Hi guys.
Could you please help me with understanding Half Monty results and finding the
My last results are:
FTP: 257
MAP: 345
LTHR: 169
I’m 44, my weight is about 82 kilo and my height is 176 cm
My last minute in SF ram test 370 watts (I think I could suffer 5-10 seconds on 390 watts but I have up).
AFAIK, the most of ramp tests just use factor 0.75 to calculate the value of the FTP from last minute average power value. In this case I would have FTP about 277 watts. But SF adds constrained interval which is used for FTP calculation. I thik this is the reason why my SF’s FTP is significantly lower than (theoretically) FTP calculated using factor 0.75. My hear rate for constrained interval was 156-161. Most of the time my heart rate was in range 160-161. And my power was fluctuating in range 170-210.
So, I suspect that my power was a quite low relatively to the heart rate. And this has decreased my FTP.
So, my main questions are:
1 - is my guess regarding influence of relatively lower power in constrained region correct?
2 - how to decrease my heart rate in 2nd and 3rd zones - preferably all zones - (or increase LTHR)? Actually, I’ve found (this summer season after I paused in-door training) that my heart rate restricts me: when it exceeds 165-167 bpm (after 90-100 km and when temperature is higher than 30 C and in hills) my power drops to 160-170 watts and I suffer Is there any training plan or specific workouts that could help me to descrease my HR in all zones (and I still would like to increase my FTP and MAP)? Or my HR is the matter of age?
Small background: I don’t consider myself as an aerobic capacity gifted person. Most of my previous life I either didn’t train at all or trained in gym (low number of reps).
I completed Half Monty about 2 hours ago, and got FTP of 256, so hopefully the comparison of our results should be a good idea of differences in physiology.
Age 32
Aug 18 FF - 247 FTP. 317 MAP.
Full frontal said ‘sustained effort’ weakness, and labeled me a sprinter (~1100W NM for 247W FTP at 76Kg). I did a week or two of FTP, and then a 4-week Tempo building block plan.
I went into the session feeling great, so no excuses there. Expected some improvements to both. Ended up stopping ramp at ~330, so much lower than you (hence your higher MAP).
Constrained HR - My range was 160-166 BPM, and sat at ~165 at about 235-240W.
MY HISTORY – I’m very new to training (other than commuting, and recreational 90min rides (with infrequent 50-70mile slow days), started structured training in May with FTP of 200). For the last month or so, I’ve been doing much more strength work (mainly bodyweight and kettlebell work), and also lost ~2kg since last FTP test.
Based on this…
It would appear so. I held much higher power relative to my MAP (I held ~91% of FTP, you held 66 to 81%)
It depends on your targets…if you want to do short, punchy stuff, then it’s perhaps not a worry. I like to go out and do 5-6 hour rides, so I’m mainly interested in endurance (hence focus on sustained-effort training with FTP, tempo, and sweetspot work). To reduce your heart rate, or increase power for a given heartrate over long durations, I would suggest sustained efforts. The tempo or FTP ‘building block’ special training plan, perhaps. Workouts: The Way Out, GCN Endurance, Cobbler.
Training Plans: Read a few and see what sounds like the kind of riding you actually do. All Purpose Road to target everything. Time Trial to get better at holding power for long periods (same heartrate, more power…or same power, lower heartrate). Century if you like distance. Gran Fondo if you like distance & climbing. Crits if you like 1hr of hard work, sprints etc.
Regarding selection of training plan, I’d suggest, as @Chris_Davison suggests, finding one that matches your general goals on the bike. If you don’t have specific goals, the All-Purpose Road plan is a good starting point.
Any of the training plans should improve your power output at a given heart rate. Whether they actually change your LTHR is a question I’ll leave for the coaches.
Also, have you ever done Full Frontal? If so, how do your Half Monty numbers compare to the FF results? I think the general idea is that Full Frontal is the most accurate test, but it is draining, and requires accurate pacing to get good results. Half Monty isn’t dependent on properly pacing, as you just keep hitting the ramp targets until you cannot.
Thank you guys.
My current target (for the next season) is 5+ hours rides. Also, I’m interested in 3 hour rides with higher average speed.
My FF test results are quite old: February 2021
@arokhin There was a podcast on Breakfast with Boz where Mac Cassin said one of the basic concepts of training was building more capillaries to get oxygen to the muscles. It might have been this one:
I think what you are asking is how can you get more fitness on the bike so that you can work harder without hitting your limits and I think the answer is simply to pick any plan - all purpose road is a great one - and follow it and keep testing via either Half Monty or Full Frontal so that you are training at the right numbers. No matter what your genetic abilities, you will get better but it just takes time to let your body build the adaptions that you need to get there. Hope that helps.
I think what you are asking is how can you get more fitness on the bike so that you can work harder without hitting your limits…
That’s right.
the answer is simply to pick any plan - all purpose road is a great one - and follow it and keep testing via either Half Monty or Full Frontal so that you are training at the right numbers.
But which training plan will faster increase my ability to keep high power on average (3h) and longer (5h+) rides?
@arokhin Probably the same answer - it doesn’t matter that much as I suspect you will benefit substantially from any plan but for the 3+ hour riding goal you probably want to increase the volume. So perhaps All Purpose Road - advanced. If you are looking for a quick hit to help your numbers you could also look at a block - eg. FTP or MAP blocks or also the Volcano Climbing plan. Those are more intense - especially the Volcano Climbing plan but they will give you additional gains. Be sure to get plenty of rest.
@arokhin check out this article on why the SUF Ramp Test is more accurate than the traditional ramp test that takes 75% of your peak 1 minute power.
A couple things to note
Tens of thousands of Full Frontal 4DP test show that 75% of Peak 1 minute Power from a the traditional ramp test does not accurately correlate to FTP
Half Monty analyzes the relationship with your constrained Heart Rate during the 20 minute sub-maximal effort to your power output to create a more accurate FTP calculation
The compliance algorithm is sophisticated enough to determine if the test was executed correctly and therefore if the results are valid
In regard to Heart Rate check out this in depth article
You will surely see a small decrease in your Heart Rate if you are coming off a period of inactivity or detraining. After an adaptation phase your heart rate will remain fairly consistent, however you will get more output at that same heart rate. As the above article states, be careful if there is a sudden decrease in heart rate, as this could be a sign of over-training or fatigue.
To begin with use the RPE Scale as explained in this article:
Then I would recommend looking at a 6 week Kick Starter Plan from the Training Plans section of the app or even working with a Sufferfest Coach to help you develop a Customized Training Plan
Is there any training plan or specific workouts that could help me to descrease my HR in all zones (and I still would like to increase my FTP and MAP)? Or my HR is the matter of age?
increase my ability to keep high power on average (3h) and longer (5h+) rides?