March 5, 2025 • 29 mins
OVERVIEW
Different cycling field tests have their pros and cons. Some are better for beginners vs. athletes with greater pacing skills. Others are more convenient and easy to fit into a training plan. And still others are more detailed and take multiple days to complete, but provide more nuanced information. Coach Adam Pulford breaks down the most relevant, high-quality field tests so you can use the best test for you. Includes consideration for the 20-minute, Ramp Test, 8-minute, critical power, and power profiling tests.
TOPICS COVERED
- What is a field test?
- The 20-Minute FTP test
- The Ramp Test
- The 2 x 8-Minute Test from CTS
- Critical Power Testing
- Power Profile Testing with WKO5
- When you should update your training intensity ranges
- The Best Test for You
ASK A QUESTION FOR A FUTURE PODCAST
LINKS/RESOURCES
- CTS Cycling Field Test
- CTS Field Test: Why Two 8-Minute Efforts Instead Of One 20-Minute Effort? - CTS
- Andy Coggan Protocol - Power Profiling: Creating Your Power Profile
- Comparing Many Field Testing Methods:
- Cycling Training Zones: A Detailed Guide — High North Performance
- WKO5 Resources: https://www.wko5.com/power-duration-science-explained
- Article: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/i-tried-every-ftp-test-to-find-out-which-is-the-most-accurate
- Training Peaks Power Terminology: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/power-terminology-for-cycling/
- Essential Guide to Cycling Training with a Power Meter - CTS
HOST
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
From the team at CTS.
This is the Time Crunch Cyclistpodcast, our show dedicated to
answering your trainingquestions and providing
actionable advice to help youimprove your performance, even
if you're strapped for time.
I'm your host, coach AdamPulford, and I'm one of the over
50 professional coaches whomake up the team at CTS.
In each episode, I draw on ourteam's collective knowledge,
(00:30):
other coaches and experts in thefield to provide you with the
practical ways to get the mostout of your training and
ultimately become the bestcyclist that you can be.
Now on to our show.
Now on to our show.
(00:51):
There are a lot of fieldtesting protocols out there, so
which one is best?
Which is the best to createtraining zones and which is the
best for a time crunched athlete?
And why are there so many fieldtests out there?
Welcome back time crunch fans.
I'm your host, coach AdamPulford.
These are great questionssubmitted by Mark A just a few
weeks ago, and I'm excited forthis episode because it's a
(01:13):
topic I've been wanting to dofor kind of a long time.
So let's just get right in withsome direct answers.
To Mark Number one yes, I agreewith you.
There are quite a few fieldtests out there for cyclists,
and it can be very confusingThus answering this on this
episode and this podcast.
Second, there are no best onesor the best one, in my opinion,
(01:41):
as each of the good ones thatare out there.
There's pros and cons to all ofthem.
Point three why are there somany tests?
Well, because there are so manyways to train tests and to get
to a similar outcome.
Remember my quote from AndyCoggin all roads lead to Rome.
Talked about that on a previouspodcast.
(02:01):
It's kind of getting to thesame point, though.
So, with that said, I've pickedout some of the most common
field tests out there, some ofwhich I use, some of which I
don't anymore, but all of whichare decent ways of arriving at
data that you can base trainingzones on and then use for
whatever different trainingmethod that you want to do out
(02:21):
there.
I'll do my best to explainthose pros and cons of each then
offer my best advice on how toapply it to your training.
First, though, let's cover thebasics.
What is a field test?
Now, here's my own definition.
I just kind of made it up basedon all my years of coaching
right, so it's a protocol or setof protocols, done, usually at
(02:43):
max effort, to determineperformance and physiological
characteristics of an athlete.
A field test usually means it'sdone not in a laboratory
setting, so it's on an athlete'sown bike out on the road, out
in the field, right, uh out onthe trails, or it's inside on
the indoor training setup.
The goal is to establish athreshold power and threshold
(03:06):
heart rate to create trainingzones and then you use that in
whatever training method orsystem you wish.
So let's talk about the varioustypes of field tests out there.
Let's start with the 20 minutetest.
Now, before I get into the 20minute test, uh, for all the
listeners out there, I am uhovercoming healing from a
(03:26):
terrible sore throat, cold slash, covid slash, flu, whatever it
was.
So please bear with me.
So I'm relying upon Ruddy, myeditor and producer here, to
make me sound as good aspossible, but as my voice is
cracking here, I am noticingthat, yeah, the remnants of the
sickness is still still there.
So please bear with me on that,okay, uh, let's talk about the
(03:49):
20 minute test.
This, this is a pretty popularfield test in North America as
well as in the literature thinktraining peaks, think Andy
Coggin.
Um, in that sort of genre.
Okay, the pros of of this 20minute test is it's excellent.
It's an excellent test forapproximating FTP and
establishing training zones.
It requires pacing and I thinkthat that's a pro because it
(04:14):
makes you pace well over time.
We'll talk about how to do ithere briefly in just a second.
But that requires a pacing.
That that's really importantfor development as a cyclist and
as an athlete, because learninghow to pace uh over 20 minutes
at maximum effort there'sthere's a lot of benefit that
goes on uh with that.
(04:35):
Additionally, that requirementof the pacing ensures a good
test and then a good dataoutcome.
So that's the pro of it.
Now the cons are it'smisunderstood.
I'm going to unpack that herein a second, and one of the cons
is it requires pacing, so youactually have to think about it
and sometimes, if you haven'tdone a 20 minute all out effort,
(04:58):
it's daunting, right, and ifyou haven't done it, you need to
do it a few times before youactually get good at it.
Okay, so before you get gooddata from it, you need to do it
a few times before you actuallyget good at it.
Okay, so before you get gooddata from it, you need to
practice it a few times.
So that could be a con as wellas a pro, like I talked about.
So how do you do it?
Well, just short bullet points,and I've got links to all of
this, by the way.
(05:18):
So if if you're looking how todo a field test or some of these
different field tests, I'velinked all of these.
So go to our landing page,check it out.
Go to the Apple podcast mainpage.
I've got links to it all there.
But here's how to do this one.
You warm up, however, you warmup Easy endurance, endurance,
couple openers.
Then you do a five minute timetrial at a nine to 10 out of 10.
