FTP test: 20 minute test or ramp test?
In a previous post Training with power: Performing the FTP test I explained how to perform the 20 minute FTP test. There are more ways to determine your FTP such as the ramp test. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the ramp test?
The 20-minute test has long been the gold standard for determining your FTP. Andy Coggan and Hunter Allen considered this method the best for determining your threshold value, your FTP. However, TrainerRoad and Zwift have made the Ramp Test more popular. This is shorter and only stops when you can no longer turn the pedals.
How do you perform the tests?
The 20 Minute Test is a 20-minute effort that you can perform outdoors or indoors. After a good warm-up, you pedal as hard as you can for 20 minutes. After these 20 minutes, you take 95% of the average power to determine your current FTP. For example, an athlete's average power for 20 minutes was 300 watts. His FTP is then 0.95 x 300 = 285 watts.
The Ramp Test is performed on a trainer in ERG mode. The resistance increases every minute. The test determines your FTP by your maximum power of 1 minute at Vo2 max level. This wattage is then multiplied by a percentage, often 75%, to get your FTP. For example, if your highest 1 minute power during the test was 380 watts, you would have an FTP of 285 watts.
The test starts with a 5 minute warm up. After that, the power will increase every minute until you can’t go any further; you are completely exhausted. This test requires you to really suffer for the last 5-8 minutes. Your heart rate is at its maximum and your legs are filled with lactic acid.
What do you actually want to test?
What you are trying to find with a test is your Functional Threshold Power (FTP); The power at which your lactate does not build up quickly but is still in balance. Each of the tests arrives at this number by testing different efforts to estimate your FTP. Data from many riders has shown that your FTP is on average around 75% of your last minute in the ramp test. The traditional 20 minute test looks more at your true power at your lactate threshold. The 20 minute test can give a fairly accurate estimate of the value at which your lactate accumulation equals your lactate removal.
Which ftp test should you do?
So which test should you take? There are a number of reasons to choose one test over the other. Here you have to ask yourself; what type of runner am I? Are you an athlete who needs to be able to maintain a long constant effort such as a triathlete or a Gran Fondo runner. Or are you more of an explosive runner who likes to sprint? If you are a triathlete, then the 20 minute test is without a doubt the best option. If you also want to test your explosiveness or test your progress, then the Ramp Test is perfect.
To find out what kind of rider you are, you can look at your power curve. For more explanation, read What is a power curve ? .
Another advantage of the ramp test is that you cannot make mistakes in the pacing of the test. The ERG mode of your bike trainer automatically imposes a wattage. You are automatically pushed to the limit and you have no other choice.
Conclusion: 20-minute test or disaster test?
If you are still unsure which test to do, I would do the 20 minute test to be on the safe side. This will give you the closest approximation of your lactate threshold. The great thing about the Ramp Test is that you don’t really need to be rested to do it, you can do it at any time. Another advantage is that the Ramp Test is short, often less than 8 minutes. The 20 minute test should really only be done during a rest period so that your body is ready to perform as it would in a race. By doing both tests you can also learn a little bit more about what kind of rider profile you are.