EN Bike zone calculator
A newbie here, just trying to figure out my training zones for my bike. I took a 20 TT on my bike. All out effort. Here are my results.
Avg HR 161, Max HR 175
Avg Power/watts 226
Max Power/watts 361
Can any one help me out with figuring out the following:
1.Functional threshold power
2.V02 power
3.LTHR
I'm still real new to this stuff, and would appreciate any help. Again Thank you, and a happy healthy 2013 for eveyone.
Thanks, Glenn
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Comments
Hi Glenn,
Sure.
Let's start with FTP.
You're clearly training with Power, and Power is going to dictate your training zones; HR is ancillary information.
The actual EN power test is a 20m TT after a 5m VO2 interval:
WU: 10' easy, then 8' building from 50% FTP to 100% FTP in 2' increments, 2' easy. Fine to use estimated FTP if this is your first test. The intent here is to get in a good warmup, so use your best judgement.
Test 1 -- Vo2 Max Test: ride 5' at the best (hardest) effort you can sustain for the full 5'. A good target is 120% of your estimated FTP. Recover 1: 10' easy spin, stretch, recovery.
Test 2 -- Functional Threshold Power (FTP) Test: time trial for 20' at the best (hardest) effort you can sustain for the full 20'. Recover 2: Minimum 5' easy spinning.
It is similar to (not the same as) the TR 20m test: http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/workouts/1270
You would then take 95% of your AP for the 20m interval as your FTP; for VO2 you would typically use 120% of your FTP, but the VO2 interval can inform adjustment of that number.
Without the 5m all-out effort, 95% of your 20m TT AP will overstate your FTP, but that value is .95x226=215.
Your VO2 would come out to about 260.
Your max watts isn't useful here because there's no indication of how long you held that for.
You have the option of just starting to train with an FTP of 215 and seeing how it goes; on the bike your risk of injury is low. The cannonical recommendation would be to re-test using the 20m protocol described above to lay down a true baseline, then use that to set your workout intensities. I recommend retesting (a) because you would use exactly the same test protocol to check your progress over the course of your out-season and (b) because you'll probably get a more accurate representation of your number. Also note that you want to keep your power for the 20m reasonably steady - you want to exhaust yourself as much as possible through a steady 20m effort.
LTHR is going to be roughly equal to your AHR for the 20m interval in the structured test, or around 161 bpm. That said, 161 may be off a little depending on your warm-up before the 20m interval. Again, though, HR is ancillary if you're training with Power - Power should dictate your workout intensitites, and HR is a useful value for evaluating your fatigue or training progress over time.
Hope this helps! Reach out if I left anything unanswered, or if my abbreviations are cryptic.
Best!
R
1. Repeat-ability and comparing apples to apples. You COULD use an FTP estimate based on your existing 20 minute TT but then if you retest later in the season using the recommended 5/10/20 test, you won't really know how much of a delta will be due to differing testing protocols.
2. If you retest using 5/10/20 now, then you will likely benefit from a small "I know how to test better" improvement on any subsequent test. There is a learning curve on pacing, RPE, internal motivation when doing these tests.
3. If you are going to talk around the HAUS about testing, most everyone else will be speaking in terms of the 5/10/20. It helps when discussing/questioning peeps to be talking in the same context.
Retest or not, good luck with your training! Get after it.
What those guys said...
Try this as well... http://members.endurancenation.us/T...fault.aspx