duration.

Route. The ideal route for this test would be a 15-mile stretch of perfect pavement with no stops, no rollers, a steady 1-2% uphill grade, and no traffic. The most important aspects of your route are that it have no stops and minimal rollers. Grades in excess of 4% will give you slightly skewed numbers, so Mt. Lemmon is not an ideal option. The route that I have come to prefer for this test is south on Mission from Valencia. If you've done the Saturday Shootout you are familiar with this stretch of road (it is approximately 30 minutes from Valencia to the bridge).

Unless you live close to a good stretch of road for performing this test, you will want to drive to the testing location. You may find it helpful to bring some things with you; I usually take water bottles, recovery drink mix, a towel, and jeans & a t-shirt. This test, when done correctly, is brutal. Put in the extra effort preparing for it and you will get good results. You don't want to go through all this suffering and end up with questionable numbers.

Warm-up. For what equates to a 30-minute threshold workout I like to warm-up for 15 minutes. Mid-warm-up I do three 30-second hard effort bursts and then three 1-minute medium effort intervals with 30 seconds of rest between them. Your warm-up may need to be different -- you want to stress your body enough to prepare it for what will be a very difficult 30 minutes, but you don't want to stress it to the point where fatigue becomes a factor. When you start the test you want to already be sweating, but you don't want to feel tired.

Begin test. In the span of about one minute, steadily get up to cruising speed and a cadence of 90-100 rpm, then press your Lap button to start the test. You will be riding as hard as you can for 30 minutes, so maintain some control at the beginning to avoid running out of gas too early. You want to try to maintain the same power for the duration of the test. Maintaining steady maximum power output comes with experience so if it's your first time you will likely find that you either decrease power during the test and/or have some left in the tank at the end.

Cadence. My ideal cadence is in the 90 rpm range, but this is a personal preference. There have been studies done, however, with results suggesting that a cadence in the 90-100 rpm range is ideal for power production. If you feel uncomfortable at a cadence of 100 rpm you should include speed skills in your training sessions, but for this test you need to be smooth -- so if that means your cadence is 80 rpm, that will be fine -- just consider working on your cadence in future workouts so you are smooth at higher rpm.

Steady power. To help maintain constant power, every couple minutes I like to ask myself if I am pushing as hard as I can. If my answer is "no," I steadily increase my power output a little. I also like to ask myself if I can continue to maintain my current power output for another few minutes. If my answer is "yes," I steadily increase the power a little; if my answer is "no," I steadily decrease it a little; if my answer is "I don't know," I maintain that output and check again in few minutes. Any change in power output should be steady, over the span of around a minute -- you want your power graph at the end to be flat or rolling hills, not jagged mountains.

10-minute mark. You will likely be checking your Lap Time often to see how much longer you have to endure the suffering. If you do not have a power meter and are only testing for LTHR, at the 10-minute mark press the Lap button again. This is not imperative so if you miss it don't worry about -- it just makes post-test analysis of LTHR a bit easier. If you do have a power meter, do not press the Lap button here as it makes analysis of FTP a bit more difficult.

Suffering. You will be hurting -- don't give up. This test is incredibly difficult and you will want to quit. Expect the pain to be overwhelming but focus on pushing through it. This test is a great mental check for time trials. Use the suffering as a way to train your mind to continue to fight instead of giving up. Before the test, read Grimacing, or anything else that will motivate you to suffer greatly without backing off. Be prepared for this and endure it -- you will be rewarded.

Final minute. When your Lap Time shows 29:00 (or 19:00 if you pressed the Lap button at the 10-minute mark), you have just 1 minute left. During that minute, steadily increase your pace to your absolute maximum -- everything you have left -- completely emptying yourself. If you held the appropriate power output during the test, you won't be able to increase it here. If you are able to increase your power output by any measurable amount, you didn't push yourself hard enough during the test -- next time you do this test you need to suffer more so that at the end you have absolutely nothing left. It isn't easy to pour everything you have into 30 minutes, but it's what you are shooting for. You will never be so happy to see 30:00 (or 20:00) on your computer. Press the Lap button again to identify the end of the test.

Cool-down. Most likely your route is an out-and-back, so you will need to turn around to return to your car. Steadily decrease your pace, get control of your breathing, and make a safe turn. It will take you around 20 minutes to get back to your car. For the first five minutes of the return trip I recommend very light zone 1 spinning for recovery. For the remainder of the return trip I will usually do an aerobic endurance pace (heart rate zone 2). If this is your first test you won't know your zones yet, so just return at a pace that you could carry on a conversation during.

