{"id":611382,"date":"2026-09-25T13:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611382\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T13:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:02:14","slug":"ive-not-completed-cyclings-hardest-fitness-test-in-six-years-have-cyclists-broken-up-with-ftp-and-how-do-we-train-without-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611382\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve not completed cycling\u2019s hardest fitness test in six years \u2013 have cyclists ‘broken up’ with FTP, and how do we train without it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I realised, toggling the \u2018training bias\u2019 on my last indoor training session down to a 92% effort because \u2018100% felt a bit hard\u2019, that I\u2019ve not tested my functional threshold power (FTP) <\/a>for around six years.<\/p>\n

Back in 2020, it was Covid lockdowns that put paid to my season\u2019s goals. Whilst the lay-off was longer than expected for most of us, the race calendar did eventually power back up. I, however, did not. Or at least, I powered in a very different direction: new house, baby one, baby two, you get the idea. And here we are, six years later, with an unknown entity hovering around in the space of a number that used to mean a lot to me.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

FTP, the power a rider can hold for sixty minutes, is a benchmark in cycling performance. Whilst there are variations (Wahoo\u2019s 4DP<\/a>, Critical Power<\/a>), nearly all training plans<\/a> and software use a percentage of a known, and ideally regularly tested, power figure to set rider efforts during training. When your head is locked into racing, it can be easy to assume that \u2018everyone\u2019 is completing structured sessions using pre-set power zones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The reality is that taking a more relaxed \u201cwhat does my body need to do today?\u201d approach is actually more common than the training literature might suggest. Adjusting volumes and intensity based on feel, fatigue and external factors is not without its benefits, with a few caveats in place.<\/p>\n

\u2018Most riders with no recognised FTP test still use workouts\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

The majority of riders use cycling as a way to stay fit and healthy <\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

A Cycling Weekly audience survey revealed that 73% of respondents considered themselves \u2018fitness riders\u2019, using the bike to stay \u2018fit and healthy\u2019. Just 16% put themselves in the \u2018competitive cyclist\u2019 bracket. Wanting to get away from screen time and \u2018feeling sluggish\u2019 were primary triggers for getting on the bike, so it seems reasonable to assume that townsign sprints with friends and lunchbreak power hours are more common than structured VO2 max efforts. <\/a><\/p>\n

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Numbers at Zwift <\/a>concur. Asked for stats on the number of riders actively testing FTP \u2013 the metric used to set zones for Zwift\u2019s \u2018workout\u2019 library <\/a>\u2013 a representative said \u201cover the last year, around three in four active Zwifters recorded a workout [which would feature structured intervals], while fewer than one in four recorded a recognised FTP-test ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zwift\u2019s rep added: \u201cEven among riders without a recognised test ride, about two in three used workouts. Most riders combined workouts with other kinds of riding.\u201d The brand added, \u201cMost riders with no recognised FTP test still use workouts (67.7%).\u201d<\/p>\n

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It is worth noting that Zwift will calculate a ‘zFTP’ based on activities completed in the last 90 days, and an FTP number could be given after completing a 20-minute effort, such as riding the platform’s climb ‘The Grade’; 97.5% of Zwifters without a recognised FTP test do have a calculated zFTP\/zMAP <\/a>record. But, this is much more ad hoc than a rider actively seeking out a benchmark and repeating the test monthly.<\/p>\n

Perhaps interestingly, competitor MyWhoosh<\/a>‘s September update saw the brand release a new ‘Smart Workout Selector’, which it says \u201chelps riders narrow down the MyWhoosh workout library based on what they want from their session and how they are feeling on the day.\u201d Sessions are suggested after riders report on factors such as recovery, sleep, muscle soreness and available time.<\/p>\n

Looking at the wider picture, Strava\u2019s Year in Sport of 2025<\/a> showed that over half (54%) of users take part in two or more sport types, with 34% recording over three sport types.<\/p>\n

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There are generational changes too, Strava reported that Gen Z athletes (born between 1997 and 2012) were twice as likely as older generations to pick strength training as their main sport. Despite being an aged millennial (1981 and 1996) this certainly chimes with my own habits; and I\u2019d suggest hitting the weights or training in other sports on non-riding days can shift the bike focus from chasing numbers to a more holistic muscle soreness and recovery function.<\/p>\n

The final piece in the puzzle is that we know participation numbers across competitive bike racing, certainly in the UK, are dwindling<\/a>, with more and more exercisers citing \u2018mental health\u2019 as a reason for getting active. If you\u2019re pushing the pedals to feel happier rather than to turn the screw in the latter half of a road race, it\u2019s hardly surprising that number crunching has taken a back seat.<\/p>\n

All in, the wider picture suggests that cyclists are broadening their interests, and that training platforms may be adapting to the reality of recreational athletes’ lifestyles, where hitting a goal on the bike that day may just not be the priority.<\/p>\n

\u2018A lot of cyclists don\u2019t do well riding off feel\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

\"Michelle\n<\/p>\n

Riders can over-cook easy rides and under-perform on efforts if not controlled <\/p>\n

