Middle age ftp test 😞

andystow wrote:

I'm 53, and gained most of my cycling fitness after age 43. I've never done an FTP test nor used a power meter, but based on occasionally asking the guy next to me what his meter says, I can sustain over 200 W for a long time, at under 75 kg.

I'm 55 and gained most of my cycling fitness after the age of 42.  I've also never done an FTP test nor used a power meter, and I weigh under 70kg (I'm not that thin, I'm that short) but I haven't for a guy next to me to check with 

I may borrow one sometime and do a 20 minute test. Quite a lot of my friends have power meters on at least one bike, and a few of them are close enough to my size.

There is a place where I could do an FTP test indoors on a trainer, but I really have no desire to subject myself to that.

If you know anyone with Zwift or other indoor training programmes, they all have FTP tests on them so you wouldn't have to subject yourself to a gym test (I agree, my idea of hell). The trouble with outdoor testing is that you  really need a long, long stretch of road (10kms+) where you know you can ride solidly for twenty minutes without having to stop for cars, lights or anything else (maybe you do in your wide open spaces) and also need to be able to output really consistent and accurate power numbers. On a static trainer the machine ups the resistance for you so all you have to focus on is going as hard as you can for as long as you can.

Rendel Harris wrote:

The trouble with outdoor testing is that you  really need a long, long stretch of road (10kms+) where you know you can ride solidly for twenty minutes without having to stop for cars, lights or anything else (maybe you do in your wide open spaces)

Zwift still sounds like hell to me.

We have an incredible number of long, straight roads with no traffic to choose from here. Just choosing one at random. Over ten miles, one stop sign with plenty of visibility to just cruise across the low-traffic road (as long as the corn isn't high.)

andystow wrote:

Zwift still sounds like hell to me.

Well I was inspired by this discussion to try a 20 minute FTP test on Zwift yesterday and found to my surprise that according to it I'm not the 195-er I thought I was but a 255-er. Not sure I believe this (for an hour I reckon 215 would be nearer my max) but a nice ego boost...but yes, it was hell on stilts.

With the info on that other article about Strava wattage accuracy, if you go out on your ten mile no stopping road (lucky devil!) and back the same way at your max effort whatever Strava gives you as your average wattage should be pretty close to your FTP.

What jaymack said.

I think adding 100w to your current FTP is unlikely but I'd ask why you're so bothered about an arbitary number - this is not your job, it's meant to be a hobby.

Tracking improvement can be motivating but equally chasing numbers can be a fool's errand or even counterproductive and get you down.

At 45 you're still likely to be able to respond well to training stimulus but your lung function is only going to gradually reduce. You should also think about strength training (weights) to help counter the other effects of ageing such as loss of muscle mass and bone density and yoga or other flexibility work.