I did a 4DP test around 3 weeks ago and have been training pretty hard. When in training I am finding that my HR is not going into the right zones, usually below, I am also finding the rides not as tough as maybe they should be. Don’t get my wrong, I did the nine hammers and it was tough, but I wasn’t destroyed at the end of it.
It might be important to note that I am not doing a specific plan, but trying to focus on MAP as per the results of my original 4DP. I am training around 4-5 hours per week.
Can I ask if this was your first full frontal? Pacing of both the 5min & 20min efforts can be difficult to judge and it could be that your FTP and/or MAP numbers are a bit low.
It would be worth completing a Half Monty to see how your results compare.
Or, for even more fun manually adjust your numbers up 10 watts or so, and then do FF in erg mode! You’ll soon find out if your pacing was too low in your first FF!!
I always suggest doing the 1 week test plan that includes a HM on day three, which sets the suggested power targets for the FF on day 7. I then try to just beat those suggested targets, and it is killer. I believe this yields more accurate and consistent test results. Bonus, it’s also a solid week of workouts.
Yep. A test will update targets in a subsequent test. A HM will update your MAP, FTP, and LTHR results in your Workout Settings. Then when you do the FF, that’s where the suggested power targets will come from. For the FF 20 minute interval I set the level and gearing to give me my preferred cadence at the target power, then try to maintain a slightly higher cadence for the duration. I’m dying and barely hanging on by the end.
Such a great forum thanks everyone for the feedback. I ended up doing a HM.
FTP increased by 23 Watts.
MAP increased by 27 Watts.
Something interesting though is that my cTHR decreased from 160 to 154.
obviously a lot of work to go, but the training seems to be working!
Excellent results - I’m sure you’ll find the workout challenging now
HM usually gives me a lower cTHR too (by around 3 or 4 bpm). This is due to the lag between heart rate and power as I usually run out of legs before my HR maxes out on the ramp. I know from experience that my cTHR is closer to the results from full frontal so I just manually increase this in the settings.
