What is your FTP?

[ian in lancs]

I'm trying to understand my FTP relative to other cyclists. I see pro's are north of 400 Watts According to Strava mine is 162. I'm 61 have a VO2 of 45 and weigh 87kgs. How does that compare? What would be a reasonable FTP to aim for and what's the quickest way there? Leg presses?!

Edited by ian in lancs on Tuesday 5th May 13:50

[Usget]

ian in lancs said:

How does that compare

Well, you're more powerful than some people, and slower than others. The only sensible person to compare against is yourself. Obviously that doesn't stop us from comparing against our mates, I know that, but it doesn't mean it's of any value. I know a bunch of people that I'm stronger than, and another bunch who are a lot stronger than me.

ian in lancs said:

What would be a reasonable FTP to aim for

Depends entirely on how well trained you are at the moment, and also depends what you consider reasonable. Do you want to win races, keep up with the fast group on a club run, climb lots of hills? If you just want to have some enjoyable rides, FTP is almost irrelevant tbh.

However, let's say that you're target-driven and want to put a number on it - how about targetting a 25% improvement through structured training? That would take you to 2.3W/kg which would be enough to do some club rides (when we're allowed to do that sort of thing again).

ian in lancs said:

and what's the quickest way there? Leg presses?!

Structured training including substantial blocks at, just under, or just over your FTP. You're basically teaching your body to be more comfortable at a given output. Turbo trainers are your friend here.

[MarcelM6]

This is a right can of worms.

Look on the TrainerRoad forums, Slowtwitch and others for lengthy debates. Also, unless you are using a power meter Strava estimates your average ftp so likely a huuuge variance between this and your real ftp based on one of the many ftp tests that can be done.

Watt/kg probably a better measure

Pros generally above 5w/kg
Good amateurs between 4& 5w/kg
Casual cyclists somewhere below that

I use it for structured training plans on a turbo, to ensure that the effort being set is appropriate for my fitness so that I don't over or under train. Other than that it's a bit of a vanity number and shouldn't detract from your joy of cycling.

[ian in lancs]

MarcelM6 said:

This is a right can of worms.

Look on the TrainerRoad forums, Slowtwitch and others for lengthy debates. Also, unless you are using a power meter Strava estimates your average ftp so likely a huuuge variance between this and your real ftp based on one of the many ftp tests that can be done.

Watt/kg probably a better measure

Pros generally above 5w/kg
Good amateurs between 4& 5w/kg
Casual cyclists somewhere below that

I use it for structured training plans on a turbo, to ensure that the effort being set is appropriate for my fitness so that I don't over or under train. Other than that it's a bit of a vanity number and shouldn't detract from your joy of cycling.

Hmm! 4W/Kg puts me well over 300W, double where I am now. Tall order methinks! Better to be happy with my lot!

[MarcelM6]

For comparison, I looked at what Strava says my avg is - 208W, but I know from Trainerroad testing that my FTP is 242. The latter is far more accurate as it's done on a powermeter following a test protocol.

[lauda]

Strava power estimates seem way off for me too. I can do an hour or so of hard riding on the road and it will estimate power of about 200-odd watts. When I ride an equivalent effort on my Wattbike, that will record something like 250-260 watts.

[Marcellus]

ian in lancs said:

........................... what's the quickest way there? Leg presses?!

Do you pedal with both legs?

When I started looking at increasing my Power I was regularly turning in an FTP of about 120 in all the tests, on the road, on a turbo, on a wattbike, in a gym which seemed really low compared to how I actually rode on the road.

Then we started looking at my leg balance 30:70 (L:R).

In isolated leg tests my legs were equally strong but I had a habit of pedalling with my right leg, fixed that and the wattage went skywards very quickly!

After that it's a mixture of cadence and power work in some sort of structured programme, nothing improves watts other than pure hard work and time in the saddle, but it has to be productive time not just going out for a gentle ride.

[Kawasicki]

I’m 45, skinny (64-67kg) and have an FTP that varies between 220 and 260 watts.

To get a higher FTP, you usually need to improve your aerobic fitness, not your peak strength.

If your just starting out, just ride your bike, don’t get hung up on numbers.

[Dannbodge]

5 sec - 1076w - 15.7w/kg
1 min - 501w - 7.3w/kg
5 min - 321w - 4.7w/kg
FTP - 274w - 4.0w/kg

30 y/o
68.5kg

FTP doesn't paint the entire picture though.
I'd much rather have a decent 5 min and lower FTP as your 5min is the ceiling for your FTP improvement.

Edited by Dannbodge on Wednesday 6th May 07:42

[oddball1313]

Same as most others it would seem, Strava put me on Sunday at 170 watts for a 45 mile ride (81 kg, 1500ft climbing, 19mph average)
Zwift using a Tacx flux adds 30-40 watts into this and averages me out around 205w.
It would be nice to have a bigger number and if I focused purely on that I guess I could improve it but my reason for cycling isn’t to win races, as long as I get a little bit quicker and can cycle a bit further then for me my FTP is simply ‘it is what it is’

[z4RRSchris]

cant remember the last time i did an effort longer than 3 mins, but the below is off that strava power curve.

