Results of FTP in an activity

And you say

I don’t think I understand what you mean by “my FTP in that video reduced”. Where did you look to see your FTP in the video? If the 4DP numbers didn’t change, I have no idea where you are seeing reduced FTP. SYSTM doesn’t calculate FTP each time you ride. It only calculates it when you do a fitness test.

Do you mean average power for the workout?

The app does calc best average 20min power. Is that what you mean?

I checked, the 4DP settings are the same for both workouts.

So your FTP won’t have changed, then.

Following @leebo question - is it just the average 20 minute power after the workout you mean?

After the workout, you get your results, power 5 sec, 1 min, 5 mins, and the 20MINS. This 20mins result is what I am referring to

The 20mins power output measured during the workout

It’s seems natural that your 20 minute result from any given workout will be less than your 4DP FTP value, right?

Yes I refer to the 20mins power output result after the workout. The others also differ, but I think the 20 mins result is the more consistent one to compare with

Yes

I think you have this sorted, but to be totally clear: the 20 minute power for a specific workout is not your FTP. It represents the design of the workout, not your maximum 20 minute effort. With possibly a few exceptions, all of the workouts will give you a 20 minute power that is under your FTP. They are designed to maximize training stimulus without wiping you out. That should give you better fitness building results over the course of a plan.

Got it. Right. If your 4Dp settings haven’t changed and you were targetting 100% of the target power at all times (i.e. no manual adjustments) then things should not have changed.

Notwithstanding, however, @Dafydd’s correct comment: when Systm was released to replace the Sufferfest app some workouts, including AVDP, had some changes to the workout profile. The overall average intensity was indeed dropped. You referenced a workout you did in July 2021 - this was before the Systm release so if you are in Systm now then this will definitely have an impact. Thgis would not be a loss of fitness, just a slightly different workout.

I’m afraid that I don’t have any before/afters off the same 4DP profile to compare.

As a follow up note, the majority (I think?) of the workouts were not altered. There’s another thread somewhere that discussed this. If you have a details of one of these workouts that you completed last year you could compare to now and see if you observe any change?

You are correct. I am comparing teh 20 min result from previous AVDP to this one and this one is much lower . But yes, its not the same as the 4DP FTP test

I am using a Wahoo Kicker 2

I fully understand and I agree with you. But by implication are you saying that SUF adjust you 20 min power for every workout depending on your fitness?

The point is that what the app reports as your 20min power from a given instance of doing a workout is simply the highest normalised power over a 20minute period that you acheived during that instance. If you rode a workout at just 10 watts throughout, that reported number would be 10w.

It wouldn’t be a reflection of your fitness or what maximum 20min power you are capable of, it is just a reflection of what you did during that particular workout.

Hope that makes sense…

You do need to consider that many of the workouts were reduced in intensity with the release of Systm.

Although your 4DP settings may have been identical, if you compare the targets in the two workouts you will, no doubt, find that the MAP targets have been reduced since you rode it in July.

As the MAP intervals in AVDP are a significant part of your best 20min power this will result in a lower average power.

As @leebo mentioned. There is a fairly lengthy thread on the subject. One of the responses includes a list of the workouts that were changed and compares the previous and new Intensity Factors.

Why have workouts been made easier in the new Systm app?

In the case of AVDP, this was noted as changing from 0.96 to 0.88

Note also that the method of calculating the IF also changed. In SUF it used a generic 4dp profile, whereas in Systm it uses your own profile (AVDP for me is an IF of 0.86). This wouldn’t play any part in the effect being described by the OP though.

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Close, but not quite. While I’m not privy to the exact methodology, each workout consists of a bunch of sections. Blue sections are based on a percentage of your FTP, yellow sections are based on a percentage of your MAP (or of the difference between your MAP and FTP—I don’t know), and so on. In that way, each workout is fully and automatically customized to your fitness level as represented by your Athlete Profile. Also, if you were to fully comply exactly with the workout’s design (which usually happens if you’re in ERG mode at 100%), the design of the workout determines your power curve for the workout (20 min power, 5 min power, etc). I don’t think the coaches target a power curve; I think they target time at various effort levels and recovery times. But the power curve is still a consequence of the workout’s deign.

Make sense?

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