(05:42):
Okay, this is the part that'smisunderstood about the 20
minute test.
Originally designed by AndyCoggin, it starts with a five
minute all out effort and that'sto blow off some of the
anaerobic power contributionthat could go into the 20 minute
.
So it's kind of pre fatiguingyou in a way to set you up for a
good 20 minute effort.
That will then be the dataneeded to determine the FTP.
(06:07):
Okay, so you warm up, you dothe five minute all out, you
take recovery, which basicallyis going to be anywhere between
10 and 15 minutes.
I usually do three minutes atzone one, so super easy,
coasting, spinning and theneight to 10 minutes at a zone
two endurance but on the low endof it.
Then I get into the 20 minutetime trial.
20 minute time trial should beevenly paced over that 20
(06:30):
minutes, kind of in that nine,going on 10 out of 10 and finish
out at 10 out of 10.
Okay, so it's a maximum effortfor full 20 minutes.
What do you do then After thefield test?
You look at the data.
You take the highest averagepower for the full 20 minutes
and multiply that by 95%.
That number that you get, thatis your FTP.
(06:51):
You can then take that numberand put it into different
calculators or different systemsto create training zones.
For example, if you're usingtraining peaks and you use the
COGN calculator or the CTScalculator, use that same FTP to
generate the training zones.
Okay, that is your threshold.
Or your functional thresholdpower.
Okay, um, you.
(07:12):
Also you can take your highestaverage heart rate from that and
that is your threshold heartrate.
So use that uh again to use thecalculator in training peaks or
intervals to ICU.
I have a lot of friends thatuse that same method as same
process, so long as you're usingany method of determining a
(07:33):
training zone that is, usingthreshold based power and heart
rate, ok, so this field testdetermines those thresholds and
then you can plug that intowhatever system you want.
Field test determines thosethresholds and then you can plug
that into whatever system youwant.
Okay, so that's the 20-minutetest.
Like I said, it's a bitmisunderstood because to do it
properly requires a five-minutefull tilt.
Then you recover, then you dothe 20-minute effort, okay.
(07:56):
So just note that a lot ofpeople think is just 20 minutes,
so I want to.
So part of this, uh, part ofthe process of doing this
podcast, was to uh, bring lightback to that as well, on how to
do it properly, okay.
Next is the ramp test.
Okay, this one's pretty popular, uh, because some of the pros
(08:17):
it's very short, could beanywhere between five and 20
minutes for the whole test.
Logistically it's pretty easybecause you don't really have to
think or pace.
Typically, you're going to dothis in a um uh, a system where
the effort will be generated foryou.
Okay, I'll explain that here ina second.
The cons of this my opinion, isthat it tends to and usually
(08:42):
overestimates um FTP, basicallyby overestimating your, your
maximum aerobic power, okay,cause that's the number it gets,
and then it generates FTP basedon that.
Again, in my opinion, as wellas some other stuff that I read,
another con for this is youdon't, you don't have to think
or pace, okay, which goes backto the pacing element of the 20
(09:04):
minute test and some of theseother tests that I talked about,
where learning how to pace overtime, that's an art.
That's an art to being anathlete, to being a cyclist,
that these field tests can teachyou.
Now, a ramp test doesn't teachyou that as much, because here's
how to do it.
(09:29):
My opinion, best way to do it isgo on to trainer road or Zwift
or a TP, virtual, whateverindoor um, uh virtual platform
that that you could use, um outthere or currently using and
pick the ramp test option.
Okay, it'll walk you through it.
Okay, you start super easy.
You progressively ramp or buildover time.
It'll bring you up to a maximumeffort.
It'll bring you to exhaustionOkay, once you can't pedal
anymore, you're done All right.
(09:50):
So it's very like I said someof the pros around.
It is logistically, it's easy.
It's it's kind of like ones andzeros you're going, going,
going and then you don't anymore.
Okay, so that is the process ofdoing it.
Okay, no-transcript.
(10:37):
And what the system then doesis it takes about 75% of that
Okay, some systems will take alittle bit higher, but 75% of
that MAP and it'll generate anFTP based on that.
Then you can use that FTP tocreate training zones, again for
cog and CTS, polar as whatevermethod that you want.
(10:59):
But again, as you can tell, I'mnot the biggest fan of this one,
but don't let that, you know,taint you from doing it or
trying it or establishing thatfor yourself.
Personally, when I've used itin the past, I think it does
overestimate by leveraging theanaerobic side of things a
little bit more.
But again, what's good aboutthis is that it does um, it's
(11:20):
pretty simple.
A lot of people can can do it,get through it, um, and, and the
people who like pain enjoy thisone.
So, all right.
Next we have the CTS two byeight minute time trial test.
Okay, this is the one pioneeredby Chris Carmichael, as well as
some of the other coaches atthe time.
Shout out to Dean Golich, jtKearney and a bunch of other
(11:42):
super smart people, way smarterthan I when CTS was started.
So the pros of this is thatit's pretty accurate in the way
of estimating or calculating FTPacross many different types of
athletes.
Time crunched and time rich Okay, it's great when you're short
(12:04):
on time, you can get throughthis protocol in less than an
hour for sure.
With warm up and cool down,it's very repeatable and
approachable, okay.
And the reason I say that isyou know, anybody can, anybody
can do eight minutes right.
Like, eight minutes is lessthan 20 minutes and it's, it's,
it's a, it's a little lessdaunting.
You know, in that way Some newathletes I tend to find again go
(12:25):
back to the pacing side ofthings.
They can usually pace hard foreight minutes, much better than
20 minutes.
And also, if you're doing thisoutside, finding an eight-minute
stretch of road that's quiet,away from traffic and lights and
things like this, it's muchmore repeatable than a 20 minute
(12:47):
stretch of road, just simplybecause it's shorter.
Now the cons of it.
The cons is sometimes it mayoverestimate slightly for some
people, but I think that'susually when someone does it for
the first time and maybe theyjust blow it out of the water on
the first one and then thesecond one, they kind of suffer.
Okay, so I'll get into somenuances of that later, but
overall, if I find this onepretty darn accurate for most
(13:09):
people, any other con, well it's.
It's hard, you know, but that'sgoes for all these field tests.
We're going max effort, so itis hard.
How best do we do this one?
You warm up, you get after itand you don't overthink it.
