How do you test your FTP ?

coggan

I use the power I hit routinely in long intervals (usually 20' ones done as 2 x 20' and I round the average down slightly).  Occasionally, I may check it against results from Critical Power testing (typically using 20' and 5' all-out intervals). 

I cut a broom stick in half, put one end on the ground, the other end on my forehead, and spin around for 2 minutes.  My FTP is the number of seconds I can stay on my feet after the test.  

We are currently doing % of 20 minutes all out.  That will change with the weather.

I wasn't in the room for the testing but I know there were some all-out efforts involved before the 20 minute test.

Trainer Road 2 x 20 protocol. (They have a few other ones in there.) 

It's a three 3-5' increasing subthreshold efforts, followed by 2 twenty minute all-out efforts separated by 2 minutes. 

I think the FTP is then 95% of your average 2 x 20 interval power.

I've done the 8' Carmichael tests as well (forgot the % of that power to calc FTP), but it was really close to my 2 x 20, albeit a hair better. You obviously hit higher power on the 8' test than the 2 x 20s so the %power to get FTP is lower.

Has anybody tried the Rubber Glove protocol before?  I know those of us doing the Tour are going to get to at least try it, but I wondered if anyone has compared that to other tests yet.

My coach's standard protocol:

5 min easy w/u

3 x 1 minute spinups with 1 min rest

3 x 1 minute high cadence with 1 min rest

5 min easy

5 min around zone 3

10 min rest

20 min all out, break up into zone 3 about 6 min, zone 4 from 6-13 min, zone 5 13-20 min, with adding resistance the last 3 minutes.

Makes me want to puke just thinking about it. Luckily I don't have to do it again till March.

I use Jorge's power test on Trainer Road.  5' all out and then a 20' test.

I see it as option 2, 20' test and take a %. Everything before the test is just to get you ready to go for it. A solid warm-up. There is no blowout or second data point in there. Since it's only a single point, I don't see the specifics of what goes on beforehand in the warm-up as being too significant so long as they get you ready to really go after it in the test portion. That said, different people do like different things for that warm-up, so it would be in one's best interest to figure out what does work well and keep using it.

Painfully.

But you didn't offer that as an option

So I have to go with the separate 20 and 5 test and plug into the calc

Yeah I guess it works if you keep doing a test consistently, but it seems like the Coggan test would be a more accurate/trusted method, since it has that 5 minute effort to take the freshness out.

The TR 20 minute test looks like an easier version of the Coggan test.  

However I guess I'll see how close the numbers are soon enough.

I use Rubber Glove in conjunction with a 5' all-out test that I typically do two days before.  I like Rubber Glove's warm-up profile and it really helps to have others suffering along with me.

I've tried several different ways over the years.

20' with a percentage of that (without the 5' blowout)
5' and 20' as seperate tests to get CP.
1 hour TT
22-30' TT's and take a rough percentage off that

I don't test FTP specifically that often.  Usually I just do a lot of 5x5' intervals or something like 2-3x25' of a hard hill climb to judge my fitness level.  

marcag - I checked.  My son did 5' then 2' easy, then 20'.  My daughter, 13, did 5' then 2' easy, then 10' because they only race 6 miles in the Youth Elite series....FTP was measured at 95% of avg. power for the long duration of each.