How To Improve Your Cycling FTP (Functional Threshold Power)

The concept of a “Threshold” has many nuanced forms and definitions in the world of physiology. There’s Lactate Threshold, Onsite of Blood Lactate Accumulation, Ventilatory Threshold, Critical Power, Anaerobic Threshold, Functional Threshold Power - the list goes on - and we can apply many of these terms to not only cycling, but running, swimming, any other endurance sports as well. It can all be very confusing when you’re trying to set up your own training program or understand what you’re reading or listening to, like in this podcast. My goal today is to help clear up some of the confusion around this topic and describe how I work with athletes on building and developing Functional Threshold Power.
View the show notes and links here: trainright.com/how-to-improve...

[@johnthebiker300]

Very good. I listened to the podcast and then watched it on YT

[@bikeleebike]

Great presentation. Thanks.

[@69bodytech]

Hi, Couple of questions in a training block what is your rate of increasing work? 10%? Also do you recommend cadence and if so what is it and is it based on intensive and extensive plans. Thanks

[@jnatiw]

Thanks for this great presentation! Question (regarding the discussion beginning at 8:00): If we can only hold "FTP" for 35 minutes is it really our FTP? I am under the impression that FTP is the power we are able to hold for 60 minutes? In other words, I thought FTP had a duration component attached to it intrinsically? Any help or feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

[@andeez4663]

You're right. That doesn't make sense. FTP is the wattage you can hold for 60 mins

[@wschwanen]

I agree, it's not that clear. I think what he means by FTP is the LT2 (point where you're not clearing lactate as fast as you're producing it) which can be measure in lab or via Inscyd tests (pretty accurate, surprisingly). Mine is 333 watts, but I can only hold that for 45 min. I can hold 320 watts for 60 min. Pros can hold way longer. Running marathoners can stay at or just below LT2 almost 2 hours. My experience is that you can "feel" if you're at this LT2 on a TT long climb (more than 30 min) and train to either improve its value or improve the TTE at this wattage.

[@peterlip8]

Agree, I was yelling at my phone everytime he talked about having different FTPs for different durations. ​ @wschwanen , you're 100% correct that he should've substituted LT2 for FTP for some of those references. When talking about training plans, the FTP he used there to calculate each effort, he used the commonly accepted "what I can hold for an hour" FTP. So I found that annoyting that he initially redefined FTP to different values for different durations, but reverted to the traditional use of FTP when talking about training plans.

[@neoneherefrom5836]

@@peterlip8yelling at your phone huh ok bro

[@swites]

Yeah much more beneficial to be able to repeat efforts multiple times at, or near a certain ftp, rather than just have a good one off 20min ftp score. Repeatability of efforts is what makes a good cyclist.

[@gerrysecure5874]

What a terminology bulls*t. Holding your FTP longer than one hour. The very definition of FTP is the power you can hold for an hour. So pleas don't confuse it more. You can use CP(n) which means Critical Power for n minutes. CP(60) is another name for FTP, but not Cp(30) or CP(90).