Okay, you warm up, however, youdo endurance.
A couple of openers, easyspinning.
Then you do the first eightminute time trial.
You start at a nine to almost10 out of 10, and then you
(13:31):
finish at a 10, give a fulleffort, okay, recover for 10
minutes.
Just you know, easy spinning,gradually, kind of like build up
.
Then you do it again.
You want to do two efforts?
Okay.
You then take the highestaverage power for your eight
minute effort and then youmultiply by 90%.
(13:52):
This will give you your FTP,and then you plug it into
whatever calculator you want.
If you're calculating yourthreshold heart rate based on
this is you take your averageheart rate for the full eight
minutes and multiply that by 93%.
That gives you your thresholdheart rate.
Plug it into all thecalculators, create your
training zones and away you go.
Okay.
So there's three field teststhat I would say I would hang my
(14:16):
hat on time and time again thatyou can do, get good data from
to create your training zonesand off to the races you go for
all the training that you wantto do.
Okay, let me provide you nowwith a couple other options.
It requires field testing, forsure, but there there's some
(14:37):
differences to it.
Okay, there's some differencesto it, okay.
And so what we do is we callthis the model-based approach.
Okay, two different ways ofdoing this.
First one is critical powertesting and the second one is
essentially power profilingtesting, and that's that using
the WKO software.
Let's first talk about criticalpower testing.
(14:57):
This is a method of testingthat uses various max efforts at
several durations to generate acritical power and W prime.
Critical power is essentiallythe high aerobic marker or the
high aerobic power.
W prime is the anaerobic power.
Okay, so high aerobic and highanaerobic.
(15:19):
Usually, the testing is threeto four power duration targets
that are different in length.
Typically, I would do a threeminute, five minute and 12
minute testing protocol 20minute if I can as well and the
tricky one with this is we wantto be fresh for every test that
(15:39):
we do.
So, essentially, you knowthat's at least three days, if
not four days, of testing, okay,and you want about 24 hours of
full recovery before we do that?
Okay, you can then usedifferent softwares to generate
this critical power and a Wprime, and it's very useful in
determining thresholds, trainingzones and methods and styles of
(16:03):
training.
So the method that I've adoptedin my coaching practice is
essentially power profilingtesting.
Okay, I use the WKO5 softwareto do this and, again, we're
using various power durationtests at several points along a
power duration curve.
So what that means is I'mlooking at specifically a 20
(16:24):
second, one minute, five minuteand then a 20 to 30 minute max
effort along this power durationparadigm for testing procedures
.
I'll build the workouts for myathletes and I'll give that to
them during a whole testing week.
Okay, I usually get this donein about three days of testing
(16:44):
and I make sure that they arriveto each day fresh, okay, I
usually lump in the 20 secondsprints and the one minute
together and then I do the fiveminute and the 20 minute
separately Okay.
So those are my three days oftesting, the 20 minute
separately Okay.
So those are my three days oftesting.
It's important to note here thatthis system, with WKO5, as well
(17:05):
as other systems likeintervalsicu, it's not looking
at just those power durationsthat I that I mentioned.
It's looking across all powerdurations.
So think about it as everysingle second and what the data
trends are throughout.
Okay, so that's that's a kindof a nuance, but but a powerful
(17:28):
difference between some of thefield testing, the critical
power testing, and then also thesystem as it starts to learn
and grow the athlete and, inparticular, generates the model
based FTP and FRC.
So functional threshold powerand functional reserve capacity,
these two things are similar tothe critical power and the W
(17:48):
prime.
Okay so, ftp, high aerobic, frc, anaerobic and you can use this
power profile testing or theprocedures in WKO5 to determine
that model FTP, get that number,create your training zones,
plug it in on Zwift, tp, virtual, whatever you're using.
Okay, so I do have someathletes actually that are, uh,
(18:13):
super nerds in themselves.
They love WKO five and they usethat um to generate their FTP,
their FRC.
I have some people also thatare using intervals to ICU and
love it.
Okay, now, my best advice if youare listening to this and
you're like this is a lot ofinformation, I need to re-listen
(18:35):
to this or I want to learn.
Read more about it.
That's awesome.
I've got one article that isfairly quick read and it's an
article from High North andagain, I don't know these guys.
I should reach out to them.
They pump out some really goodmaterial, but it's probably the
best summary of all the fieldtests to do, and in a lot of the
stuff that I talked about andif you're more of a visual
(18:58):
learner, they have charts,graphs as well, as they walk you
through the protocols for thesedifferent tests.
So I'll link to it in my shownotes.
Just look for the article fromhigh North.
It's a very good read.
Meanwhile, for the CTS fieldtest the two by eight I've
linked to that as well.
Our coaches have created awesomehandbooks and documents about
(19:21):
how to do the field test itself,as well as how to generate your
training zones and then how touse it.
From there.
Back to that article on HighNorth.
If you read that and what'sgood about it is, you'll also
learn some nuances in the art ofcoaching and how to use it from
there.
Back to that article on highNorth If you read that and
what's good about it is, you'llalso learn some nuances in the
art of coaching and how they usesome of the data within these
various systems.
And, for example, the authorencourages using 92 to 93%
(19:44):
instead of 95% of the 20 minutemax power to generate training
zones, which I don't disagreewith, especially if the athlete,
if you, the listener, uh aremore anaerobic in nature, and
that's to set your FTP a littlebit more accurately.
So again, with all of theselike standard procedures and um
(20:05):
field tests out there, there'sstill some art that goes on with
it.
So if you want the details ofsome of that art, read the high
North article.
Okay.
So for our listeners who wantto get a little bit deeper in
the weeds for like 60 seconds,maybe a little bit longer, ftp
versus CP or functionalthreshold power versus critical
power these are roughly the samethings.
(20:27):
Okay.
Some nerds out there willprobably disagree with me, and
that's fine.
I'd like to have thatdiscussion at some point, maybe
on this podcast, because itwould just be fun.
But for everyone listening here, or anyone maybe your coach
uses critical power and I'mtalking about FTP, it's
essentially same same, okay.
(20:47):
So if you use a model-basedapproach with FTP and CP and
you're trying to use a thresholdnumber to establish train zones
or put it in your Zwift, itdoesn't matter, you'll arrive to
the same outcome.
