Functional Threshold Power Prep — Five on 2 Off

1) We find motivation from the prolific artist Henri Matisse. Matisse, born in 1869, lived til nearly 85 years old and he never stopped producing art. As such, he adopted new styles as they emerged, while inventing many of his own. Matisse often photographed his creative process. Our banner shows several efforts Matisse made as he prepared to create the final version of the painting. We do similar when training for an event. Repeated efforts build our skill level for the real thing. I took the pic while visiting the Kunsthaus Museum in Zurich. Locally, the Baltimore Museum of Art contains a drive-worthy collection of Matisse’s works.

2) Our painting is the twenty-minute Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test, next week!!! To prep, this week’s profile contains five-minute intervals. We will discuss strategies for gauging your FTP effort next week — think five minutes times 4! The focus is on your aerobic, as opposed to anaerobic, energy system.
3) Aerobic exercise isn’t glamorous. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, 150 - 300 minutes of aerobic exercise “help with weight loss or keeping off lost weight.” Yes, losing your breath every song is fun. . . it feels good, but as for results . . . I suggest slowing down and learning how to control your breathing. Check out this link to understand how much riding a cyclist needs to see results.

Photo Credit: Training Peaks.

4) If I’m frank, indoor cycling isn’t that hard. Pedal fast, lose your breath, REPEAT. But pedal fast, not lose your breath REPEAT, is a different story. Progressing on the bike — evolving like Matisse — that’s when you start to find your hard . . . when your body starts talking back to you. Learning to control your breathing takes practice. Check out this piece from The Cyclist for some pointers.
5) Yeah, I said it — indoor cycling isn’t that hard. There are fabulous communal benefits, and it’s non-weight-bearing primarily, so it’s easy on the joints. However, the distance between indoor cycling and outdoor cycling is larger than the gap between pickleball and tennis. I mean, you don’t even have to balance! A recent article compared a hard (30-minute) 5k to a 25-mile bike ride (90 minutes - 2 hours for your average cyclist). Sprints are fun; endurance efforts are impactful.

Hard is riding on cobblestone in the rain. As the Spring classics near, focus on your form in the winter months. You don’t see a lot of swaying from cyclists in adverse conditions. Balance is key.

6) Advice on the FTP test:

  1. Don’t think of it as 20 minutes.  Four, 5-minute efforts.  Maybe five, 4-minute efforts.  Figure out a way to break the effort up (called “Chunking”) into smaller segments.

  2. Focus on breathing.  If you go too hard too soon, you’ll be punished for it. Allow your body to get acclimated to the effort and once you hit 5 minutes, start to make adjustments.  

  3. Focus on average watts.  If you can keep this number +/- 10 after the five-minute mark, that’s a good thing.  Once you get to 16 minutes, start to take some risks

  4. Make sure you talk to all the muscles in your legs.  Sit, stand, adjust cadence . . . (lower cadence —70 - 80) RPM, spin fast and breathe slow . . . and find ways to keep the body focused.

    Above all, don’t stop pedaling!

7) The individual time trial (ITT), essentially what we will do next week) is called the race of truth. No teammates, no drafting and oftentimes no race radios or coaching. While losing your breath is often the badge of honor for indoor cycling. During a time trial, this is not the goal. Wearing a heart rate monitor is strongly recommended. Think of your 20-minute FTP test as a time trial.

8) For those using heart rate monitors, it’s essential to understand your heart rate zones. The five-level zones (versus seven) are easy to understand. Getting a fitness tracker and learning how your body works is essential in identifying your aerobic zone. In lieu of that, this table (also below) provides a decent benchmark. The first three zones are considered aerobic. This New York Times article is a good complement to the table.

9) The domestique (explained here via video), French for ‘servant”, is our next type of cyclist. They carry the water bottles, collect jackets when the riders get warm (and bring them to the team car), and sometimes, after a crash, they even give away their bike to a teammate and wait for the team car to provide a replacement. Cycling is the ultimate team sport; when one person wins, the whole team wins. Each rider gets an equal share. Every champion has a domestique who helped them win. The film Wonderful Losers (link) captures the life of a domestique. See the trailer below.

Coach Dru