Functional Threshold Power Test
1) Alan Ginsberg, one of the most important Beat Generation writers, started undressing during a poetry reading. His authenticity challenged by a heckler, Ginsburg invited him to do the same. “The poet always stands naked before the world,” he exclaimed! Unwilling to go to that extreme, the heckler eventually leaves. The willingness to bare your soul. To go all out. That is COURAGE! That is STRONG!
2) I won’t compare riding a stationary bike for twenty minutes with undressing in front of strangers, there is a strange parallel when considering the “why.” Most indoor cycling challenges are measured in seconds. “Bet you can’t do XYZ?” says the instructor. And thirty seconds later it’s over. So why are we pedaling for 20 minutes?
3) Functional Threshold Power (or FTP), is described as the highest average power (in watts) one can maintain for one hour.
The professionals ride for an hour, most agree taking your 20 or 8-minute FTP, and using the conversion factor (95% and 90% respectively), gets us mortals close enough.
FTP = Average Watts (after 20 minutes) * .95. — Use this page to let technology do the calculation.
This table shows the pros and cons of different FTP tests.
4) Why care about FTP?
You can track your fitness over time. Repeat the test every 6 to 8 weeks and see where you are.
Determine whether a training plan is working. Yeah, you go to the gym, but is it effective?
Allows for greater specificity with intervals. 30-second interval? How hard should you go? Your FTP informs the effort.
What is Power-to-Weight Ratio (and Why Does it Matter)? TrainerRoad
What is Power-to-Weight Ratio (and Why Does it Matter)? TrainerRoad
5) Once you’ve calculated your FTP, find your Power-to-weight ratio. In cycling, your strength as a rider is correlated with your weight. In layman's terms, a 200-pound rider and a 150-pound rider both have an FTP of 200; the lighter rider is stronger. Power to weight is measured in kilograms. See this TrainerRoad page to eliminate the need for math in finding your ratio.
6) Power-to-weight is vital for intense efforts like climbs or sprints. On a flat and especially downhill, added mass doesn’t hurt. But uphill, extra weight means more for gravity to pull on. Thus, more watts are needed to maintain your forward progress. Indoor cycling fails miserably at simulating climbs. Displaying power-to-weight, not watts, would be the truest way to identify the strongest rider.
7) This year’s Tour de France Femmes winner, Pauline Ferrand Prevot, lost nine pounds leading up to the 9 stage race. The move caused controversy among the women’s Peloton. As a youth, Prevot, one of the greatest cyclists ever, told her mother she wanted to be a boy so she could race the Tour de France. When your why goes back to childhood, sacrifice comes easy.
8) Going back to YOUR why. The post-COVID gym is an equal part communal gathering space and a fitness center. I recently became aware of coffee badging — where workers who must work in the office briefly visit before returning home. I’d argue gym-badging is on the rise too! America ranks number one in the world in fitness spending. Yet we are 143rd in actual fitness. Gym-badging anyone? What would your definition be? Drop it in the comments!
9) Completing a 20-minute FTP test definitely puts you among the elite in terms of endurance. I mean, how many folks have pedalled that long? Well, lest we forget the 105-year-old man who set the centaurian hour record at just over 14 miles. As of August, the professional hour record is just over 31 miles for women and 35 miles for men.
Chapeau to all who complete the challenge. I mean, it ain’t the Barkley Marathon. Most years, people don’t even finish that race! I promise, the twenty minutes will eventually end. That feeling in your legs is impermanent!