I just finished the Half Monty on my Kickr and could use some help understanding the test and the results. It has to be said, I’m not feeling that physically well lately. Figured not cycling makes me feel more miserable every day, so I just started a Transition Plan despite of my condition at the moment. Today was the Half Monty test.
Before starting the test, I changed my FTP from the default value (?) to 248 watts. Which is my FTP from my most recent test at a sport coach minus 10% to compensate the outside vs inside differences (275 * .9).
Already at the start of the test I noticed my heart rate was very low. I was doubting my HRM, but a simple check counting my heartbeat in my neck showed the numbers are correct. Could the cause of the low heart rate be the fact that I’m not feeling well?
The Ramp Test was taking steps up to 248 watts, which is the FTP I added in my workout profile. At the point I was pushing 248 watts, I felt I could do much more. I expected the Half Monty test would let me push harder and harder until I could not hold the power. But it just stopped at 248 watts. The result of the test is that my FTP is much lower than expected. I hoped to score higher than 275 watts, most definitely higher than 248 watts. But it’s even significantly lower at 203 watts. So, is all this correct, am I misunderstanding the test, did I do something wrong, etc?
The ramp should take you to failure so if you completed the ramp it started you too low. Looking at the profile used for the rest, your MAP is shown as lower than the FTP, so that’s probably what caused a lower starting point for the ramp. Perhaps manually edit your MAP to 120% of your 248w est FTP, and retest. It should then start you at a higher power for the ramp, and lead to failure before you fall off the end step!
Lots of possible variables but the bottom line is if you got to the top of the ramp and could have still kept going then your FTP and MAP settings were too low. @Rydercon has good suggestions you could try.
As for the FTP setting and your outdoor test, does your trainer’s PM and your outdoor PM line up pretty well in terms of accuracy? I had a smart trainer where the power output was underreported by well over 20 watts compared to my bike PM.
It might be worth doing an Open 15 or Open 30, setting the Power to what you think your FTP is, ride it for a few minutes and see if it “feels” like a threshold effort ought to feel like when set at 248.
The nice thing about the HM test is it doesn’t destroy you so you shouldn’t have to wait too long to retest. Feel better soon!
Thank you @Rydercon and @Glen.Coutts for your quick respons and clear explanation on the matter. I think I’m starting to understand. Based on your respons I also found these helpful articles:
I took my FTP without in/outside compensation as a base for the calculation of my 4DP starting point. What I understand is that the relation between FTP and MAP is key.
Since MAP cannot be lower than 115% of FTP and 140% of FTP is to high (see the first mentioned article), I took 128% of FTP for MAP.
AC is Zone 6 Anaerobic Capacity (AC), which is 121%-150% of FTP, I took 135% of FTP for AC.
I’m not sure what the relationship is between NM and FTP, so I took the number out of the results of my HM of today.
This results in the following starting point for my next HM:
We’ll see what this does the next time I do the HM.
This is an interesting subject @Glen.Coutts. See my other post about this. My Kickr wasn’t accurate enough, I got it replaced and now the numbers are much more as expected. There still is a discrepancy between my Quarq PM and Kickr, so I’ve also sent my Quarq PM back for warranty. So this story is still to be continued. Nevertheless I feel confident enough about my new Kickr to use it for my Transition Plan (and HM and FF) the upcoming weeks.
The most accurate test will always be Full Frontal which will give you all 4 metrics. But to do that, you should be fresh and well rested. HM is not as arduous but certain rider types either over perform or under perform and her higher or lower FTP and MAP numbers as a result. I’m a Sprinter (according to the FF 4DP) and my HM results are always within a small handful of watts so pretty darn accurate in my case and a great way to have a solid sense of a target when I do FF next.
Again, get well soon, that’s by far the most important thing here.
