Subject: RE: Cycling program v4.0 2011-2012Blueraider_Mike - 2011-10-31 1:00 PM So are we using FTP or CP to determine our paces? Might be helpful for some of us new to the power world to assist educating us...me specifically! For this cycling plan we use Critical Power. What's the difference vs FTP? Simply, CP is your estimate of your 60 minute power using Monod's Critical Power model. FTP on the other hand is what A. Coggan referred to the power an athlete can sustain during a maximal effort (around 60 min or 40K time trial ). In order to know your FTP you have to do an all out 40K TT; the rest of the popular ways to estimate FTP like 95% of a 20 min max test, or any others are just that; estimates. That is similar as CP which is an estimate based on a short tests, longer than 3 min and shorter than 30 min, but in my experience more accurate. The reason why I use is CP is because there is a big body of literature reviewing and validating its applicability. Philip Skiba does a great job at explaining the different 'thresholds' here. The take away, you can use CP or FTP interchangeably, it is not a big deal as long as you understand the difference. To be precise when chatting with athletes, I explain the difference for them to understand that CP while rather accurate, is just an estimate for 60 min max power. What's cool about CP (or critical speed) is that it relates with other physiological process, hence knowing your CP can allow you to model programs, predict performance and track other stuff. |