33 / cat 2
73kg ish
5s - 1375w (18.8wkg)
30s - 940w (12.9wkg)
1min - 738w (10.1wkg)
5 min - 380w (5.2wkg)
20 min -331w (4.5wkg)

[IrateNinja]

As with anything, it all depends what model / analysis you look at it with. Strava have their way of estimating it, my numbers based on Sufferfests ramp test the other day are:
83kg-ish
474w - 5min
369w - 20min

WKO5 suggests (no idea how it works really, but takes all the power data from rides I've done).
454w
372w

So it's in that ball park.

[Matt_N]

Not as fit at this point of the year compared to last as I was mid way through the TT season last year, I peaked in the summer and recorded:

293w
74kg
3.95w/kg
37yrs

So very close to the 4w/kg barrier.

I did a hill climb last Sep and did 339w for 7 mins so 5 min power was around that.

I did one TT in late March and recorded 262w and am 2-3kf heavier than my lowest last year

I was commuting 5 days a week until lockdown and haven’t done nearly as many miles so fitness has dropped off a bit (-7% according to Strava).

Edited by Matt_N on Wednesday 6th May 08:06

[lufbramatt]

Lockdown and working from home has meant I've had 5 months of really consistent training with no breaks for illness.... my TrainerRoad ftp is set at 330w. I don't think the TR ramp test gives me a reliable estimation (too high) as it only really tests your 3-5min power, which I tend to be ok at (former 1500m track runner) so I manually alter it down a bit to get the training zones in the right ballpark. I'm 35 years old and 76kg so 4.3w/kg.

Best way to increase it? Do more cycling. Do longer rides. Do some hard efforts. Maybe add some structure with intervals or hill sessions. Decent diet and good sleep helps. There's no magic bullet.

Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 5th May 21:58

[Akz]

Can't be arsed to do a proper test but probably 320-350ish. 68-70kg.

[Exige46]

Might be worth questioning what you want to get out of cycling, and then whether targeting FTP is useful for your purposes rather than targeting some other aspect of your cycling. Everybody is different, has different physiology and therefore different strengths and weaknesses. If you want to race and your local terrain is primarily flat, as long as you can go with the surges your FTP is pretty much irrelevant. If you just want to ride as fast as you can for the hour you have available every day, then FTP is relevant. Horses for courses. Obviously as you age your power, in particular your short duration power, is going to decrease.

For what its worth, my FTP is just over 300, I weigh 62kgs and consider myself well trained. I'm never going to win a time trial as I don't have the outright power on the flat. I will never win a sprint because my sprint is absolute crap - never been over 1000 watts. Even short sharp climbs of < 1 minute or so I don't have the power to weight, but give me a 20 minute climb and I can ride people off my wheel. I know and race with people whose max power is 40-50% higher than mine but their FTP is lower.

[Dannbodge]

z4RRSchris said:

cant remember the last time i did an effort longer than 3 mins, but the below is off that strava power curve.

33 / cat 2
73kg ish
5s - 1375w (18.8wkg)
30s - 940w (12.9wkg)
1min - 738w (10.1wkg)
5 min - 380w (5.2wkg)
20 min -331w (4.5wkg)

Bloody hell. If I had your 1 and 5 min powers I'd be smashing all the local KOMs

[Wilmslowboy]

Too many top trump figs being posted, therefore to make the OP feel better:-

168 FTP (measured on my Watt bike Atom) - 86 kg (2 watts per kg)
Best I've ever been
208 (measured on a watt bike) - 78 kg (2.6 watts per kg)

Most of my times are around 40% to high to make the top 10 of the local KOM times, but at my best I can keep up with the club rides, haul my ass up 20% climbs and enjoy myself.

[Akz]

Exige46 said:

I will never win a sprint because my sprint is absolute crap - never been over 1000 watts. Even short sharp climbs of < 1 minute or so I don't have the power to weight, but give me a 20 minute climb and I can ride people off my wheel. I know and race with people whose max power is 40-50% higher than mine but their FTP is lower.

I'm very similar. Can hit just over 900w if I'm lucky but never seen over 1000w. I hate sprinting and accelerations

Alas, maybe if I did some proper training I'd make it acceptable but I don't race so don't have a whole lot of incentive.

[Kawasicki]

Wilmslowboy said:

Too many top trump figs being posted, therefore to make the OP feel better:-

168 FTP (measured on my Watt bike Atom) - 86 kg (2 watts per kg)
Best I've ever been
208 (measured on a watt bike) - 78 kg (2.6 watts per kg)

Most of my times are around 40% to high to make the top 10 of the local KOM times, but at my best I can keep up with the club rides, haul my ass up 20% climbs and enjoy myself.

I think the “enjoy myself” is the key.

Nice of you to post up your numbers. I was reading the numbers from other users and starting to think they were not representative of the general cycling population.

One reason I love Strava... it has answered some questions that have been bugging me since I was a kid. I’m pretty competitive, I don’t like being beaten. I get beaten though, a lot. It always confused me, until I started following people who beat me and who I beat on Strava. The mystery was solved very quickly. The people who beat me do more, the people I beat do less... broadly speaking.

So, I now take a little bit more realistic approach... and enjoy the whole thing more.