The Battle of FTP Tests
No one likes doing the FTP test.
I retested my FTP last week but decided to try the ramp test instead of the typical twenty minute test. Ever since Zwift released their version of a ramp test I’ve been interested in testing that way.
I wrote extensively about the typical 20-minute FTP test and I know I’m preaching to the choir when I say FTP tests suck. When I tested back in October, I didn’t hit the numbers I wanted to and I knew there had to be a less shitty way to see where I was at.
I knew it was just a number but I let that number represent much more. It meant the difference between stating a Cat 3 or upgrading to a Cat 2. It meant sprinting past my competitors or then dropping me.
I thought by watching the women’s World Champion Road Race it’d give me more power. It didn’t.
When this FTP test rolled up, I wanted to try something else. TrainerRoad always touted their Ramp Test.
They thought the traditional 20-minute test was unnecessarily hard on the body and took too long. They developed the Ramp Test after realizing most cyclists failed the typical test and hated it.
The Ramp Test starts off easy and increases by 20 watts every minute until you can no longer hold the power. When you’re toast, you stop pedaling and it calculates your best one-minute power. Then they take 25% of that number to determine your FTP.
I gave it a shot. I did a separate 30-minute warm-up and then jumped into the test. It didn’t last very long. There was a 5-minute warm-up and with every passing minute, the watts increased by 20. I made it to 300 watts before calling it quits. The test took 16 minutes total and my resulting FTP was 208. Four watts higher than for weeks previous, it wasn’t anything noteworthy. My highest FTP has been 211 so I’m still around the same number. The plan is to continually improve it.
The most important aspect to consider is how the ramp test works for different racers. Your best one-minute power will be much different than your 20-minute power. And if you’re a time trial specialist, maybe you would rather stick to the 20-minute FTP test since it’s pretty much a time trial in and of itself.
On the other hand, the number that results from either test is what’s used to train with. You develop workouts based on your weaknesses and race demands. That number is the guiding force but can be changed.
If you can’t complete workouts because your FTP is too high, then lower it by a few percentage points. Alternatively, if you’re workouts end up being too easy then you may need to increase your FTP by a few percentages.
It’s also important to remain consistent with your chosen test. Now that I’ve made the switch to the ramp test and liked it more than the 20-minute test, I’ll stick with the ramp test. If I keep switching between tests, I won’t get a consistent number. I won’t know if I’m improving.
I look forward to my workouts, even the teeth-clenching ones but I’ve never looked forward to the 20-minute FTP test. With the ramp test, I can get it over with in fifteen minutes and move on.
