Hitting new power zones

Training
1

Can someone help? I started a few months back doing the 4DP test to set my base. A couple of weeks ago I did the Half Monty and my FTP improved. I was happy!
My problems is that now I cannot hold my power zones in the Sustained Effort training videos, what do I do? Why is that? I was enthusiastic about my new FTP but now I am totally confused and disappointed. I’ve tried doing four different videos at different times and still I cannot complete them.
Thank you

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You might want to check out this thread where Coach Sir Mac has a few things to say about it. 4DP vs Half Monty results - #3 by Coach.Mac.C

3 Likes
3

When you have fresh new numbers, workouts get hard again. Do what you can to hit those targets. After a few weeks things will get easier. Then you’ll retest and numbers will be up some more.

You might find Sustained efforts are your weakness. Are you doing a plan? Because it’ll target that weakness so things feel very hard at first on new numbers. I think typically the first 2 blocks feel awful on new numbers, then block 3 feels better but fatigue is accumulating by then. Most plans have a big taper at the end of the 3rd block, so you’ll be well set up to retest again then. Trust the plan!

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There’s also a small chance that the HM was incorrect. I’ve done it once when not feeling too great, resulting in a massive overestimation of cHRT. There was a weird heart rate development throughout the ramp part: it peaked and went down whilst I was still building up the ramp and increasing the effort.
My FTP ended up 12% higher but the workouts were impossible after that. Retesting later showed that it was indeed overestimated.

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5

It sounds like your FTP result from HM is overstated. You could simply manually set your FTP to split the difference between your old and new numbers. The result would be a bit arbitrary, but a good compromise helping you to work harder but still be able to complete the workouts.

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6

I agree with the Coach Mac’s blog post. I am also profiled as an Attacker, and Half Monty gave me a huge jump in my FTP, but my sustain power is my weakness. I also agree with following a plan to target your weakness, which may be sustain power. Hopefully after 12 weeks of training to improve that system you will see good improvement after completing a concluding Full Frontal Test. Happy Training!