I would simply use that.
Finally, another thing that I'veheard over the years and in my
research and in doing thispodcast either it was for a hot
(21:11):
minute, but I still see it outthere a little bit as like is
FTP dead?
Or FTP is dead and I'm like itain't dead.
Nearly every system out there,every good system okay, gets an
FTP or a threshold power andthey use that as a hinge point
(21:32):
to which we base all thephysiological fatigue rates on,
as well as create training zones.
Anyone who says FTP is dead inmy opinion is wrong.
It is a live and well andprospering, based on what I see
out there, what I read in thecircles I run in.
So, for the record a little bitmore, deepen the weeds on FTP
(21:56):
and also critical power.
Finally, I get this question alot from my athletes is you know
they get automatic FTP updatespushed to them on training peaks
or intervalsicu and they saywell, you know, should I just
use that for my FTP or should wedo our field testing?
Okay, I recommend doing fieldtesting about two to three times
(22:20):
per year and I recommend thatyou base your training zones on
that.
I don't recommend changing yourtraining zones Every time that
you see an automatic pushnotification, from whatever
system that you're using, to saythat your FTP has gone up or
your threshold heart rate hasgone up, because whether it's
heart rate or power, a good dayor a bad day, it's best.
(22:49):
It's best to alter trainingzones only when you have a
complete picture of what's goingon.
So a couple of examples here ifyou got a high power day okay,
anybody can have a good day.
But can you repeat it?
Let's just say it's a highheart rate day.
Okay, where's the high heartrate coming from?
Is it effort based on what youdid on the bike?
(23:11):
Or is it anxiety, because itwas such a sketchy race, of
which, in those two situations,maybe it was a super good day
and you try to reproduce thatpower again, you just can't.
Or if it was super sketchy raceand you're trying to reach
those heart rates again intraining, but you just can't,
there's more things going on inyou physiologically, especially
(23:32):
with anxiety, and maybe on thesuper good day or hill climb day
or something like that, towhere I wouldn't base all of the
training zones on one day orone data point Okay.
Additionally, was the data evenclean?
Okay, sometimes if you've gotbig temperature swings out there
or various uh power metermeasuring systems.
(23:54):
Okay, cause there's some badpower meters out there.
If you have a day where thepower is higher and you're not
used to seeing normal trends inyour data and you just see that
high number and you're like, hmm, that sounds great, I'm going
to base everything on thatbecause it's a high number,
you're not going to set yourselfup for success.
So, again, you are better offcreating and adjusting your
(24:19):
training zones based on fieldtesting.
In my opinion.
Now, if you see something youknow in a race say, for example,
one of my athletes they'll goout and they'll race.
We'll see some good powernumbers.
I'll try to repeat that againin training before I change
anything.
Okay, and that's my personalopinion.
Okay, so let's wrap this thingup.
Here's my final word on testing.
(24:40):
I want everybody to keep inmind that the first time you do
anything, including a field testor some sort of protocol,
there's a learning curve to it.
So first time you do it, you'regathering data, but you're also
learning how to pace yourself,like I said, how to dose
yourself.
You know if you're doing thetwo by eight minute, right.
How to dose yourself on eachone, how to recover in between,
(25:03):
okay.
So if you find that the numberslook a little higher, maybe
they look a little low relativeto what you've been seeing in
training data itself, maybe youjust freshen up and test again,
okay.
Or you do a verificationworkout.
What the heck is that?
Well, I plan on doing anotherepisode here soon talking about
establishing training zones,doing some verification workouts
(25:25):
.
Just know that you are not asgood as your first or your last
field test Okay.
And it's okay to test again,either soon or maybe in six to
eight weeks, especially ifyou're new to the testing game.
Okay.
So just know that there's alearning curve to some of this,
this field testing.
(25:45):
Additionally, I typicallysuggest using the same test in
the same way, on the same courseor on the same indoor setup,
time and time and time again.
We want to compare apples toapples?
Okay.
You want to limit variabilityso that we can see in track
progress very granularly, okay.
(26:07):
So even with season athletes,I'm only going to test them two
to three times per year, but I'mgoing to use the same hill
climb, I'm going to use the samecourse, I'm going to use the
same setup.
I'm going to use the same powermeter.
Why?
Because those small changesright In performance, those are.
We want to see those and that'sawesome.
(26:29):
If you change somethingcompletely like like a whole
bike setup, or if you're justalways, you know, changing the
route over and over, or ifyou're always if you test it
outside, then you test inside, Isee.
So those variables can changethat power output quite a bit.
Think about the power that youcan produce on a hill versus the
power that you can produce onflat, versus the power that you
(26:51):
can produce inside.
Okay, for a lot of people whohave been training, they're like
we should probably unpack thatin another podcast soon.
But in general, I'm going totry to minimize the variability
on test day and try to keepeverything the same.
So what's the best test for you?
Here's my advice Do the testthat fits your needs best.
(27:13):
Do the test where you have timeto do it.
You can repeat it, meaninglogistically easily.
It gives you accurate FTP andthreshold heart rate and it
provides you good training zones.
As you progress, you can alwaysadd in more power durations or
a different field test too, andthat's going to help you create
a complete picture of yourability and your physiology.
(27:36):
You can always add in morepower durations or a different
field test too, and that's goingto help you create a complete
picture of your ability and yourphysiology.
If you're racing and you'redoing events and you want to
become a better all-aroundathlete versus, say, just a hill
climber or just a sprinter, Isuggest testing more than just
one power duration.
So, rather than just doing a 20minute effort, do a sprint, do
the one minute and if you'regoing to do the 20 minute effort
, remember you have to do thefive minute before.
And then also, you know you'llstart to learn more about
(28:00):
yourself as you gather more dataand you do these field tests at
max efforts on various powerdurations.
If you want to take it to thenext level with your testing, I
suggest reading the article fromthat high north, or maybe you
start using a system like WKO5.
Or hell, just get aprofessional coach who can
expedite all that informationfor you and get you training and
(28:22):
testing right.
That's it.
That's our show for today,thanks to you, mark, as well as
all of our audience members whosubmit awesome questions like
the one we had today, mark, aswell as all of our audience
members who submit awesomequestions like the one we had
today.
Anyone listening should knowthat they can simply head over
to train rightcom backslashpodcast and click on ask a
training question.
