Surely when you go out with the weekend group you hear comments that they are close to their FTP or that they have “gone overboard” in raising their FTP. But what is FTP and what can it be used for? Is it so important for the cyclist's performance with a power meter?

First of all, For there to be FTP you must have a potentiometer, be for road, BTT o CX.

Once we have the potentiometer and we have “played” with it, we must perform the FTP or UPF test, in order to determine our starting point in terms of validation and verification of our performance.

It will be a very accurate measurement of the cyclist's performance, with very high precision.

That being said, Let's explain what the FTP Test is and physiologically what happens in our body.

The definition of FTP or UPF would be the maximum average power that a subject can maintain during one hour of continuous effort..

As we know in the scientific literature, our work at the anaerobic threshold, at best, Different cases are described where the athlete maintains his performance without ceasing for an hour straight., that in this case, as we have said, it would be our FTP.

This anaerobic threshold that I already talked about in previous articles, is determined physiologically by our lactate concentration (approximately 4 mmol/l.) With concentrations higher than this value, We cannot sustain the exercise for as long as an hour at a time., and in lower concentrations, we can last much longer at that intensity, therefore, Our Maximum Lactate in Steady State (MLEE) could be directly related to our FTP in cyclist preparation concepts with a potentiometer.

It's more, according to the authors Coggan and Allen who were the pioneers at the time, The FTP is the maximum intensity that a cyclist can sustain for 60', the same that would correspond to the intensity of the MLEE, which would be between 55 and 72' according to Pallarés.

The protocol to obtain this FTP varies according to the scientific literature., but in most cases the test is reduced to just 20', since psychologically an hour straight at that intensity is very hard for the athlete.

Once we obtain the average watt value of these 20', a correction factor is applied, subtracting one 5% to that average value and from here we obtain our FTP.

If it is true, you will wonder, Does this UPF or FTP vary a lot during the season? How often should I perform an FTP test?

The FTP will vary greatly depending on the level of experience, trainability and level of the athlete. That's easy: an athlete who has just started training, Your FTP will change a lot as the season progresses and the training load increases or intensifies..

Instead, in experienced athletes, the changes that can be made at the FTP level are few during the season. Yes, better values ​​can be obtained by making changes in the planning (more intensity or greater volume, or more strength work...) but its variations will be different from a cyclist who has just started his training process.

It is evident then, that in our periodization we must establish different moments of the season to obtain a new FTP value and therefore, evaluate the athlete's state of form.

The easy thing is to establish a first test before starting the preparatory period, after the general preparatory period, one before the competitive period (before the first main competition) and during the season score two to four tests. Always try to repeat the controls at the same points of each season, to have references in previous seasons.

It is true that when you are older, fewer controls since the variations may be insignificant. Instead, the young and inexperienced athlete, There can be big changes in your FTP during a first season of training.

With the FTP we can establish the training intensity zones, individualization of the training load for each subject.

Coggan A. y Allen H. (2006) propose the following intensity zones depending on the FTP value – 5% (as long as the test is 20')

It is evident that one's own controls must be carried out to constantly modify this FTP and be able to train with the greatest possible precision..

FTP or UPF is a form status control tool., which will allow us to constantly know how our athlete is doing and also be able to assess their FTP based on their body weight (w/kg ratio).. Where if this relationship increases the value, the athlete's performance will improve on the rise, instead, if the value is reduced by a decrease in shape or increase in body weight, surely the cyclist's performance will be worse on the slopes.