Analysis. When you've uploaded your data there are six things you are looking for: the values for LTHR and FTP, how well you held constant power, if you pushed too hard at the beginning, if you need to suffer more next time, and whether you need additional aerobic endurance training,

LTHR & FTP. To obtain your LTHR, simply determine your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes of the test. If you pressed the Lap button at the 10-minute mark this is easy to find. If you didn't, you will need to select the appropriate time span and obtain the average heart rate for that range. To obtain your FTP, simply determine the average power for the entire 30 minutes of the test. If you've previously performed this test you can compare your LTHR values to see if they match (they should). If they don't, it could be due to temperature, fatigue, being sick, etc. Determine which test you believe reflects you at your "best" and use the LTHR value from that test.

Steady power. Now take a look at your power graph. Does it stay somewhat constant or do you see fluctuations? For a proper test, your power (not necessarily speed) should remain steady. If you see much fluctuation, you would likely benefit from some pacing-specific workouts. A general workout would be to do three sets of riding for 10 minutes at your FTP and then 3 minutes recovering in zone 1, trying to maintain constant power during the 10 minute interval. Doing these intervals on rollers will help you learn how to change gears to deal with grade changes while keeping your power constant. Learning how to control your power is a huge help in both training and racing.

Aerobic fitness. Finally, you can get a pretty good indication of how "fit" you are by looking at your heart rate graph. Generally speaking, if your heart rate slowly increases over the duration of the test, your aerobic fitness is low and you would benefit from additional aerobic endurance workouts. This is referred to as "decoupling," meaning that your heart rate is decoupled from your power. You may find that this is the case at the beginning of the season, and therefore the reason for the Base period. If your heart rate remains constant for the entire test you have high aerobic endurance and likely should move out of the Base period and into your Build period (if you aren't there already).

Below are some of the FTP tests I've performed, with problem areas identified. The graphs show speed (top, blue), power (purple), heart rate (red) and cadence (bottom, pink).

FTP Test: Trainer

This test was performed on a trainer at the beginning of a Base period. You can see that (1) I started out with a power output that was too high, that I was unable to maintain and needed to back off. You can also see that (2) my heart rate steadily increased over the duration of the test, indicating a low level of aerobic fitness. Finally, you can see that (3) at the end of the test I was able to push harder and increase my power output, indicating that I had something left in the tank and could have pushed harder during the test.

FTP Test: Old Spanish Trail

This test was performed on Old Spanish Trail during a Pistol Hill ride towards the end of a Base period. You can see that (1) again I started out with a power output that was too high. You can also see that (2) performing the test on a rolling course can be problematic when tasked with maintaining a constant power output. Again, you can see that (3) at the end of the test I was able to increase my power output. Finally, you can see that (4) the route chosen was quite long and likely meant that the values I obtained during the test portion were low. A shorter route with no rollers would be preferred.

FTP Test: Mission

This test was performed on Mission, south of Valencia. This route is my preferred and almost exclusive stretch of road for FTP testing. Although this route is almost perfect for the test, you can see that (1) I still started too hard and (2) I still didn't go hard enough for the duration. There's always room for improvement, especially when it comes to suffering for 30 minutes.

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If you don' have a power meter, you should perform this test at least twice in the first year. If you obtain different LTHR values from the two tests you may want to do a third test to really lock down your LTHR. Once you have it locked down, you may want to continue to re-check once a year. You should also consider purchasing a power meter.

If you train with a power meter you will want to keep a fairly close eye on your FTP. Your FTP will increase with training, so if you train consistently throughout the year you'll want to check your FTP every few months. If, however, your training calendar is March-May and September-November, you probably just need to check it twice (in March and September). Don't perform this test too close to an event that you want to be fresh for, as it will put a fair amount of fatigue in your legs.

I welcome any thoughts, suggestions, or questions you may have about this test, or any test to obtain LTHR or FTP. If you've performed this test and would like a second set of eyes to analyze your data I'm happy to help. If you'd like you are welcome to post a link to your Strava or Garmin ride in the comments area below.

Enjoy the smile -- for though your mind will tell you otherwise, it will not last long; it will fade.