Submit any question that youwant on endurance training there
and we'll do our best to answerit on a future episode.
(28:44):
Finally, if you liked what youheard today, please share with a
friend.
That's the best way to grow theshow and keep getting
actionable training advicedelivered directly to you on
this podcast.
Thanks again for listening andwe'll see you back here next
week.
Thanks for joining us on theTime Crunch Cyclist podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
(29:05):
If you want even moreactionable training advice, head
over to trainwrightcombackslash newsletter and
subscribe to our free weeklypublication.
Each week you'll get in-depthtraining content that goes
beyond what we cover here on thepodcast.
That'll help you take yourtraining to the next level.
That's all for now.
Until next time, train hard,train smart, train right.
From the team at CTS.
This is the Time Crunch Cyclistpodcast, our show dedicated to
answering your trainingquestions and providing
actionable advice to help youimprove your performance, even
if you're strapped for time.
I'm your host, coach AdamPulford, and I'm one of the over
50 professional coaches whomake up the team at CTS.
In each episode, I draw on ourteam's collective knowledge,
(00:30):
other coaches and experts in thefield to provide you with the
practical ways to get the mostout of your training and
ultimately become the bestcyclist that you can be.
Now on to our show.
Now on to our show.
(00:51):
There are a lot of fieldtesting protocols out there, so
which one is best?
Which is the best to createtraining zones and which is the
best for a time crunched athlete?
And why are there so many fieldtests out there?
Welcome back time crunch fans.
I'm your host, coach AdamPulford.
These are great questionssubmitted by Mark A just a few
weeks ago, and I'm excited forthis episode because it's a
(01:13):
topic I've been wanting to dofor kind of a long time.
So let's just get right in withsome direct answers.
To Mark Number one yes, I agreewith you.
There are quite a few fieldtests out there for cyclists,
and it can be very confusingThus answering this on this
episode and this podcast.
Second, there are no best onesor the best one, in my opinion,
(01:41):
as each of the good ones thatare out there.
There's pros and cons to all ofthem.
Point three why are there somany tests?
Well, because there are so manyways to train tests and to get
to a similar outcome.
Remember my quote from AndyCoggin all roads lead to Rome.
Talked about that on a previouspodcast.
(02:01):
It's kind of getting to thesame point, though.
So, with that said, I've pickedout some of the most common
field tests out there, some ofwhich I use, some of which I
don't anymore, but all of whichare decent ways of arriving at
data that you can base trainingzones on and then use for
whatever different trainingmethod that you want to do out
(02:21):
there.
I'll do my best to explainthose pros and cons of each then
offer my best advice on how toapply it to your training.
First, though, let's cover thebasics.
What is a field test?
Now, here's my own definition.
I just kind of made it up basedon all my years of coaching
right, so it's a protocol or setof protocols, done, usually at
(02:43):
max effort, to determineperformance and physiological
characteristics of an athlete.
A field test usually means it'sdone not in a laboratory
setting, so it's on an athlete'sown bike out on the road, out
in the field, right, uh out onthe trails, or it's inside on
the indoor training setup.
The goal is to establish athreshold power and threshold
(03:06):
heart rate to create trainingzones and then you use that in
whatever training method orsystem you wish.
So let's talk about the varioustypes of field tests out there.
Let's start with the 20 minutetest.
Now, before I get into the 20minute test, uh, for all the
listeners out there, I am uhovercoming healing from a
(03:26):
terrible sore throat, cold slash, covid slash, flu, whatever it
was.
So please bear with me.
So I'm relying upon Ruddy, myeditor and producer here, to
make me sound as good aspossible, but as my voice is
cracking here, I am noticingthat, yeah, the remnants of the
sickness is still still there.
So please bear with me on that,okay, uh, let's talk about the
(03:49):
20 minute test.
This, this is a pretty popularfield test in North America as
well as in the literature thinktraining peaks, think Andy
Coggin.
Um, in that sort of genre.
Okay, the pros of of this 20minute test is it's excellent.
It's an excellent test forapproximating FTP and
establishing training zones.
It requires pacing and I thinkthat that's a pro because it
(04:14):
makes you pace well over time.
We'll talk about how to do ithere briefly in just a second.
But that requires a pacing.
That that's really importantfor development as a cyclist and
as an athlete, because learninghow to pace uh over 20 minutes
at maximum effort there'sthere's a lot of benefit that
goes on uh with that.
(04:35):
Additionally, that requirementof the pacing ensures a good
test and then a good dataoutcome.
So that's the pro of it.
Now the cons are it'smisunderstood.
I'm going to unpack that herein a second, and one of the cons
is it requires pacing, so youactually have to think about it
and sometimes, if you haven'tdone a 20 minute all out effort,
(04:58):
it's daunting, right, and ifyou haven't done it, you need to
do it a few times before youactually get good at it.
Okay, so before you get gooddata from it, you need to do it
a few times before you actuallyget good at it.
Okay, so before you get gooddata from it, you need to
practice it a few times.
So that could be a con as wellas a pro, like I talked about.
So how do you do it?
Well, just short bullet points,and I've got links to all of
this, by the way.
(05:18):
So if if you're looking how todo a field test or some of these
different field tests, I'velinked all of these.
So go to our landing page,check it out.
Go to the Apple podcast mainpage.
I've got links to it all there.
But here's how to do this one.
You warm up, however, you warmup Easy endurance, endurance,
couple openers.
Then you do a five minute timetrial at a nine to 10 out of 10.
(05:42):
Okay, this is the part that'smisunderstood about the 20
minute test.
Originally designed by AndyCoggin, it starts with a five
minute all out effort and that'sto blow off some of the
anaerobic power contributionthat could go into the 20 minute
.
So it's kind of pre fatiguingyou in a way to set you up for a
good 20 minute effort.
That will then be the dataneeded to determine the FTP.
(06:07):
Okay, so you warm up, you dothe five minute all out, you
take recovery, which basicallyis going to be anywhere between
10 and 15 minutes.
I usually do three minutes atzone one, so super easy,
coasting, spinning and theneight to 10 minutes at a zone
two endurance but on the low endof it.
Then I get into the 20 minutetime trial.
