You’re back into some sort of regimen for your off-season training and have been at it for a few weeks.  You’ve used an estimate of your FTP outlined in Part 1, but it’s time to establish an actual baseline FTP with a proper test.  FTP is the maximal average watts you can hold for a solid hour of pedaling. 

There are several different ways to test your FTP.  The key is to pick a testing protocol that is consistently repeatable and minimally influenced by outside factors.  Let’s face it, few of us have the financial means or the time to be tested in a lab.  The test can be run inside on your trainer, or you can pick the same stretch of road outdoors.  Clearly, you will need no impediments (stoplights, stop signs, too many turns in the road, etc.) which can skew the test.  Also, downhill stretches will skew the test down as well.  If you live in an early with long, sustained climbs like here in Boulder, then testing up a climb with moderate grades (2-6% most of the way) is ideal.  Ultimately, you want to find a way to allow yourself to get into a solid rhythm which promotes steady output. 

For the actual test, while you could ride an hour as hard as possible and use that for your FTP, it’s not a realistic and repeatable test.  It’s mentally too taxing, it’s difficult to do the test outdoors logistically and in completing the test solo you’re not going to push yourself as hard as you would in, say, a 40k TT.  There are two protocols which tend to be used.  The first is the “gold standard” that most coaches default to – 20min and then multiply your average watts by 0.95 to arrive at your FTP.  The second test is a 30-minute effort and then taking the average watts at face value as your FTP. 

After testing many athletes and going through countless FTP tests myself, here’s my take on it.  Either shorten the 20min test to 15min and still multiply by 0.95, or complete the 30min test.  Riding longer seems to make more sense and allow for a more accurate test result because you have to avoid starting out too fast and really focus on settling in to a sustainable effort.  On the flip side, shortening the 20min test by 5min allows for a more maximal effort that then needs to be handicapped by 5%.  My experience is that 20min is more of a “no man’s land” duration – too long for a true maximal effort but too short to allow for settling in.  My 2 cents. 

Whichever way you decide to go about it, make sure you decide on a protocol that you can get excited to replicate over time so that you are comparing apples-to-apples one test to the next.  Also, frequency of testing – every 6-8 weeks is good enough.  Training zones are minimally impacted by a handful of watts, so no need to test every month.  Lastly, conduct the test at either the very end of a recovery week or the very beginning of a training cycle after a recovery week.  This ensures you are rested both mentally and physically, and ready to give the test the effort it requires. 

Happy Training, 
Coach Nate

You’ve finished your racing season and have taken a well-deserved break from regimented training.  Hopefully you’ve taken at least 2 weeks completely off from any working out and allowed yourself to be lazy.  Then, hopefully you’ve spent at least another 2 weeks just getting moving again in something besides your primary sport of focus.  If you’re a cyclist, then maybe you’re doing some running or swimming or hiking, for example.  This is also a great time to reintroduce some light strength training to get the body used to the rigors of the gym once again. 

If you train with power on the bike, a challenging point is in determining where to set your FTP when you do start training regularly on the bike again.  In-season FTP will not be a good measuring stick because your fitness at the beginning of the off-season is nowhere near what it is at the height of racing.  Certainly, you could perform an FTP test “out of the gate”, but when moderately out of shape, the test becomes both mentally and physically distasteful, and the results can be a bit skewed.   

So, what’s an athlete to do? 

Here’s a simple way to establish a baseline FTP that will be close enough to get you training at the right intensities for your various zones.  Take your weight in pounds (1kg = 2.2lbs) and double it.  If you weigh 150lbs, then it is 150 x 2 = 300.  If you are over 35 years old, subtract 0.5% from this number for every year above 35.  So, if you’re 45, you subtract 5% from 300, which equals 285.  This is your ballpark FTP. 

Remember, training zones are “zones” for a reason.  There are no absolutes in terms of an ideal or best percentage at which to train a specific energy system.  So, if the above estimate is off by 10-20 watts – in either direction – the effect it will have on your training zones is minimal.  My suggestion is to start with the above formula, use it for the first 4-8 weeks of your off-season training, and then complete an actual FTP test.   

By giving yourself a few weeks of buffer from your final race to no training to unstructured training to beginning preparation for next season, you will allow yourself to better ease into your regimen with little to no downside in your actual preparation.  And, you're removing any initial pressures about either conducting a stress test in which you're really not ready to perform, or puzzling over how to establish some preliminary training zones on the bike. 

Happy Training, 
Coach Nate

For some of us, the racing season has concluded.  For others, it is about to conclude.  And for still others, it will conclude in another couple months.  In any case, a lot of us probably have one eye turned toward 2016 already.  As we reward ourselves with some down time in the off-season, we also need to start preparing for next year. 

“Off-season” is the accepted terminology, yet it’s not my favorite description of the time spent between racing seasons.  To me, the off-season is that short period of time after an athlete’s final race when he/she pulls the ripcord and takes a few weeks of down time.  “Preparation” might be a better catch-all term, because once we start training again, it’s all geared toward preparing for the following racing season, right? 

After many months of racing, the body and mind are ready for a break.  We’ve put ourselves through a lot of mental, physical and emotional stress, so spending a few weeks disconnecting from the rigors of training is a necessary step to recharge the batteries.  No training allowed.  Sleep more, be lazy, complete some overdue projects around the house.  If you feel the need to “move” then pick something that is out of your ordinary routine; for example, a hike.  The whole point is to get away from daily structure and rules and limitations.  Be freer! 

This time away from training is also a great opportunity to review your 2015 plan – What worked well?  What kinda worked?  What didn’t work at all? What have you learned over the past months that you want to incorporate into your 2016 training and how will you do it?  What are your high-level goals for next year and how will those impact your training?  This is arguably my favorite time of the year because I get to wipe the slate clean and start building my master plan from scratch. 

You want to be champing at the bit to start your training again.  Don’t force it.  If you’re forcing it, your mind is telling you that your body’s not ready yet.  Better to extend the down time an extra couple weeks and allow yourself to be in the right frame of mind.  Remember, you can do things not associated with your primary sport -- if you want to.  For example, try some yoga to work out some kinks in the body, or re-familiarize yourself with the weight room.  Especially as we get older and into our Masters racing years, strength training takes on a more important role in our training regimen.  But, once you do start working out again, spend the first 2-4 weeks gradually ramping things up again.  Increase workout frequency first, then worry about duration and lastly worry about intensity.  Especially as we get older and into our Masters years, strength training takes on a more important role in our training regimen.  

Lastly, the more time we have between the end of our 2015 racing season and the beginning of the 2016 season, the more careful we need to be.  There’s a difference between being strong in January and being race ready.  We want to avoid being race ready during the period of the year with the least amount of daylight.  Use the extra prep time to really work on your aerobic engine.  Becoming more efficient at L2 (or Zone 2) will serve you well and is foundational to going faster for longer in your races. I'm not suggesting you only focus on LSD (long, slow distance) training. Some intensity is important year-round, but a smaller percentage of it should be allocated during the winter months than in the Spring.

Before you know it, we will be into 2016 and our first races will be right around the corner.  Ideal preparation begins with honoring all of your hard work this year before you start cracking the whip again as you prepare for next year. 

Happy Training, 
Coach Nate