FTP testing......I hate it....so......

"What you can measure, you can improve."

I'm not being snarky.  It's more of a question as to why you are testing?  If YOU want to see your improvement (or set a benchmark), do the test.

Maybe more like that will help.

I know I need to do the test.......no point in having a powermeter otherwise.

Like I said........I need you to tell me to suck it up, or come up here and kick my azz or something!!

Nobody has any comments about 2 x 8 minutes?

Do it Helen!

Humbling as it may be now, you will be excited to see gains you make like you did last summer.

Don't change protocol as it screws up any comparisons.

Don't over think it, just suffer and get 'er done.

I'm not a fan of either "the 20 minute" or "2x8" tests. If you don't do them regularly they have poor repeatability because there's a "training effect" (that is, you can, by practice, improve your times even without real gains in fitness). The best kind of FTP estimator is one that you can do consistently. OTOH, if you're coming back from an injury and simply want a place to set training targets, the need for a precise estimate of FTP is less than if you're in the middle of racing season build-up and you're trying to measure small changes in fitness. So, if you've been off the bike for a while and are trying to ease back in, I don't think you really need to suck it up. All you need is a ballpark estimate. There are lots of ways to get that.

http://soundcloud.com/velobeats/velobeats-jens-pre-race-pump

This ^^^, head phones, cranked, listen to the "king of suffering" himself, find that place in your mind that somewhere between hate and anger, focus on "more", 5 minutes more, 2 minutes more, 1 minute more, 10 seconds more.  MORE!

YOU!

CAN!

DO!

IT!

I've done the 20, 2x20 (2), and most recently the 2x8' carmichael version.  They all suck    

While not a perfect comparison, the 2x8' is kind of like the 5k, it hurts like a SOB but is over fairly quickly.   The 2x20 is kind like a half mary - it still hurts plenty just a longer drawn out type of hurt.  

For what its worth - I did both a 2x20 and a 2x8 test fairly close to each other and both resulted in nearly identical FTP #'s so I think both are fine - it's really just personal preference. 

What I like about the 2x8 test is that it's much easier to find a stretch of road where you can ride for 8' without hitting stop signs or stop lights.  Much tougher to find a clean stretch of road for 20'...at least for me.

And of course whatever test you use has to be compared to real life results for fine tuning...

Unless your goal race is an Olympic tri or a 40k TT, then I think FTP testing is a little over rated.

I haven't done an FTP test in over a year...yet all my solo bike workouts are power based.  If I finish my set of 5 minute intervals without feeling like I need to puke...I don't need to do another FTP test to tell me that I'm getting stronger and I need to up my wattage goals for those intervals the next time.

IOW...do your power based workouts...and adjust accordingly based on how you feel afterwards.  Essentially, every power workout is a test of your fitness.  There isn't really anything "magical" about a FTP test other than it's a good predictor of what you can hold for an hour.  Thus my reference to a 40k TT or an Oly tri...where the bike legs are very close to 1 hour for some people.

AdventureBear is spot on, they are all estimates of sorts.

What I do is I use the 2 x 8' or rather 2 x 3 mile with 10' recovery version the first time I test an athlete because it's easier to digest.  Here is the thing that most athletes refuse to do but will help them out the most.  DO NOT LOOK AT THE PM DURING THE TEST.  It's easily said, but hard to do.  You will always be chasing a number.  Instead, just have the time displaying, that's it. 

Look at the data afterwards.  Then you have a starting point.

Turn it up really loud, and when you can't hear the music anymore, when all you can hear is your ragged breath and the pounding of your heart.  That's when you know you're alive.

Get on that bike, Sister.

If you just need a starting point, take a guess. You can probably come fairly close just from what you know about yourself and that's good enough to start doing "yummy intervals" with. If they seem too easy, bump it up a bit for the next round, and vice versa. Your power will change quicker in the early phases of getting started again anyway. After you've got some work into your legs again, there's time enough then to test for more accurate numbers.

If you want the numbers now for comparison later then SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP !!!

Very glad to hear    Primarily because I think the 20' tests truly suck, and I dread doing them, and also train with power.  As above, I've done several 2 x 20 and 4 x 10 sets this season, based loosely on last year's numbers, and I know when I need to crank it up (and the numbers this year are higher than last)

the 20min test is easier than the 2x8min, as the intensity is lower.  However- it's more difficult to pace yourself over 20min. 

but - i'm more of an endurance guy. 

I'm pretty similar. I've never really done an FTP test, but I do hard workouts frequently. 2 x 20 weekly, and some other challenging things. I do set an FTP in the logs to help determine things like TSS and have some sort of guidance on what to do for the workouts. But really, I just adjust things based off of both RPE, HR and knowing how rested (or more likely, not rested) I was going into these harder sections. I'm continually gaining power in a variety of efforts, which is really the whole point in the first place.

X2.

I just read Coggan's book over the weekend, and spent some time looking at my data and trying to compare it.  I did a 2X20 FTP test on 3-8-12, and since then I have done several hard workouts.  When I drop ALL of the hard workouts into WKO and look a the power distribution graph (drop the interval to 10 watts), it clearly showed a dropoff at the FTP point that the 2X20 FTP test indicated.  The power distribution chart is one of the 5 ways listed to estimate your FTP, thought Coggan's does seem to recommend the FTP test, at least to get started. 

Thanks all for the replies.    

Interesting to note that some of you are not slaves to the magical FTP #. I always assumed that anyone who trained with power WOULD be an absolute slave to regular FTP tests and the subsequent info that resulted.

Last year , when I was rebuilding my fitness after surgery number one, I started out with a ludicrous and pathetic number. We based my zones on this, but it really did not take very long to realize that my fitness was improving quickly, based on my ability to generate way more power than what the original zones indicated.

So yeah........I suppose I used the initial test as a rough guide and then kept adjusting the numbers afterwards.

And now?

All I really want is to get faster. That's it. Plain and simple.

My inability to run means that I am no longer a triathlete, but a pure cyclist now. This year I will pursue success at several century events : and I am going to define success by my ability to remain "strong" throughout the length of the rides. So not racing per se, but racing against myself I suppose.

If I get the courage up, I may start doing the local TT's as well.......if only for an excuse to ride my P2 once in a while!