20 minute time trial should beevenly paced over that 20
(06:30):
minutes, kind of in that nine,going on 10 out of 10 and finish
out at 10 out of 10.
Okay, so it's a maximum effortfor full 20 minutes.
What do you do then After thefield test?
You look at the data.
You take the highest averagepower for the full 20 minutes
and multiply that by 95%.
That number that you get, thatis your FTP.
(06:51):
You can then take that numberand put it into different
calculators or different systemsto create training zones.
For example, if you're usingtraining peaks and you use the
COGN calculator or the CTScalculator, use that same FTP to
generate the training zones.
Okay, that is your threshold.
Or your functional thresholdpower.
Okay, um, you.
(07:12):
Also you can take your highestaverage heart rate from that and
that is your threshold heartrate.
So use that uh again to use thecalculator in training peaks or
intervals to ICU.
I have a lot of friends thatuse that same method as same
process, so long as you're usingany method of determining a
(07:33):
training zone that is, usingthreshold based power and heart
rate, ok, so this field testdetermines those thresholds and
then you can plug that intowhatever system you want.
Field test determines thosethresholds and then you can plug
that into whatever system youwant.
Okay, so that's the 20-minutetest.
Like I said, it's a bitmisunderstood because to do it
properly requires a five-minutefull tilt.
Then you recover, then you dothe 20-minute effort, okay.
(07:56):
So just note that a lot ofpeople think is just 20 minutes,
so I want to.
So part of this, uh, part ofthe process of doing this
podcast, was to uh, bring lightback to that as well, on how to
do it properly, okay.
Next is the ramp test.
Okay, this one's pretty popular, uh, because some of the pros
(08:17):
it's very short, could beanywhere between five and 20
minutes for the whole test.
Logistically it's pretty easybecause you don't really have to
think or pace.
Typically, you're going to dothis in a um uh, a system where
the effort will be generated foryou.
Okay, I'll explain that here ina second.
The cons of this my opinion, isthat it tends to and usually
(08:42):
overestimates um FTP, basicallyby overestimating your, your
maximum aerobic power, okay,cause that's the number it gets,
and then it generates FTP basedon that.
Again, in my opinion, as wellas some other stuff that I read,
another con for this is youdon't, you don't have to think
or pace, okay, which goes backto the pacing element of the 20
(09:04):
minute test and some of theseother tests that I talked about,
where learning how to pace overtime, that's an art.
That's an art to being anathlete, to being a cyclist,
that these field tests can teachyou.
Now, a ramp test doesn't teachyou that as much, because here's
how to do it.
(09:29):
My opinion, best way to do it isgo on to trainer road or Zwift
or a TP, virtual, whateverindoor um, uh virtual platform
that that you could use, um outthere or currently using and
pick the ramp test option.
Okay, it'll walk you through it.
Okay, you start super easy.
You progressively ramp or buildover time.
It'll bring you up to a maximumeffort.
It'll bring you to exhaustionOkay, once you can't pedal
anymore, you're done All right.
(09:50):
So it's very like I said someof the pros around.
It is logistically, it's easy.
It's it's kind of like ones andzeros you're going, going,
going and then you don't anymore.
Okay, so that is the process ofdoing it.
Okay, no-transcript.
(10:37):
And what the system then doesis it takes about 75% of that
Okay, some systems will take alittle bit higher, but 75% of
that MAP and it'll generate anFTP based on that.
Then you can use that FTP tocreate training zones, again for
cog and CTS, polar as whatevermethod that you want.
(10:59):
But again, as you can tell, I'mnot the biggest fan of this one,
but don't let that, you know,taint you from doing it or
trying it or establishing thatfor yourself.
Personally, when I've used itin the past, I think it does
overestimate by leveraging theanaerobic side of things a
little bit more.
But again, what's good aboutthis is that it does um, it's
(11:20):
pretty simple.
A lot of people can can do it,get through it, um, and, and the
people who like pain enjoy thisone.
So, all right.
Next we have the CTS two byeight minute time trial test.
Okay, this is the one pioneeredby Chris Carmichael, as well as
some of the other coaches atthe time.
Shout out to Dean Golich, jtKearney and a bunch of other
(11:42):
super smart people, way smarterthan I when CTS was started.
So the pros of this is thatit's pretty accurate in the way
of estimating or calculating FTPacross many different types of
athletes.
Time crunched and time rich Okay, it's great when you're short
(12:04):
on time, you can get throughthis protocol in less than an
hour for sure.
With warm up and cool down,it's very repeatable and
approachable, okay.
And the reason I say that isyou know, anybody can, anybody
can do eight minutes right.
Like, eight minutes is lessthan 20 minutes and it's, it's,
it's a, it's a little lessdaunting.
You know, in that way Some newathletes I tend to find again go
(12:25):
back to the pacing side ofthings.
They can usually pace hard foreight minutes, much better than
20 minutes.
And also, if you're doing thisoutside, finding an eight-minute
stretch of road that's quiet,away from traffic and lights and
things like this, it's muchmore repeatable than a 20 minute
(12:47):
stretch of road, just simplybecause it's shorter.
Now the cons of it.
The cons is sometimes it mayoverestimate slightly for some
people, but I think that'susually when someone does it for
the first time and maybe theyjust blow it out of the water on
the first one and then thesecond one, they kind of suffer.
Okay, so I'll get into somenuances of that later, but
overall, if I find this onepretty darn accurate for most
(13:09):
people, any other con, well it's.
It's hard, you know, but that'sgoes for all these field tests.
We're going max effort, so itis hard.
How best do we do this one?
You warm up, you get after itand you don't overthink it.
Okay, you warm up, however, youdo endurance.
A couple of openers, easyspinning.
Then you do the first eightminute time trial.
You start at a nine to almost10 out of 10, and then you
(13:31):
finish at a 10, give a fulleffort, okay, recover for 10
minutes.
Just you know, easy spinning,gradually, kind of like build up
.
Then you do it again.
You want to do two efforts?
Okay.
You then take the highestaverage power for your eight
minute effort and then youmultiply by 90%.
(13:52):
This will give you your FTP,and then you plug it into
whatever calculator you want.
If you're calculating yourthreshold heart rate based on
this is you take your averageheart rate for the full eight
minutes and multiply that by 93%.
That gives you your thresholdheart rate.
Plug it into all thecalculators, create your
training zones and away you go.
