PowerCycling

PowerCycling is a free App.

Currently, the best cyclists in the world use watts as a reference to analyze and improve their performance.

This tool will allow you to do the following in a simple way:

• Calculate your FTP
• Analyze your fitness
• View your training zones
• Show your thresholds and intervals by zones
• Improve your performance
• Calculate different training metrics:

• Watts / Kg
• TSS
• VO2Max
• IF
• Calories

• Design your workouts and races

Guide:

A FTP test “Functional Threshold Power” is a performance test that roughly determines the maximum average power you could develop in an hour on the bike.

Its objective is to determine the cyclist’s state of form on which the work zones can also be programmed efficiently.

The test is carried out by making a maximum effort during the minutes that have been chosen (in the application we have several options) and saving the average value of watts produced during that time.

Requirements prior to the test:

• Potentiometer (power estimator if done indoors)
• Circuit / route in which the test can be carried out during the minutes that have been chosen with the least interruptions (traffic, semaphore, etc.)

Recommendations:

If you choose to do it outside, it is recommended to do it in a climb with a constant percentage in which a good cadence can be maintained (4-7%).
It is preferable to have two tests if you train on the roller and outside, in this way the performance zones and metrics will be more exact.

Before performing the test, i recommend to do a good warm-up and include some intense series to prepare the body for the effort.

An example for a 20 minute test would be the following:

Incremental effort of 10 ‘from 60% of perceived effort to 80% (progressive), rest 4’ with low cadence at 60% and an effort of 1 ‘intense at 90% of your capacity, followed by recovery 3’ at 60% already for the test.

It is convenient to carry out a test several times a year to check our evolution and adjust the zones in each part of the season.

Results:

Once the test is done, enter the watts in the application, select the minutes performed and our weight. With this we obtain some very important values:

The developped watts for each kg of weight and all training zones.

An example of using the results obtained would be to perform 30 “/ 30” series at 130% FTP. In power readers, just by entering the value of our new FTP and showing its % on the screen, series and workouts are performed very easily.

Another important piece of information that using FTP gives us is being able to calculate the impact made by a workout (TSS: training stress score) and adjust training and recovery cycle schedules very efficiently.

Next features

Insert table with intervals time for each FTP zone to create a solid training plan with watts.