(Image credit: Roo Fowler for Future)<\/p>\n

Obviously, the training a rider completes day-to-day will be heavily influenced by their goals and training history. If it\u2019s not, well, something is wrong.<\/p>\n

Set power zones come in handy for riders with ambitious goals, where they need to avoid under- or overtraining.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiding off feel is something a lot of riders don’t do well,\u201d Sport and Exercise scientist and coach at ATP Performance<\/a>, Andy Turner, outlined. Though if we\u2019re being picky, Turner did note he prefers to use Critical Power over FTP.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lamenting the disorganisation that can occur when targets go out the window, he noted: \u201cZone 2 [easy] rides end up tempo. Effort rides end up too easy, or too hard, and people do maximal efforts at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve seen chronic cases where there is exercise addiction and a sort of cortisol addiction too. Training less gives withdrawal symptoms. So using thresholds to keep training at the appropriate level ensures [the rider] is not overdoing it,\u201d says Turner.<\/p>\n

However, there are instances where he\u2019ll have cyclists ride \u2018blind\u2019, without the numbers, \u201cboth to push the maximal [effort], but also to test how well they can hit a power zone without actually looking at numbers. It’s also useful to know the RPE compared to power for determining when fatigue might be becoming too much and rest is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning and beginner riders are another caveat, he adds: \u201cI have a rider starting up again after three years off the bike, and we won’t be testing for a few months. We’ll go off Rate of Perceived Exertion and Heart Rate initially, as those are good metrics to become attuned with before using watts and taking those as gospel,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you\u2019re a type A personality, numbers can be unhelpful\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

\"Josephine\n<\/p>\n

Josie Perry advises athletes focus on the metrics that appeal to their motivations for riding<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It’s fairly unanimously accepted that training with set zones has its place. However, when focus shifts from performance goals to enjoyment, things change. Particularly if external events and responsibilities (allostatic load<\/a>) dictate energy levels and performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re a highly intelligent perfectionist, that \u2018type A\u2019 personality, [these people] love numbers, but they can actually be really unhelpful because the numbers just create threat,” outlines Sports Psychologist at Performance in Mind<\/a>, Josie Perry. \u201cWhen their brain sees threat, i.e. I might fail, they have biological responses in the body. They’re unable to get the best out of themselves, so they’re much better at focusing on inputs to their performance, [such as] how many sessions [they\u2019ve completed a week], or how hard they work in sessions, or specific ways of doing sessions,\u201d Perry outlines.<\/p>\n

Some other personality types might get on better with set targets. \u201cIf you’re a more pragmatic rider, we tend to be lazier. Then numbers can be helpful because they give us something to focus on when actually what our brain is saying is \u2018take it easy\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

In short, she says: \u201cIf you have a brain that is constantly trying to push you to do more and more and more\u201d, I\u2019ll put my hand up and admit that\u2019s me, by the way, \u201cnumbers don’t help. If you have a brain that tends to default to let’s do as little as possible, numbers can be helpful because they give you something to drive you towards and will make you work a bit harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s the prescription for those \u2018Type A\u2019 riders, for whom set power zones don\u2019t sit well with leisure and fitness riding goals?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy advice would be to pick three or four data points that help [you monitor well-being and fitness] and probably ignore everything else,\u201d Perry says, stating that she keeps an eye on resting heart rate as a guage of wellness.<\/p>\n

If you need a little more, she takes it back to RPE, or Rate of Perceived Exertion. That\u2019s completing efforts using a subjective measure of how hard your body is working. A 20-minute push would probably be ridden at around 7\/10, 3-5 intervals likely at around 8 or 9, and your all-out sprint is a 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your session is a six out of 10, moving it up to an eight for 20 minutes in the middle, and back down to six, you can always achieve that, even if it means on that day your numbers were down. You\u2019re still going to achieve what\u2019s set,\u201d Perry says.<\/p>\n

‘Just twist the dial to make it harder’<\/p>\n

\n

\"Michelle\n<\/p>\n

As long as riding doesn’t have competitive goals, I’ll stick with the RPE scale<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Roo Fowler for Future)<\/p>\n

When I set out upon this article, which began life as a light-hearted opinion piece and somehow morphed into a mini-feature along the way, it occurred to me that the logical conclusion was likely going to result in me clipping in for 20-minutes of brutal testing.<\/p>\n

Refreshingly, I was wrong.<\/p>\n

Power testing absolutely has a valuable place. If I wanted to race again, I’d want to set myself a benchmark to work against.<\/p>\n

For now? I’ll be taking Perry’s advice. \u201cWhen I ride intervals, I use a Wattbike, and I just twist the dial to make it harder,\u201d the psychologist \u2013 who is still winning races \u201cfor fun\u201d \u2013 told me. My version would be just toggling the effort down to 92% because I fed a baby back to sleep eight times last night, and, well, haven\u2019t tested my FTP for six years, anyway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I realised, toggling the \u2018training bias\u2019 on my last indoor training session down to a 92% effort because…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[565,134,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-611382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}