Okay.
So there's three field teststhat I would say I would hang my
(14:16):
hat on time and time again thatyou can do, get good data from
to create your training zonesand off to the races you go for
all the training that you wantto do.
Okay, let me provide you nowwith a couple other options.
It requires field testing, forsure, but there there's some
(14:37):
differences to it.
Okay, there's some differencesto it, okay.
And so what we do is we callthis the model-based approach.
Okay, two different ways ofdoing this.
First one is critical powertesting and the second one is
essentially power profilingtesting, and that's that using
the WKO software.
Let's first talk about criticalpower testing.
(14:57):
This is a method of testingthat uses various max efforts at
several durations to generate acritical power and W prime.
Critical power is essentiallythe high aerobic marker or the
high aerobic power.
W prime is the anaerobic power.
Okay, so high aerobic and highanaerobic.
(15:19):
Usually, the testing is threeto four power duration targets
that are different in length.
Typically, I would do a threeminute, five minute and 12
minute testing protocol 20minute if I can as well and the
tricky one with this is we wantto be fresh for every test that
(15:39):
we do.
So, essentially, you knowthat's at least three days, if
not four days, of testing, okay,and you want about 24 hours of
full recovery before we do that?
Okay, you can then usedifferent softwares to generate
this critical power and a Wprime, and it's very useful in
determining thresholds, trainingzones and methods and styles of
(16:03):
training.
So the method that I've adoptedin my coaching practice is
essentially power profilingtesting.
Okay, I use the WKO5 softwareto do this and, again, we're
using various power durationtests at several points along a
power duration curve.
So what that means is I'mlooking at specifically a 20
(16:24):
second, one minute, five minuteand then a 20 to 30 minute max
effort along this power durationparadigm for testing procedures
.
I'll build the workouts for myathletes and I'll give that to
them during a whole testing week.
Okay, I usually get this donein about three days of testing
(16:44):
and I make sure that they arriveto each day fresh, okay, I
usually lump in the 20 secondsprints and the one minute
together and then I do the fiveminute and the 20 minute
separately Okay.
So those are my three days oftesting, the 20 minute
separately Okay.
So those are my three days oftesting.
It's important to note here thatthis system, with WKO5, as well
(17:05):
as other systems likeintervalsicu, it's not looking
at just those power durationsthat I that I mentioned.
It's looking across all powerdurations.
So think about it as everysingle second and what the data
trends are throughout.
Okay, so that's that's a kindof a nuance, but but a powerful
(17:28):
difference between some of thefield testing, the critical
power testing, and then also thesystem as it starts to learn
and grow the athlete and, inparticular, generates the model
based FTP and FRC.
So functional threshold powerand functional reserve capacity,
these two things are similar tothe critical power and the W
(17:48):
prime.
Okay so, ftp, high aerobic, frc, anaerobic and you can use this
power profile testing or theprocedures in WKO5 to determine
that model FTP, get that number,create your training zones,
plug it in on Zwift, tp, virtual, whatever you're using.
Okay, so I do have someathletes actually that are, uh,
(18:13):
super nerds in themselves.
They love WKO five and they usethat um to generate their FTP,
their FRC.
I have some people also thatare using intervals to ICU and
love it.
Okay, now, my best advice if youare listening to this and
you're like this is a lot ofinformation, I need to re-listen
(18:35):
to this or I want to learn.
Read more about it.
That's awesome.
I've got one article that isfairly quick read and it's an
article from High North andagain, I don't know these guys.
I should reach out to them.
They pump out some really goodmaterial, but it's probably the
best summary of all the fieldtests to do, and in a lot of the
stuff that I talked about andif you're more of a visual
(18:58):
learner, they have charts,graphs as well, as they walk you
through the protocols for thesedifferent tests.
So I'll link to it in my shownotes.
Just look for the article fromhigh North.
It's a very good read.
Meanwhile, for the CTS fieldtest the two by eight I've
linked to that as well.
Our coaches have created awesomehandbooks and documents about
(19:21):
how to do the field test itself,as well as how to generate your
training zones and then how touse it.
From there.
Back to that article on HighNorth.
If you read that and what'sgood about it is, you'll also
learn some nuances in the art ofcoaching and how to use it from
there.
Back to that article on highNorth If you read that and
what's good about it is, you'llalso learn some nuances in the
art of coaching and how they usesome of the data within these
various systems.
And, for example, the authorencourages using 92 to 93%
(19:44):
instead of 95% of the 20 minutemax power to generate training
zones, which I don't disagreewith, especially if the athlete,
if you, the listener, uh aremore anaerobic in nature, and
that's to set your FTP a littlebit more accurately.
So again, with all of theselike standard procedures and um
(20:05):
field tests out there, there'sstill some art that goes on with
it.
So if you want the details ofsome of that art, read the high
North article.
Okay.
So for our listeners who wantto get a little bit deeper in
the weeds for like 60 seconds,maybe a little bit longer, ftp
versus CP or functionalthreshold power versus critical
power these are roughly the samethings.
(20:27):
Okay.
Some nerds out there willprobably disagree with me, and
that's fine.
I'd like to have thatdiscussion at some point, maybe
on this podcast, because itwould just be fun.
But for everyone listening here, or anyone maybe your coach
uses critical power and I'mtalking about FTP, it's
essentially same same, okay.
(20:47):
So if you use a model-basedapproach with FTP and CP and
you're trying to use a thresholdnumber to establish train zones
or put it in your Zwift, itdoesn't matter, you'll arrive to
the same outcome.
I would simply use that.
Finally, another thing that I'veheard over the years and in my
research and in doing thispodcast either it was for a hot
(21:11):
minute, but I still see it outthere a little bit as like is
FTP dead?
Or FTP is dead and I'm like itain't dead.
Nearly every system out there,every good system okay, gets an
FTP or a threshold power andthey use that as a hinge point
(21:32):
to which we base all thephysiological fatigue rates on,
as well as create training zones.
Anyone who says FTP is dead inmy opinion is wrong.
It is a live and well andprospering, based on what I see
out there, what I read in thecircles I run in.
So, for the record a little bitmore, deepen the weeds on FTP
(21:56):
and also critical power.
