I just completed the Med Coast Core Vermeille ride. Was it supposed to be difficult? There was a point where it said my HR should be Z5 and, though I was breathing heavy (over threshold), it didnt feel like Z5 compared to real MTBing. Although I feel the ride in my legs, like I definitely did something, I sure don’t feel worked. Is my measured FTP low? I did the full frontal to the best of my ability on an indoor trainer. Certainly I could have gone harder outdoors.
TIA
Your breathing is a much better indicator of what zone you are actually in than your heart rate. The latter is dependent on so many things other than current level of exertion that I disregard the “targets” displayed in workouts completely. So if your breathing and power were in line with an above threshold effort, then that’s what you were doing.
You can always do HM or FF to checks
Just to make sure. 
The last MAP interval is the only one I see that has a Z5 heart rate target. That is probably based on the accumulated workload.
The question(s) I would ask are: Assuming you are in ERG mode on a smart trainer, what was your HR and cadence compared to the targets in the workout? If you are consistently in the middle of those zones, you are doing okay. If you are consistently over those, your target power is probably a little high. If you are consistently under those zones, your target power is probably a little low.
Hard to say from a non SUF video … better do fight club, then the next day, nine hammers and let us know how that goes 
I find I get too low an FTP and MAP from FF. I consistently get a higher numbers out of HM. I know some will say that the FF figure is more accurate however the threshold and MAP based workouts feel right using the HM figures, but not as hard as they should with my FF figures. This may well be, in fact is most likely, due to my inability to pace the FF. I still do the FF from time to time to get accurate NM and AC figures a rider type, but use the numbers from HM to set FTP and MAP.
HR takes time to respond to an increase in intensity, it could take several minutes for HR to reach Z5 levels when riding at Z5 power.
The HR targets in SYSTM workouts are usually based on the power zone of the interval. I find it best to ignore them and focus on power and cadence only. HR is an outdated metric for interval training.
The only Z5 power efforts in this workout are some 30/30s and 1:30s interval at the end, I wouldn’t expect to hit Z5 HR in this workout its just not intense enough.
Your real question is not “ Is my FTP too low”, you’d never reach Z5 HR riding at FTP but are the 5minute power (MAP) targets high enough, as @sir_james.p suggests you may find it easier to measure you 5 minute power with the all-out ramp test in Half Monty.
Makes sense. My concern was that during the supposed Z5 effort my breathing was not HARD, as I would expect. But I think the advice to not worry so much about the HR and make sure to hit the target power and cadence is good.
I’d say consistently low RE: the HR, except strangely sometimes high for the Z2 parts (perhaps the power is at the top end).
I can do a much better job of “put the pain in a box” when outdoors than on a trainer, so I’m sure my effort was lower than my best effort. Certainly pacing is part of the challenge, there.
Thanks all for the feedback! I was a little confused by the narration that seemed to indicate that I should be pretty wiped by the end of the last interval, and there was a lot of Z2 in that workout. I’ll try one of the more challenging Sufferlandia sessions and see how that goes.
Likewise, Half Monty takes away the pacing element, just pedal until the wheels fall off.
Give Nine Hammers a try and see where you are at on Hammer #8.
Makes sense. FF and HM results can vary on and individual basis as the different testing protocols can be affected by your rider type. Sprinters, Attackers may end up with higher numbers from HM than from FF since their NM and AC systems will tend to contribute more in the HM ramp test that’s erg based, and conversely they may have a more difficult time pacing the longer self-paced sections of FF. And vice-versa, climbers and riders with low NM AC power may get higher results from FF ans they tend to be better at pacing the longer FF efforts and don’t have the extra strength contributions to the HM testing. But as always, there are various individual variations in the testing including your mental state and stress levels on the day that you perform the test and also the differences in life stresses between test day and subsequent workout days. So, your results may vary!
I’m a climber (I seemed to flit between climber and rouleur) but get higher numbers from HM. AC is currently my weakness, I tend to neglect AC focussed sessions, so hitting some at the moment. Once I have bought my AC up and likely my MAP with it, I suspect I’ll be back to rouleur again. I think my getting lower numbers out of FF is purely down to not getting my best out in FF, rather than due to my rider type. For example I have no issues doing long scream on my HM numbers, but yet can’t pull that off in the 20 min test in FF. It’s probably a mental block, I get nervous before a FF, more so than before a race even. Also in hill climbs, I’ve pulled a 5 min power out the bag that’s better than I can get in FF.
Either way, tour prep plan starts Monday, so suffering a plenty will be had.
More than you!
I find Angels or High Time(masterpiece of a video too) are hard FTP focussed session. If they feel easy, then you’ll know your numbers need a refresh.
The OL classic climbs of France are also pretty cheeky for a solid FTP session.
The ultimate test, long scream. Best done with a warm up first, using igniter. Long scream should be very hard.
Based on your collective feedback, I did the Half Monty today and scored an FTP of 257 vs. the previous 229. I was definitely cooked after tapping out on the ramp - like maybe I could have gone a little longer with more mental strength but I was at (or very near) max HR and my legs were burnin’ up! The other big challenge for me with the HM was after the ramp, during the constrained effort that requires you to maintain a target HR for 20 mins – I had to maintain a solid power output (200+W) at 95 cadence which really fatigued my legs to the point where I was barely hanging on at the end, and I was just below the target HR for most of it. Yes I was in level mode. Unsure how that will affect things - I’ll do some searchin’ because I’m sure it’s come up before.
I’m labeled an Attacker based on the FM, which seems pretty accurate considering I’m a bigger guy (190# currently) and I do a lot of MTBing (2-4 min hill climbs).
Over the last few weeks I did 14 Vise Grips and A Very Dark Place and found both somewhat challenging but not “oof, that hurt” kind of challenging, along with some endurance workouts that felt a little too easy. So we’ll see how things feel with the new FTP
I think the Half Monty notes state that most people “feel” that could have gone further, the legs “disagree”.
Why such a high cadence during the constrained HR section?
The instructions are to aim for your normal cadence for a normal 20 minute effort.
Self-selected cadence varies between individuals but there is a correlation between higher cadence and higher power. i.e pros with 400W+ FTPs spin faster than us mortals with FTPs in the 200s.
Personally, I start the ramp at around 80rpm and build slowly to 90rpm around FTP and am spinning at 100rpm when I’ve got as far along the ramp as I can manage. I ride the constrained section at around 80rpm which is my normal Z3 cadence.