Finally, I get this question alot from my athletes is you know
they get automatic FTP updatespushed to them on training peaks
or intervalsicu and they saywell, you know, should I just
use that for my FTP or should wedo our field testing?
Okay, I recommend doing fieldtesting about two to three times
(22:20):
per year and I recommend thatyou base your training zones on
that.
I don't recommend changing yourtraining zones Every time that
you see an automatic pushnotification, from whatever
system that you're using, to saythat your FTP has gone up or
your threshold heart rate hasgone up, because whether it's
heart rate or power, a good dayor a bad day, it's best.
(22:49):
It's best to alter trainingzones only when you have a
complete picture of what's goingon.
So a couple of examples here ifyou got a high power day okay,
anybody can have a good day.
But can you repeat it?
Let's just say it's a highheart rate day.
Okay, where's the high heartrate coming from?
Is it effort based on what youdid on the bike?
(23:11):
Or is it anxiety, because itwas such a sketchy race, of
which, in those two situations,maybe it was a super good day
and you try to reproduce thatpower again, you just can't.
Or if it was super sketchy raceand you're trying to reach
those heart rates again intraining, but you just can't,
there's more things going on inyou physiologically, especially
(23:32):
with anxiety, and maybe on thesuper good day or hill climb day
or something like that, towhere I wouldn't base all of the
training zones on one day orone data point Okay.
Additionally, was the data evenclean?
Okay, sometimes if you've gotbig temperature swings out there
or various uh power metermeasuring systems.
(23:54):
Okay, cause there's some badpower meters out there.
If you have a day where thepower is higher and you're not
used to seeing normal trends inyour data and you just see that
high number and you're like, hmm, that sounds great, I'm going
to base everything on thatbecause it's a high number,
you're not going to set yourselfup for success.
So, again, you are better offcreating and adjusting your
(24:19):
training zones based on fieldtesting.
In my opinion.
Now, if you see something youknow in a race say, for example,
one of my athletes they'll goout and they'll race.
We'll see some good powernumbers.
I'll try to repeat that againin training before I change
anything.
Okay, and that's my personalopinion.
Okay, so let's wrap this thingup.
Here's my final word on testing.
(24:40):
I want everybody to keep inmind that the first time you do
anything, including a field testor some sort of protocol,
there's a learning curve to it.
So first time you do it, you'regathering data, but you're also
learning how to pace yourself,like I said, how to dose
yourself.
You know if you're doing thetwo by eight minute, right.
How to dose yourself on eachone, how to recover in between,
(25:03):
okay.
So if you find that the numberslook a little higher, maybe
they look a little low relativeto what you've been seeing in
training data itself, maybe youjust freshen up and test again,
okay.
Or you do a verificationworkout.
What the heck is that?
Well, I plan on doing anotherepisode here soon talking about
establishing training zones,doing some verification workouts
(25:25):
.
Just know that you are not asgood as your first or your last
field test Okay.
And it's okay to test again,either soon or maybe in six to
eight weeks, especially ifyou're new to the testing game.
Okay.
So just know that there's alearning curve to some of this,
this field testing.
(25:45):
Additionally, I typicallysuggest using the same test in
the same way, on the same courseor on the same indoor setup,
time and time and time again.
We want to compare apples toapples?
Okay.
You want to limit variabilityso that we can see in track
progress very granularly, okay.
(26:07):
So even with season athletes,I'm only going to test them two
to three times per year, but I'mgoing to use the same hill
climb, I'm going to use the samecourse, I'm going to use the
same setup.
I'm going to use the same powermeter.
Why?
Because those small changesright In performance, those are.
We want to see those and that'sawesome.
(26:29):
If you change somethingcompletely like like a whole
bike setup, or if you're justalways, you know, changing the
route over and over, or ifyou're always if you test it
outside, then you test inside, Isee.
So those variables can changethat power output quite a bit.
Think about the power that youcan produce on a hill versus the
power that you can produce onflat, versus the power that you
(26:51):
can produce inside.
Okay, for a lot of people whohave been training, they're like
we should probably unpack thatin another podcast soon.
But in general, I'm going totry to minimize the variability
on test day and try to keepeverything the same.
So what's the best test for you?
Here's my advice Do the testthat fits your needs best.
(27:13):
Do the test where you have timeto do it.
You can repeat it, meaninglogistically easily.
It gives you accurate FTP andthreshold heart rate and it
provides you good training zones.
As you progress, you can alwaysadd in more power durations or
a different field test too, andthat's going to help you create
a complete picture of yourability and your physiology.
(27:36):
You can always add in morepower durations or a different
field test too, and that's goingto help you create a complete
picture of your ability and yourphysiology.
If you're racing and you'redoing events and you want to
become a better all-aroundathlete versus, say, just a hill
climber or just a sprinter, Isuggest testing more than just
one power duration.
So, rather than just doing a 20minute effort, do a sprint, do
the one minute and if you'regoing to do the 20 minute effort
, remember you have to do thefive minute before.
And then also, you know you'llstart to learn more about
(28:00):
yourself as you gather more dataand you do these field tests at
max efforts on various powerdurations.
If you want to take it to thenext level with your testing, I
suggest reading the article fromthat high north, or maybe you
start using a system like WKO5.
Or hell, just get aprofessional coach who can
expedite all that informationfor you and get you training and
(28:22):
testing right.
That's it.
That's our show for today,thanks to you, mark, as well as
all of our audience members whosubmit awesome questions like
the one we had today, mark, aswell as all of our audience
members who submit awesomequestions like the one we had
today.
Anyone listening should knowthat they can simply head over
to train rightcom backslashpodcast and click on ask a
training question.
Submit any question that youwant on endurance training there
and we'll do our best to answerit on a future episode.
(28:44):
Finally, if you liked what youheard today, please share with a
friend.
That's the best way to grow theshow and keep getting
actionable training advicedelivered directly to you on
this podcast.
Thanks again for listening andwe'll see you back here next
week.
Thanks for joining us on theTime Crunch Cyclist podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
(29:05):
If you want even moreactionable training advice, head
over to trainwrightcombackslash newsletter and
subscribe to our free weeklypublication.
Each week you'll get in-depthtraining content that goes
beyond what we cover here on thepodcast.
That'll help you take yourtraining to the next level.
That's all for now.
Until next time, train hard,train smart, train right.
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